The Second Battle of Huachi was a confrontation that occurred on 12 September 1821 between pro-independence troops led by General

Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...

and Royalist troops led by General Melchor Aymerich, president of the

Real Audiencia of Quito The of Quito (sometimes referred to as or ) was an administrative unit in the Spanish Empire which had political, military, and religious jurisdiction over territories that today include Ecuador, parts of northern Peru, parts of southern Colo ...

. Sucre, after having won the Battle of Yaguachi on 19 August, advanced towards Quito. The Spanish, who followed closely, positioned themselves to do battle in a field called Huachi, where they had already defeated Guayaquil forces a year before.

Development of the battle

After a brief contact between both forces, the Spanish pretended to flee. General José Mires allowed the Albion and Guayaquil battalions to pursue the Royalists, but they were attacked by the Royalist cavalry and the infantry who turned around and encircled the Patriot battalions. With the Patriot army in disarray and Sucre wounded, the few surviving Patriots retreated to Guayaquil, leaving many men and supplies on the battlefield.

Consequences

The Royalists managed to keep Quito under Spanish rule. Generals Mires and Sergeant Major Antonio Martínez de Pallares were captured. Sucre, who was wounded and dismounted, was on the verge of being taken prisoner in the rout, but was just in time saved by his aide-de-camp, the Chilean officer Manuel Jordán Valdivieso, who pulled him on the back of his horse and crossed the enemy lines. Quito would only be conquered by Sucre after the Battle of Pichincha in May 1822.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huachi, Second battle of Viceroyalty of New Granada Conflicts in 1821 History of Ecuador Independence of Ecuador Spanish American wars of independence Military history of Ecuador Battles involving Spain 1821 in Ecuador