The Battle of Carmen de Patagones was a confrontation that occurred on March 7, 1827 between militias of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and troops from the Imperial Brazilian Navy, during the course of the Cisplatine War. It took place around the town of Carmen de Patagones, in southern Buenos Aires Province, in today's Argentina.
Background
To counter the overwhelming Brazilian naval superiority, the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata resorted to giving away letters of marque, in order to harass the imperial trade and transport by sea. This way, the Carmen de Patagones fort became a safe haven for corsairs, where they could land their spoils of war, repair ships, rest and stock up on food.
For this reason, the Brazilian admiral Pinto Guedes outlined a plan to attack the fort and take the town, in order to punish the corsairs and stop their attacks. Furthermore, this would allow the possibility of opening a second front to attack Buenos Aires from the south, thus dividing the republican armies.
The Carmen de Patagones fort was the southernmost of the Argentine territory and its possession implied an important strategic advantage for the invading imperial forces.
Opposing forces
Imperial forces
In order to fulfill the objective of taking the town, the Imperial Navy sent a division under the command of the English frigate captain James Shepherd. This force consisted of the following vessels:
The corvette Duqueza de Goyas, commanded by Shepherd. The corvette Itaparica, commanded by William Eyre. The brig Escudeiro, commanded by Luis Pouthier. The schooner Constança, under the command of Joaquim Marques Lisboa.
The force consisted of slightly more than 650 men, 200 of whom were non-Brazilian.
Argentine forces
Since Carmen de Patagones was too far from the main theater of operations, there were not enough troops available to defend the main square. The fort's commander, Martín Lacarra, had a hundred infantrymen, and managed to recruit about 80 men on horseback, mostly gauchos, plus the corsairs and an artillery picket from one of the ships under repair, the Chacabuco. This was later joined by a group of black volunteers and a squad of neighbors. In addition, the inhabitants of Patagones, the majority of which were women, were provided with sticks, hats and militia clothes, trying to simulate a column in the rear.
This "rearguard" occupied visible positions in the fort, pretending that the Argentine forces would resist in that place, without going out to fight. This contributed in a fundamental way to the surprise effect used by the Argentine troops in the battle, since the spies sent by the Imperials reported this situation to their leaders, who were surprised when they wanted to overcome the small Cerro de la Caballada, named after the horse charge with which the Argentines defeated the invaders.
As for the fleet, it was made up of:
The smack Bella Flor, under the command of Santiago Jorge Bynnon
The brigantine Oriental Argentino, under the command of the French privateer Pedro Dautant. The corsair whalers Hijo de Mayo and Hijo de Julio, commanded by Englishman James Harris and Frenchman Francisco Fourmantin, respectively. The schooners Emperatriz and Chiquita; these had recently been captured from the Brazilians.
In total, the number of men embarked was approximately 330, 250 of which were non-Argentines.
Battle
First actions
On the morning of February 28, 1827, the brigantine Escudeiro entered the Río Negro, waving an American flag to deceive the defenders. At the entrance to the estuary there was a 4-gun battery under the command of Colonel Felipe Pereyra, beginning the exchange of fire. After overcoming the defenses in the skirmish, the Escudeiro crossed the entrance, followed by the Itaparica corvette.
On March 3, the Duqueza de Goyas was lost, which had been stranded days before due to the nature of the river and the great draft of the ship. This produced 38 casualties among the invaders.
On March 6, 1827, the Brazilians landed a group of men on the southern bank and demanded fresh meat from a Creole scouting group, but the justice of the peace Fernando Alfaro gave orders to deny them support.
Brazilian landing
Due to the difficulties in navigating the river, the Brazilian commander decided to attack Patagones by land. At dawn there was a general landing of the Brazilian forces, around 350 men, in order to march on the town to take it definitively.