Battle of Los Pozos

Battle of Los Pozos
Part of the Cisplatine War

Combate de los Pozos, by José Murature, 1850
Date11 June 1826
Location
Off Buenos Aires, United Provinces
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Empire of Brazil United Provinces
Commanders and leaders
James Norton William Brown
Strength
31 warships[1] 1 frigate
3 brigs
8 gunboats[2]
Casualties and losses
None 1 dead

The Battle of Los Pozos took place in 11 June 1826 in the Río de la Plata, off Buenos Aires. The larger Brazilian fleet attempted to defeat the Argentine fleet, which had been raiding shipping around Montevideo and attacking Brazilian warships in isolated engagements. The battle was indecisive.

Background

On 10 December 1825, the Empire of Brazil declared war on the United Provinces due to their support to Uruguayan rebels which contested their rule of Cisplatina; the rebels had pledged their loyalty to the United Provinces during the Congreso de la Florida.[3]

On 21 December, a powerful Imperial fleet under Vice admiral Rodrigo Lobo blockaded Buenos Aires. The Argentine government then summoned William Brown to command their small fleet, made up by two brigs and a launch. Over the following weeks, 12 gunboats were incorporated to that force and a frigate, the Veinticinco de Mayo, was acquired, along with another brig and two schooners. The first action against the Brazilian fleet took place in 9 February 1826, at Punta Colares.[4]

Engagement

On 10 June 1826, a powerful Brazilian fleet appeared off Buenos Aires, made up by 31 warships. Brown only had 3 brigs and 8 gunboats under his command, besides the Veinticinco, his flagship. He told the men under his command: 'Sailors and soldiers of the republic: do you see that great floating mountain? It is 31 enemy ships! But do not think your general harbors the smallest fear, for he does not doubt your valor and hopes that you will imitate the Veinticinco de Mayo, which will be sunk before it ever surrenders. Comrades: trust in victory, be disciplined, and give three cheers to the homeland!' Moments later, he commanded, 'fire low, the people are watching us!'. By two in the afternoon action erupted throughout the entire line. The Argentine gunboats attacked the Brazilian flagship, the Nichteroy, which they thought had gotten stuck in a sandbank. When the smoke from the engagement dissipated, the Brazilian fleet was in withdrawal. Only one man died in the engagement, from the Argentine side. The Brazilian withdrawal was motivated by the shallowness of the water near Buenos Aires; they were unable to close in with the Argentine fleet, made up mostly of smaller ships, in a safe manner.[5][1][6]

The engagement was hailed as a great victory in the United Provinces, given the disparity of size between both fleets.[7]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Donato 1987, p. 344.
  2. ^ "Combate de Los Pozos" (in Spanish). Museo Naval de la Nación. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  3. ^ Carneiro 1946, p. 50.
  4. ^ Vale 2000, pp. 24–32.
  5. ^ Brown 1904, pp. 50–51.
  6. ^ Silva 1884, pp. 102–103.
  7. ^ Brown 1904, pp. 51.

Bibliography

  • Brown, Guillermo (1904). Acciones navales de la República Argentina, 1813-1828 (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Imprenta del Ministerio de Marina.
  • Carneiro, David (1946). História da Guerra Cisplatina (PDF) (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional.
  • Donato, Hernâni (1987). Dicionário das Batalhas Brasileiras (in Portuguese). São Paulo: IBRASA. ISBN 978-85-348-0034-1.
  • Silva, Theotonio (1884). Historia Naval Brazileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: B. L. Garnier.
  • Vale, Brian (2000). A War Betwixt Englishmen: Brazil Against Argentina on the River Plate, 1825-30. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860644562.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.