Battle of San Francisco 1879
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 19 November 1879 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1879 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Chile | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Pacific | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -19.6667, -69.9500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of San Francisco, also known as the Battle of Dolores, was a major battle in the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific, fought on November 19, 1879, in the Peruvian department of Tarapacá. A Chilean army under Colonel Emilio Sotomayor had moved via Dolores rail road deep into the desert and was encamped at San Francisco Saltpeter Office, about 30 kilometers south east of the port of Pisagua. Allied forces under General Juan Buendía launched an attack on Sotomayor's army. At the beginning, Bolivian General Carlos de Villegas pressed the attack over a poorly defended battery right in the Chilean centre and almost succeeded. Only the arrival of infantry support allowed Colonel José Domingo Amunátegui to hold the position.
The Allies also struck with the intention of driving the Chilean defenders away from Dolores well. Buendía hoped to defeat Sotomayor's army before the anticipated arrival of Gen. Erasmo Escala with reinforcements from Hospicio. The allied columns became confused during the fierce fighting, and Sotomayor's men rejected the attacks over its flanks and centre. Colonel Ladislao Espinar was mortally wounded at San Francisco, while Villegas was wounded and captured, among other allied officers.
The Allies were forced to retreat from the battlefield, ending their hopes of sending the Chileans back to the sea.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of San Francisco (revision 1370273552), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Pampa Germania 1879 · 25 km
- Battle of Pisagua 1879 · 29 km
- Battle of Iquique 1879 · 63 km
- Blockade of Iquique 1879 · 65 km
- Battle of Tacna 1880 · 189 km
- Battle of Buenavista 1880 · 212 km
Other battles of the War of the Pacific
- Battle of Angamos 1879
- Battle of Iquique 1879
- Battle of Pampa Germania 1879
- Battle of Pisagua 1879
- Battle of Quillagua 1879
- Battle of Río Grande 1879
- Battle of Tambillo 1879
- Blockade of Iquique 1879
- Battle of Buenavista 1880
- Battle of Locumba 1880
All 16 battles of the War of the Pacific →
Browse more: battles in Chile · South America · 19th century battles