Copacabana Fort revolt

Copacabana Fort revolt
Part of Tenentism
The last rebels in their "march to death" From left to righ: Eduardo Gomes, Siqueira Campos, Newton Prado and Otávio Correia, a civilian
Date 4–6 July 1922 (Rio de Janeiro) 5–13 July (Mato Grosso) Location Rio de Janeiro, Niterói and Mato Grosso Result Government victory
Belligerents
Army and civilian rebels	Brazil Brazilian Army Brazilian Navy Federal District Police São Paulo Police[a]
Commanders and leaders
Hermes da Fonseca[b] Clodoaldo da Fonseca[c] João de Brito Júnior[d] Euclides da Fonseca[e] Siqueira Campos[f]	Epitácio Pessoa Setembrino de Carvalho[g] João N. da Costa[h] Tertuliano Potiguara[i]
Units involved
1st Isolated Coastal Artillery Battery Military School of Realengo 1st Military Circumscription 7th Company of the 1st Infantry Regiment	1st Military Region 2nd Military Region
Strength
638 students in the Military School ~300 men in Fort Copacabana 800–1,000 men in Mato Grosso	10,000 men in Rio de Janeiro[1] 2 battleships 1 destroyer
Casualties and losses
1 killed and several wounded in the Military School In Copacabana: see casualties	3 killed and 5 wounded at Vila Militar[j] 2 killed and 1 wounded at the Army HQ In Copacabana: see casualties
At least 5 civilians killed and 2 injured[k]

The Copacabana Fort revolt (Portuguese: Revolta do Forte de Copacabana), also known as the 18 of the Fort revolt (Revolta dos 18 do Forte), was one of several movements coordinated by rebel factions of the Brazilian Army against the president of Brazil, Epitácio Pessoa, and the winner of the 1922 presidential election, Artur Bernardes. Acting under the figure of marshal Hermes da Fonseca and supporting the defeated faction, the Republican Reaction [pt], the rebels tried a wide revolt in Rio de Janeiro on 5 July 1922, but only managed to control Fort Copacabana and the Military School of Realengo, in addition to, outside the city, a focus in Niterói and the 1st Military Circumscription [pt], in Mato Grosso. They were defeated, but the revolt marks the beginning of tenentism and the events that led to the end of the First Brazilian Republic.

In 1921, Nilo Peçanha launched himself as an opposition presidential candidate, aligning the oligarchies of second importance states against the domination of Brazilian politics by the most powerful states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Peçanha garnered the support of dissident military members gathered around Hermes da Fonseca, president of the Military Club [pt]. In October, fake letters attributed to Artur Bernardes with offenses to the military stirred up the election and prompted them to actively participate in the campaign. The rigged electoral system ensured Bernardes' victory in March 1922. The opposition contested the results and over the following months a military conspiracy emerged across the country to remove Epitácio Pessoa and prevent Bernardes' inauguration. The conspiracy drew great enthusiasm from tenentes (lieutenants), but few senior officers. The rebels did not have a project for society, with the rebellion being a movement of reparation at first, but even so they reflected dissatisfaction with the regime. In early July, the revolt was triggered by the closure of the Military Club and the brief arrest of Hermes da Fonseca for his public opposition to the government's interference, using the army, in the election in Pernambuco.

The conspiracy was poorly organized and on the night of 4 July the loyalists managed to surround Fort Copacabana and arrest the officers who would revolt the large troops at Vila Militar. The following day, Hermes da Fonseca was arrested and the Military School engaged in combat for a few hours against Vila Militar before giving up. In Niterói, the revolt did little more than capture the Telephone Company. In Mato Grosso, the rebels faced the loyalists on the border with São Paulo until 13 July, when they laid down their weapons without starting combat. Only Fort Copacabana remained in revolt, firing at military targets and engaging in an "artillery duel" against other fortifications in Guanabara Bay, which killed several civilians. Most of the garrison left the fort on the morning of 6 April, with only 28 remaining. It sustained further bombardments by the Brazilian Navy, Naval Aviation and surrounding troops, refusing to surrender. The fort's commander left to negotiate and was arrested, leaving it to Antônio de Siqueira Campos and three other lieutenants. In the afternoon they left for Atlântica Avenue with the remaining soldiers to face the loyalists, being defeated on the beach by much superior forces. Of the lieutenants, only Siqueira Campos and Eduardo Gomes survived in the hospital.

The July 1922 revolts failed, but Artur Bernardes would face a new military phenomenon, tenentism, which launched ever larger and more sophisticated revolts during his term, most of which was spent under a state of emergency. The refusal of amnesty to the rebels of 1922 was one of the reasons for the following revolts. These also failed, but the tenentists took part in the 1930 Revolution, which put an end to the First Republic. The greatest fame of July 1922 was the Fort Copacabana and the suicidal will of the small number of rebels who marched against the government's troops, an episode that acquired a mythical character. The number of 18 men said to have participated in the final combat is famous, but the actual number was probably smaller.

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