Battle of Peralonso

Battle of Peralonso
Part of the Santander Campaign of the Thousand Days' War
Sketch of La Laja Bridge, across which Rafael Uribe Uribe charged, by rebel colonel Peregrino Rivera Arce, 1900
Date 15–16 December 1899 Location Peralonso River, modern-day Norte de Santander, Colombia Result Liberal victory
Belligerents
Colombian government Conservatives	Liberal rebels
Commanders and leaders
Vicente Villamizar Jorge Holguín Ramón González Valencia[1]	Rafael Uribe Uribe (WIA) Benjamín Herrera (WIA) Justo L. Durán Gabriel Vargas Santos[2]
Strength
5,610[3][4]	4,000[5]
Casualties and losses
700 killed and wounded 900 captured 2,000 deserted[6]	750 killed and wounded[6]

The Battle of Peralonso (Spanish: Batalla de Peralonso), also known as the Battle of La Amarilla or the Battle of La Laja, was a major battle in the Santander Campaign of the Thousand Days' War in Colombia. It was fought between the Conservative government and the Liberal rebels between 15 and 16 December 1899, ending in an important Liberal victory. The Liberal rebels had suffered a series of major defeats culminating in the failed attack on Bucaramanga on 13 November.^[7] Afterward, the Liberal forces splintered into three autonomous forces, led by Rafael Uribe Uribe, Benjamín Herrera, and Justo L. Durán, but they first regrouped in Cúcuta. The autonomous rebel armies shifted to new positions on and around the heights of Cerro Tasajero [es], north of Cúcuta and close to the border with Venezuela.

The Conservative forces delayed in pressuring the Liberals, partially due to controversy when Minister of War José Santos appointed Vicente Villamizar supreme commander of the Conservative army instead of the more popular Manuel Casabianca. The Liberal forces secretly decamped from Cerro Tasajero on 13 December once the Conservative army appeared. They successfully took the rail line north to La Arenosa and attempted a circuitous march west, across the Zulia River, with the objective of evading the Conservative forces and probing deeper into Santander (modern-day Norte de Santander).^[8] Late on the night of the 13th, Villamizar ordered Ramón González Valencia, commander of III Division, to detain the fleeing rebels, promising that V Division under Jesús Zuluaga would reinforce shortly thereafter.^[9]

Troops of III Division encountered Liberal forces at the Peralonso River, a tributary of the Zulia, early the morning of 15 December. Intense skirmishing broke out over La Laja Bridge, a narrow structure that provided the only viable passageway across the Peralonso. Although III Division managed to hold off repeated rebel attempts to force a crossing, on 16 December the Conservative forces panicked and the entire army routed. There is debate over why the Conservatives fled, but most sources agree that Uribe personally led a charge across La Laja Bridge that triggered the rout.

The Liberal triumph at the Battle of Peralonso gave the rebellion much-needed momentum, improving morale and logistics thanks to the large quantity of materiel captured from the fleeing Conservatives. The rebels also reclaimed Cúcuta after the government forces abandoned the city.^[10] In the aftermath of their triumph, Uribe and Herrera agreed to name Gabriel Vargas Santos the Supreme Director of the War for the Liberal side, as well as the Provisional President of Colombia, in a direct challenge to Manuel Antonio Sanclemente's Conservative administration. Vargas Santos, however, failed to capitalize on the momentum of the Liberal victory at Peralonso and mostly delayed any further action in the Santander Campaign until the Battle of Palonegro in May 1900.