Battle of the Palo River

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Battle of the Palo River
Part of Colombian War of Independence
Battle of the Palo River by José María Espinosa
Date June 5, 1815 (1815-06-05) Location near Caloto, Cauca Result Republican victory
Belligerents
New Granada	Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
José María Cabal Carlos de Montúfar Manuel Roergas Serviez Liborio Mejía José María Córdova	Aparicio Vidaurrázaga Francisco Soriano † Joaquín de Paz †
Strength
1,200	2,100
Casualties and losses
49 dead 121 wounded	315 dead 500 captured

The Battle of the Palo River (Spanish: Batalla del río Palo) was a battle of the Colombian War of Independence fought on July 5, 1815 in which the army of the southern United Provinces of New Granada defeated the Spanish Royalist army of Quito.

After the failure of Antonio Nariño’s southern campaign in 1814, the remnants of the independence forces withdrew to Popayán under the command of colonel Jose Maria Cabal. The victorious royalists, now under Lieutenant Colonel Aparicio Vidaurrázaga, went on a counter offensive in late December 1814, capturing the city of Popayán on December 29, 1814. They looked to invade the Cauca Valley, where the independence forces had retreated, and if successful, reconquer the rest of New Granada. Cabal, now brigadier general, placed the majority of his forces in a foritifed position on the northern bank of the Palo River, planning to lead the royalist forces there. The battle occurred after a series of retreating skirmishes broke out between the independence forces and the royalist army in June 1815. The royalists appeared on the south bank of the Palo river on July 4, and began their assault in the early morning hours of July 5.

The battle was a decisive victory for the independence forces and one of the most important battles of the Colombian War of Independence. The victory at Palo River allowed the republicans to recapture Popayán and push the royalists back to Pasto. For the next year, the Cauca province of New Granada was free of Spaish Royalist presence. This lasted until June 1816, when the royalists conducted an offensive in tandem with Pablo Morillo’s expeditionary army from Spain coming from the north.^[1]