Battle of Barro Vermelho

Battle of Barro Vermelho
Part of the Ragamuffin War

Plan of the battle by Livio Zambeccari
Date30 April 1838
Location
Rio Pardo, Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil
Result Republican victory
Belligerents
Piratini Republic Empire of Brazil
Commanders and leaders
Strength
2,800 men[1] 1,546 men[1][2]
Casualties and losses
17 dead
37 wounded[3]		 370 dead
800 captured[4]

The Battle of Barro Vermelho, also known as the Battle of Rio Pardo, was an engagement of the Ragamuffin War fought in April 1838. Around 5,000 men were present in the field, an atypically large number for the conflict; the battle was one of the rebels' most important victories during the war.

Engagement

Led by Bento Gonçalves, Bento Manuel, Sousa Neto and Crescêncio de Carvalho, the Ragamuffin army attacked Rio Pardo, the city which served as the Imperial headquarters and was considered inexpugnable, in late April 1838.[5] The battle started at 5:40 in the morning and lasted for around an hour and 20 minutes. The Imperial center broke under the attack by Neto's reserves; their artillery managed to fire only 4 or 5 salvos before being taken, while the rebel artillery only fired once, before being unable to do so any further thanks to the speed of the attack.[6]

When the loyalist commander Marshal Sebastião Barreto realized he would not be able to hold the city, he escaped down the Jacuí River.[4]

Once the city was taken, Sousa Neto captured a group of musicians belonging to the Imperial Army, and ordered their leader, Joaquim José Mendanha, to compose a hymn for the rebels, something which he took 5 days to do. The lyrics to it were written by Serafim Joaquim de Alencastre, a poet and captain in the ragamuffin army; this music later became the Hino Rio-Grandense.[7]

The victory allowed the rebels to yet again siege Porto Alegre, the provincial capital.[8] Rio Pardo would, however, be retaken in November of the same year, and some of the prisoners captured in April freed.[9]

Legacy

Today, on the battle's site, there stands a square named 30 de Abril [April 30th], also known as Cruz do Barro Vermelho Square. On the battle's 100 year anniversary, a cross was raised as a monument to the fallen.[10] In 2011, a further monument entitled "Monument to the Unknown Ragamuffin Soldier" was added to the square.[11][7]

References

  1. ^ a b Bento 1993, p. 90.
  2. ^ Fragoso 1938, p. 117.
  3. ^ Hartmann 2002, p. 107.
  4. ^ a b Bento 1993, p. 93.
  5. ^ Spalding 1939, p. 83.
  6. ^ Bento 1993, p. 92.
  7. ^ a b Lauro Alves (2012-09-12). "O combate que tingiu o solo de sangue" [The combat which stained the soil with blood]. GZH (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  8. ^ Bento 1993, p. 94.
  9. ^ Donato 1996, p. 473.
  10. ^ "Prefeitura Municipal de Rio Pardo - RS". www.riopardo.rs.gov.br. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  11. ^ "Rio Pardo". Correio do Povo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.

Sources

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