Battles & Campaigns · 1823
Battle of Moquegua
Moquegua, Peru
What happened
Spanish royalists under José de Canterac and Jerónimo Valdés fought the patriot army of Rudecindo Alvarado. Canterac split his army. Valdés's division hid behind a hill and came round the patriot right, while another division attacked from the front. The patriot line broke.
Why it matters
The patriot army was almost completely destroyed. Of about 4,300 men who began the campaign, only about 1,000 returned to Lima.
What came next
The survivors retreated to Iquique and then sailed back to Lima.
Did you know?
Canterac's plan depended on hiding a whole division behind a hill.
Timeline
- 19 Jan 1823Battle of Torata.
- 21 Jan 1823Battle of Moquegua.
- 1823Survivors return to Lima.