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Battle of São José do Norte

Coordinates: 32°00′54″S 52°02′31″W / 32.01500°S 52.04194°W / -32.01500; -52.04194
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Battle of São José do Norte
Part of the Ragamuffin War
Date16 July 1840
Location
São José do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil
32°00′54″S 52°02′31″W / 32.01500°S 52.04194°W / -32.01500; -52.04194
Result Imperial victory
Belligerents
File:Flag of Piratini Republic.svg Piratini Republic File:Flag of Brazil (1822–1853).svg Empire of Brazil
Commanders and leaders
Strength
1,200 men[3] 599 men (later reinforced)
1 launch[3]
Casualties and losses
349:
181 dead
150 wounded
18 captured[3]		 159:
72 dead
87 wounded[3]

The Battle of São José do Norte was a battle of the Ragamuffin War, fought by loyalist Imperial forces under Antonio Soares de Paiva, and Riograndense troops under Bento Gonçalves. The ragamuffin troops attacked São José do Norte's garrison, aiming to capture a port for their republic, but were repealed with heavy losses after the Imperials were reinforced.

Background

In November 1839, with the Recapture of Laguna, the Juliana Republic was crushed.[4] This meant that, once again, the Riograndense Republic had no access to the sea, something very troublesome for its economy. Furthermore, their only regional ally, Fructuoso Rivera's Uruguay, did little to help them economically and militarily.[5][6]

The rebels had been besieging Porto Alegre, the regional capital, since June 1838. This helped tie down the Imperial troops in the province, while the besiegers felt greater freedom to move around the region and take Imperial positions by surprise, or help defend their own when needed.[7]

Engagement

Bento Gonçalves marched 1,200 men from the siege[8] to São José do Norte, a town in the southern coast of Rio Grande do Sul which they believed to be weakly held. When they arrived, at one in the morning, they did only meet a force of only 599 national guardsmen under Colonel Antonio Soares de Paiva, together with the launch Torres,[9] but these were, only an hour later, reinforced by troops coming from the garrison of nearby Rio Grande.[10]

After 9 hours of bloody close-quarters fighting under torrential rain,[11], with their soldiers disorganizedly looting the city and being counterattacked by Imperial forces,[2] the rebels withdrew, ostensively in order not to harm the town's population any further.[12] Giuseppe Garibaldi had proposed to burn down the city in order to take it, something Gonçalves refused to do.[13] The powder storage in one of the forts they had captured in the beginning of the battle blew up, killing many of their men. They had over 300 casualties, to the Imperials' little more than 200. Four days after the battle, Paiva sent down medical supplies to the ragamuffin encampment,[14] something Gonçalves paid back by freeing the prisoners they'd taken during the battle.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Hartmann 2002, p. 114.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fragoso 1938, p. 174.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Donato 1996, p. 483.
  4. ↑ "113 ? O COMBATE DA LAGUNA E A QUEDA DA REPÚBLICA - A VIDA CATARINENSE COM A GUERRA DOS FARRAPOS". historia-do-brasil-e-do-mundo.hi7.co. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  5. ↑ Fragoso 1938, p. 201.
  6. ↑ Spalding 1939, pp. 91–92.
  7. ↑ Bento 1989.
  8. ↑ Fragoso 1938, p. 173.
  9. ↑ Spalding 1939, p. 95.
  10. ↑ Donato 1996, p. 483; Fragoso 1938, p. 173.
  11. ↑ Donato 1996, p. 483; Spalding 1939, p. 95.
  12. ↑ Bento 1993, p. 65.
  13. ↑ Hartmann 2002, p. 115; Spalding 1939, p. 95.
  14. ↑ Donato 1996, p. 483; Bento 1993, p. 65.
  15. ↑ Spalding 1939, p. 96.

Sources

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