Battle of Paso de Mercedes
The Battle of Paso de Mercedes was fought on 11 August 1865 during the Paraguayan invasion of the Argentine province of Corrientes.
The battle took place at Bella Vista along the Paraná River, west of Mercedes.
Following the Battle of Riachuelo, José María Bruguez, Paraguayan commander, moved his men and Major Aquino's batteries to Punta Mercedes, about 15 miles north of Stonehouse ( Corrientes), to kilometer 1157 of the Paraná River. in attempt to cut the fleet from their supply base downstream. He chose this position on 15 meter cliffs, as it affored the guns a great angle on the passing fleet, from which he fired canister and grapeshot.[1]:36
The Braziliand squadron consisted of Amazonas ( flagship ) , Ivahy , Apa, Ipiranga , Maje , Iguatemy , Beberibe , Araguary , Parnahyba , Mearim , Belmonte and Itajaí vapors. Once past the gauntlet , Barroso continued another 9.6 km downstream, where he stopped for the night. Bruguez meanwhile, back up batteries and headed once again down river to Punta Cuevas, 25 km south of the town of Bella Vista, where he repeated his action against the fleet in the Battle of Paso de Cuevas.
Reference
- ↑ Hooker, T.D., 2008, The Paraguayan War, Nottingham: Foundry Books, ISBN 1901543153
Bibliography
- Caillet-Bois, Teodoro (1944). Historia Naval Argentina. Buenos Aires: Imprenta López.
- Beverina, Juan (1973). La Guerra del Paraguay (1865-1870). Buenos Aires: Círculo Militar.
- Theotonio Meirelles Da Silva, Historia Naval Brazileira, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008.
- Mendonça, Mário F. e Vasconcelos, Alberto, Repositório de Nomes dos Navios da Esquadra Brasileira, Río de Janeiro, 1959
- Andréa, Júlio, A Marinha Brasileira: florões de glórias e de epopéias memoráveis, Río de Janeiro, SDGM, 1955.
External Links
.svg.png){kind=small}
Francisco Manuel Barroso da Silva.svg.png){kind=small}
José María Bruguez
