Don Diego Complained Loudly Of Vaca De Castro
For Sending Spies To Corrupt His Followers While Making Offers Of
Accommodation;
And drawing out his army in complete order before the
governors messengers, he ordered all his officers to prepare for
Battle,
promising that whoever killed any of the hostile inhabitants of the
country, should be rewarded with the wife, lands, Indians, and wealth of
the slain. He then gave an answer to the governors message, that he would
never acknowledge or obey him so long as he was associated with his
enemies, Pedro Alvarez Holguin, Alonso de Alvarado, Gomez de Tordoya, Juan
de Saavedra, Garcilasso de la Vega, Yllen Suarez de Carvajal, Gomez de
Alvarado, and others of that party. That he would never disband his army,
unless he received a formal amnesty under the royal sign manual; as he
could not give faith to one signed by the Cardinal de Loaysa. That de
Castro was much mistaken in supposing any of his army would abandon him,
and might therefore prepare for battle, as he was determined to defend the
country to his last breath.
On receiving this resolute answer, Vaca de Castro marched his army to a
small distance from Guamanga, where the ground was too rough and uneven
for his cavalry, and took up a position in a smooth plain named _Chupaz_,
where he remained three days, during all which time it never ceased
raining, as it was then the middle of winter, yet the troops were forced
to be always under arms and ready for action, as the enemy was very near.
He had resolved to give battle, us the enemy obstinately refused all
accommodation; yet finding that several persons in his army seemed to
hesitate on account of the disapprobation which his majesty had evinced
respecting the former battle of _Salinas_, on which account Ferdinand
Pizarro was detained in prison, he judged it proper to take some formal
judicial steps, both for his own justification, and to satisfy the
scruples of his troops. He pronounced therefore a formal sentence against
Don Diego, whom he declared a traitor and rebel, condemning him and all
his adherents to death and the confiscation of all their goods. After
signing this judicial sentence in the presence of the whole army, he
commanded the officers to give him asistance for carrying it into
execution.
Next morning, being Saturday, the scouts brought intelligence after mass
that the enemy, who had encamped for the night at two short leagues
distance, was very near, and in full march towards the left of the
royalist camp, advancing by some low hills to avoid a marsh which covered
the front of the royalists. Don Diego wished to gain possession of
Guamanga before giving battle, and entertained no doubt of being
victorious, trusting to his great superiority in artillery over the
royalist army. When the two armies were so near that the advanced guards
were within musket shot, the governor detached Captain Castro with fifty
musqueteers to skirmish with the enemy, while the rest of his troops
marched up the slope of a hill on purpose to intercept the march of the
rebels. This movement was liable to considerable danger, as Don Diego
might have done the royalists much damage by means of his artillery if he
had taken advantage of the nature of the ground in proper time; for during
this conversion, the royalist infantry were often obliged to halt to
recover their order, which was much deranged by the difficulty of the
ground. When Carvajal the serjeant-major observed this circumstance, he
ordered all the troops to gain the height as quickly as possible without
preserving any precise order of march, and to form again when they were
arrived at the summit. They accordingly got all up, while Captain Castro
and his musqueteers were skirmishing with the troops of Don Diego; who
likewise continued his march, and drew up in order of battle.
After the royal army had been marshalled in good order by the
serjeant-major, the governor made them a speech, in which he exhorted them
to recollect that they were loyal Spaniards who were fighting in the just
cause of their sovereign. He told them that the fate of Peru was now in
their hands and depended on their courage. If defeated he and they could
only expect to be put to death; but if victorious, besides the important
service to the king, which they were bound as good and loyal subjects to
perform, they would thereby secure the possession of their estates and
effects, and to such as had none he would provide amply in the name and by
the authority of his majesty, who only desired to preserve the sovereignty
of Peru, that he might divide it among those who served him faithfully. In
conclusion, he said there needed not a long harangue to encourage
gentlemen of honour and brave soldiers to do their duty, whose example he
proposed to himself to follow, not pretending to give them one; yet, as a
proof that he meant to imitate their bravery, he intended to march at
their head and should be among the first to break a lance. They all
declared that they would do their duty manfully, and would rather be cut
to pieces than allow themselves to be defeated, as they all considered
themselves interested in the success of the war on their own accounts, as
well as from duty to the king. All the officers earnestly intreated Vaca
de Castro not to hazard himself in the front of battle, insisting that he
should take post in the rear with thirty horsemen, whence he might send
succour to wherever it might be needed. He consented to this, and as the
day drew towards a close, being within an hour and a half of sunset, he
proposed to postpone the battle till next morning. But Alonso de Alvarado
assured him that he would be defeated if he delayed, as the whole army
seemed then animated by the best resolution, and it was impossible to say
whether some might not change their sentiments during the night.
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