Seeing This, And Considering That The Artillery Of The Royal Army Was Too Insignificant To Do Much Service, Carvajal Determined To Leave It Behind That The Army Might Advance More Quickly.

At this time Don Diego and his officers had arranged their army in order, the cavalry divided on the two wings, and the infantry in the centre, having their cannon in front, directly over against the only ground by which the royalists could advance to the attack.

The rebels believed it would argue timidity in them thus to wait for the enemy, and that it was proper for them to advance and meet them half way. This movement was much against the opinion and advice of Pedro Suarez, serjeant-major to Don Diego, a brave and experienced officer; who remonstrated that, as the enemy had to advance over a plain of considerable extent, they would be greatly injured by the artillery before they could come to the charge, whereas by advancing the troops of Don Diego would shorten this dangerous way for their enemies, and would lose an excellent advantage now in their power. Nothwithstanding this judicious remonstrance the Almagrian army continued to advance, and took post near a rising ground over which the royalists had to march, and after which the rebel artillery could do them very little harm, and was unable to prevent them from charging, as the way between was very short. Suarez was so much dissatisfied at his advice being thus despised, that he set spurs to his horse and galloped over to the royalist army.

About this time the Indians under the command of Paullu the brother of Inca Manco Capac, attacked the left wing of the royalists with repeated vollies of stones and arrows, but were soon put to flight by a few discharges from the musqueteers. Martin Cote who commanded a company of musqueteers on the side of Almagro, advanced to that side and began to skirmish with the adverse musqueteers of Nunno de Castro. At this time the royalists, advancing slowly and in good order to the music of their drums and trumpets, made their appearance on the height, where they halted as waiting an opportunity to charge, in hopes that the incessant discharge from the artillery of the enemy might relax. Although now so near, the rebel artillery did them very little harm, as having to point upwards, most of their balls flew too high, whereas if the royalists had advanced only twenty paces farther, they would have been exposed to point blank shot. The infantry indeed of the royalists suffered materially at this time, as they were more directly exposed to the shot, insomuch that by one ball a whole file of seventeen men was brought down. This made a wide gap in the battalion, which the officers took care immediately to fill up. The serjeant-major, Francisco de Carvajal, still held back the royalist cavalry from the charge, waiting for some relaxation in the fury of the adverse artillery, by which the captains Pedro Alvarez Holguin and Gomez de Tordoya were both slain, and several others were killed and wounded by every discharge.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 397 of 421
Words from 208347 to 208871 of 221091