producing union among the republicans, or of extinguishing those feuds which had been equally detrimental and disgraceful to their cause. That men engaged in the same cause, and exposed to the same dangers, should waste their strength in their own dissensions at the very time that the common enemy was at the gates of their capitals, and threatening them with one common ruin, evinces the inveteracy of their animosities, and the prevalence of a factious spirit. Such conduct was scarcely less absurd than that of the two owners of a building, who were disputing about the extent of their respective rights to the property, whilst it was in flames, instead of uniting their exertions to save it from the conflagration. Don Bernardo Alvarez, president of Cundinamarca, persisted in refusing to join that province to the confederacy, which it was evident would greatly strengthen the hands of the government, and give energy to the measures that congress were pursuing for the safety of the country. At length, however, being satisfied that the people demanded the union, Alvarez deputed Lozano to treat with the congress, and terms of union were agreed upon; but the president objected to a union, and refused to ratify the treaty. He proposed an alliance, which the congress declined to accept. This was the state of things when Bolivar arrived at Tunja at the close of the year 1814, and engaged in the service of the congress. The confederacy at this time consisted of the provinces of Casanare, Pamplona, Tunja, Neyva, Choco, Popayan, Carthagena, Mariquita, Socorro, and Antioquia. The congress resolved to compel, by military force, the province of Cundinamarca to acknowledge its power and join the confederacy. They accordingly sent Bolivar in December, 1814, to besiege Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the refractory province. His army consisted of that division of the army of Venezuela under general Urdaneta, which, after the defeat of the other two divisions, retreated to Cucuta, and was ordered from thence by the congress to Tunja, with some additional troops. Bolivar stormed the city and obtained possession of its principal suburbs, when Alvarez accepted the terms of capitulation that had been offered, which were that the province should join the confederacy, and enjoy the same privileges as the other confederate states. The electoral college of Santa Fe was then assembled, which ratified the capitulation, and invited the congress to adjourn its session to that capital, which it soon after did.

This union greatly strengthened the arm of the federal government, and with the improvements and changes in the system, which had been made a short time before, gave it power and energy. By these changes, made in September and October preceding, each province, except Casanare, Neyva, and Choco, which were less populous, sent two deputies to the congress, and VOL. II.

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those provinces one; the executive power, which had been exercised by the congress, was confided to three persons appointed by that body, and the federal government possessed authority to carry on the war, and over the finances of the confederate provinces. Don M. R. Torices, Garcia Rubira, and M. Pey, all distinguished for their talents and entire devotion to the republican cause, received the executive appointment. The governors of the provinces were chosen by the electors, but acted as delegates, or officers of the general government, in all concerns relating to the confederacy.

New Granada at this time possessed a prospect of security, stability, and prosperity. Although threatened by the royalists of Venezuela, Quito, and Santa Martha, it possessed the means to repel all their attacks. The government was respected, and the congress had adopted several wise and popular laws, calculated to relieve the burdens of the people, and promote the general prosperity. The monopolies of tobacco, spirituous liquors, and the tribute paid by the Indians were abolished; foreigners were invited into the country, manufactures of arms established, and liberty of speech and of the press were left unrestricted. Many of the most intelligent of the clergy embraced the cause, which was generally popular; some patriotic citizens tendered their services to the government, others made contributions of money, and the friars of the order of St. Dominic, set a worthy example of patriotism, by presenting to the national treasury most of the specie, which for years they had been hoarding up in the sanctuary of Chiquinquira. The government extended its patronage to the botanical expedition under the direction of the celebrated Mutis, which made important discoveries. To prevent the intrigues of the Spaniards, they were banished from the territories of the confederacy, until the independence of the country should be effectually secured; but were permitted to remove or dispose of their property.

The army under Cabal, in Popayan, was re-enforced, and began to make head against the royalists; General Urdaneta was sent with re-enforcements into the province of Pamplona, to repel the royalists of Maracaibo, who harassed the country by their incursions, and, when attacked, retired to their fastnesses in the forests bordering on the river Zulia. But against the royalists of Santa Martha, the principal force of the republic was directed, under Bolivar, who was appointed captain-general of the armies of New Granada and Venezuela. The government and their general in chief made great exertions to ensure success to this expedition, as the occupation of the province of Santa Martha would have been of great advantage to the patriots, in case the expedition then preparing at Cadiz should be directed against

New Granada. With very great exertions 3000 men were raised, at the head of which Bolivar marched as far as the town of Mompox, on the river Magdalena. Here he halted to obtain from the province of Carthagena the additional men and arms which the congress had ordered as its quota of troops for the expedition. Bolivar applied to the governor of Carthagena for the re-enforcement and supplies which the congress had ordered; but Don M. Castillo, military commandant of Carthagena, being a personal enemy of Bolivar, exerted all his influence with the governor to prevent his complying with the demands of the congress, and unfortunately was too successful. The pretences he made use of, were, that Bolivar entertained ambitious views, and had injured the cause by his sanguinary career in Venezuela. The remonstrances of Bolivar were unavailing; the governor obstinately refused to comply with the requisitions of congress, and Bolivar, disappointed and chagrined at this unexpected delay, and exasperated at the unjustifiable conduct of Castillo and the governor, determined to stand by his arms. Accordingly he immediately marched against, and laid siege to the town of Carthagena, in hopes to obtain by force, what he had failed to accomplish by peaceable means; and to compel the governor of Carthagena to obey the authority of the congress, as he had before, that of Santa Fe. Carthagena being a strong place, was enabled to defend itself; for which object, the troops were collected from other parts of the province, leaving it defenceless, for the purpose of carrying on a civil war. The royalists taking advantage of this, conquered Mompox, and most of the province of Carthagena with little or no opposition, whilst the republicans were disgracefully weakening and destroying themselves by their own dissensions. This civil war completely frustrated all the judicious measures of the federal government, and threatened the total ruin of the cause of the patriots. It continued to rage until the expedition from Cadiz, the most formidable ever sent by Spain to America, appeared off the coast of Venezuela. When intelligence of this reached Carthagena, Bolivar, whose heart was never for a moment estranged from the great cause of independence, however he may have been led to engage in the civil contests from exasperated feelings, or misguided notions of expediency, would not suffer a contest to be prolonged, which, under existing circumstances, must be attended with the most fatal consequences. He proposed to the government of Carthagena that he would retire from the province and leave his army, now considerably reduced by the civil war and disease, to co-operate in the defence of the city, against the expected attack from the expedition from Spain.

This expedition consisted of ten thousand of the chosen and

best troops of Spain, conveyed in fifty transport ships, and protected by two frigates; the fitting it out had nearly exhausted the national resources. It was commanded by general Morillo, whose memory will be held in perpetual detestation for his cruelties in Colombia. The armament appeared before Carupano about the middle of April, 1815, and was justly regarded as the harbinger of scenes of devastation and blood, surpassing what had already been witnessed. Universal alarm spread among the patriots throughout Venezuela and New Granada. From Carupano, Morillo proceeded against the island of Margarita, where general Bermudas, with the remnant of his troops, and many of the patriots of Venezuela had repaired. All the exertions of the patriots were not sufficient to defend the island against the powerful force of Morillo; he, however, lost one of his frigates, the San Pedro Alcantara. The patriots mostly escaped, embarking for Carthagena and the West India islands. From Margarita, Morillo proceeded to Caraccas, then in possession of the royalists, where, and at other cities on the coast of Venezuela, he left two thousand of his troops; but received in exchange for those left, some troops that were previously stationed at Caraccas. In the month of June, the expedition sailed from Porto Cavello for the purpose of besieging Carthagena, but did not commence the siege until August.

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Carthagena is situated on a bay, nine miles in extent, and is divided into two parts: the city, properly so called, and Gimani, a suburb. The city is surrounded by a thick and high wall; a wall also stands in front of Gimani, which is built in a circular form a ditch or channel, fortified by stoccadoes on each side, joins the walls of Gimani with the city. On the east of the city is a fort, which overlooks Gimani; and the batteries on the hill, called Lapopa, about 150 yards distant, command the fort, and protect the town and its environs. North of Lapopa is lake Tesca, which communicates with a ditch or channel, that divides the city from Gimani, but the two divisions of the city are connected by a bridge. Morillo fixed his head quarters twelve miles from the city, at a place called Turbaco, and formed his line so as to cut off all communication by land with the town. Colonel Soublet commanded Lapopa, which was attacked by the royalists on the 11th of November, but they were repulsed with considerable loss. By the erection of batteries, and the introduction of gun boats into the bay, they succeeded however, in cutting off the communication with the sea, by Boca Granda, one of the outlets to the ocean, which deprived the besieged of all means of receiving provisions into the town. The city was twice bombarded; but suffered most from the want of provisions, which, after a siege of nearly four months, compelled the patriots to

abandon it to the royalists. A general meeting was held on the 13th of October, which resolved to put the province of Carthagena under the protection of the British government: and Mr. Hislop, an English merchant, was despatched to London for this purpose. But before any answer was received to his despatches, the famine raged to such a degree that it became necessary to abandon the city. The beginning of December, the deaths amounted to 100 persons daily. On the 5th of December the place was evacuated. More than 2000 persons left the city, in eleven ships, most of them armed; the armament was attacked by the royalists, who were repulsed; and having taken on board the garrison of Bocachica, it sailed out of the harbour, and left the city to their enemies, which had now become one vast charnel-house. The next day the Spaniards took possession of it. Most of the patriots proceeded to Aux Cayes.

The following translation from the official letter to his government of Montalvo, the captain-general, exhibits a picture of horror that almost staggers belief. "The horrible appearance of

the city is scarcely to be described: the streets, and even the houses, were heaped up with dead bodies, or with those who were expiring; the atmosphere was in a pestilential state, which nearly stopped respiration; groans and lamentations assailed our

ears."

A list of prisoners was delivered by Morillo to Montalvo, with an intimation that they ought to be tried by the permanent council of the army; but the captain-general, by the advice of his assessor, or lawyer, had them tried by a common council of war, by which they were condemned to death. And notwithstanding that the judges of the court of audience, who were consulted after their condemnation, declared the proceedings illegal, Don M. Castillo, Garcia Toledo, Ayos M. Granados, M. Amador, M. Portocarrero, M. Anguiano, M. Angulo, and S. Stewart, were executed on the 24th of January, 1816. Montalvo assigns among other reasons, for these executions, that it would have been scandalous to have sent these rebels to Spain, when others less criminal had been executed by Morillo; and declares that these were the first executions he had ordered, and that he was the only one of the Spanish chiefs in America, whose conduct had been so humane. "Unfortunately," he says, "the war now presents so direful an aspect, that it is not easy to foresee its termination. might have been prevented in the beginning; perhaps then to have punished the heads of the revolution would have been sufficient, and peace might have been restored by a steady conduct, politic measures, and mildness in the chiefs, which always sooner or later produce good effects."

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There was about 2000 troops at Carthagena when the place VOL. II.

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