| Battle of Clarines | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Venezuelan War of Independence | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Third Republic of Venezuela |
 Spanish Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Simón Bolívar Juan Bautista Arismendi |
Francisco Jiménez José María Chaurán Chief Chauràn | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 800-1600 soldiers |
~550 soldiers ~330 native archers +10 horsemen | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~900 | Unknown | ||||||
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Battle of Clarines (Spanish: Batalla de Clarines) took place during the Venezuelan War of Independence. Royalist forces attacked a north-bound force from the Third Republic of Venezuela near the town of Clarines. The outnumbered and poorly armed Royalists secured a victory against the Patriot rebels.
After arriving from Port-au-Prince, revolutionaries Simón Bolívar and Juan Bautista Arismendi gathered a force of 700 soldiers at Margarita Island for a new campaign to take the city of Caracas.[1]
On 9 January 1817, 10 days after Bolívar's and Arismendi's arrival in mainland Venezuela, the force, which had been bolstered with 900 more soldiers, was on the way to Puerto Píritu.[2] It was there that they were attacked by a Royalist force from an entrenched position near the Unare River. The group had around 890 soldiers, including 330 native archers and 10 horsemen.
During the course of battle, a native force led by José María Charuán, Chief of Clarines tribe,[3] marched through the forest to attack the Patriots from the rear. This outflanking maneuver caused the Patriot forces to panic, scatter and be massacred.[4] Many survivors were driven into the forest, where they drowned or were later captured and executed.[5] In all, around 900 Patriot forces were killed.[4][2][6]
The battle was a major loss for the Patriot forces. Few survived the battle, including Bolívar, Arismendi, and five more officers.[2]
Bolívar and Arismendi fled to Barcelona on mules, with Bolívar moving into Guyana to reorganize the Patriot army and prepare for the Second Battle of Angostura.[2]
