Page:A history of Chile.djvu/400

 362 A HISTORY OF CHILE should arrive. The government made an attempt to prevent the destruction of the bridge by dispatching an armed ironclad train, but this novel defense proved a failure. It vsras necessary for the oppositionists, in order to reach Valparaiso, to make a detour of some sixty miles, approaching it from the south. This they attempted to do, but found the government troops occupying a strong position on the heights reaching to and over- looking Paciila, seven miles from Valparaiso. Here they halted on the 27th. Their army was now increased to 12,000 by reinforcements, mostly impressments, and desertions from Balmaceda's army; it was also greatly strengthened by eighteen field-pieces, captured at Con- con. The government force seems to have numbered at this point about nine thousand men, President Bal- maceda not being able to get through seven thousand men he had raised at Santiago, with three field-batteries, owing to the destruction of the railway bridge at Salto. The oppositionists knew, however, that it would only be a matter of a day or two before the president would get reinforcements through, and so determined to at- tack at once. General Barbosa and Alzerreca appear to have disagreed as to the advisability of fighting with their inferior force and poor equipments, but the dis- pute seems to have been settled in favor of giving bat- tle. It was certainly bad generalship to attack twelve thousand well-equipped men with nine thousand, when there were strong detachments,"north and south that, by a little delay, could have been got within support- ing distance. Canto had really outflanked Barbosa, who was trying to defend Valparaiso, and was about three miles dis- tant from him when he drew up his forces on the Las Cadenas farm near Placilla. The northern troops were