Page:The History of San Martin (1893).djvu/200

 of the centre, Primo de Rivera led the right wing and Colonel Latorre the left; so, in deep silence, they marched across the Cancha-Rayada, straight upon the watch-fires of the Patriot vanguard.

Meantime San Martin, warned by a spy of what was going forward in the Royalist camp, and seeing that his troops were in the worst possible position to resist a night attack, had marched several battalions and the Chilian artillery from his front to a strong position on his extreme right. The broken nature of the ground much retarded the manœuvre, and the rest of the army had not moved at all when the cavalry outposts gave warning of the approach of the enemy.

The right of the Royalist army, having the least distance to march, was the first to come into action, and was received by O'Higgins with so heavy a fire, whilst at the same time a detached company under Captain Dehesa opened fire on their left, that for a moment the advance was checked, till Ordoñez in person led them again to the charge. O'Higgins had his horse killed under him and received a ball in the elbow. From this moment all was confusion in the Patriot camp. The artillery was abandoned and the grenadiers on the extreme left, roused from sleep by the firing, fled in a panic. The cavalry of the right retired upon the reserves, and were received by a volley of musketry under the belief that they were Spaniards. Alvarado, with the 1 Light Infantry, passed behind the Royalist line and joined the right wing, being also taken for a Spanish corps and losing twenty-one men by the fire of his own friends before the mistake was discovered. The 2nd Chilian infantry, under command of an Italian officer, moved to the rear, and also reached the right wing in safety.

Ordoñez pushed on to a hill in the rear of the Patriot position, then halted and opened fire in every direction. One of these chance shots killed an aide-de-camp of San Martin at his side, and after some fruitless efforts to restore