Battle of Paso de Mercedes

Battle of Paso de Mercedes
Part of the Paraguayan War
File:Gravura mostrando a esquadra brasileira forçando a Passagem das Mercedes, às 2 horas da tarde do dia 18 de junho de 1865, no rio Paraná, durante a guerra do Paraguai.jpg
Date August 11, 1865 (1865-08-11) Location Corrientes Province, Argentina Result Brazilian victory Warships successfully pass
Belligerents
Empire of Brazil Imperial Navy Marine Corps	Paraguay Paraguayan Army
Commanders and leaders
Francisco M. Barroso	José María Bruguez
Strength
12 ships with 60 cannons	3,000 soldiers with 34 cannons
Casualties and losses
20 killed and injured	2 killed and 8 injured

The Battle of Paso de Mercedes was fought on 11 August 1865 during the Paraguayan invasion of the Argentine province of Corrientes. The battle took place at Bella Vista along the Paraná River, west of Mercedes.

History

File:Emboscada para frota imperial no paso de mercedes.png

This graph shows the Paraguayan plan to ambush the Brazilian imperial fleet at the Passage of the Mercedes on June 18, 1865.

Following the Battle of Riachuelo, José María Bruguez, Paraguayan commander, moved his men and Major Aquino's batteries to Punta Mercedes, about 15 miles north of Stonehouse ( Corrientes), to kilometer 1157 of the Paraná River. in attempt to cut the fleet from their supply base downstream. He chose this position on 15 meter cliffs, as it afforded the guns a good angle on the passing fleet, from which he fired canister and grapeshot. The Brazilian Navy fleet consisted of the Amazonas frigate (flagship), Apa, 6 gunboats: Ipiranga, Beberibe, Mearim, Araguary, Ivahy and Iguatemy; corvettes: Parnahyba, Belmonte, Maje, and Itajaí. Once past the gauntlet, Barroso continued another 9.6 km downstream, where he stopped for the night. Bruguez meanwhile, backed up batteries and headed once again down river to Punta Cuevas, 25 km south of the town of Bella Vista, where he repeated his action against the fleet in the Battle of Paso de Cuevas.

Further reading

• Caillet-Bois, Teodoro (1944). Historia Naval Argentina. Buenos Aires: Imprenta López.
• Beverina, Juan (1973). La Guerra del Paraguay (1865-1870). Buenos Aires: Círculo Militar.
• Theotonio Meirelles Da Silva, Historia Naval Brazileira, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008.
• Mendonça, Mário F. e Vasconcelos, Alberto, Repositório de Nomes dos Navios da Esquadra Brasileira, Río de Janeiro, 1959
• Andréa, Júlio, A Marinha Brasileira: florões de glórias e de epopéias memoráveis, Río de Janeiro, SDGM, 1955.

External links

• Sitio oficial de la Armada de la República Argentina (ARA).
• Historia y Arqueología Marítima Archived 2011-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Maniobras y términos navales
• Corveta Beberibe en naviosbrasileiros.com.br
• Corbeta Beberibé en histarmar.com.ar Archived 2011-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Sitio oficial de la Armada del Brasil, en portugués
• La Artillería Paraguaya en la Guerra contra la Triple Alianza.