Battle of Clarines

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]