It was plain to the meanest trooper, however, that Carabobo must be
held; and on intelligence of the Patriot advance, the position, of
amazing strength, was resolutely occupied. It seemed, indeed, that a
regiment could defend such a pass with ease against an army. In order
to debouch upon the Plain of Carabobo, the Patriots must penetrate a
defile, forming a narrow and tortuous pass, the road through which was
a mere seam at the base of a deep ravine. This narrow passage, through
which, of necessity, Bolivar's troops must march in straggling line,
terminated abruptly in a basin or valley shut in by hills, except
upon the northeast, where it opened upon the boundless expanse of the
contested plain. At the mouth of this gorge La Torre lay with all
his force. Despite the unfavorable condition of his men, with whom,
moreover, he was not popular, the odds seemed overwhelmingly in his
favor. He stood on the defensive, in one of the strongest of military
positions, and well provided with artillery, while his adversary was to
struggle through a narrow valley in the face of his opponents, before
a single man could be made available. The mouth of this valley was
blockaded by the Spanish infantry, who stretched in silent lines from
side to side in the evening of the 23d of June. On either flank, the
hills were occupied by corps of riflemen, and the artillery was posted
at their base. No force, it appeared, could enter the beleaguered valley
and live.
Pages:
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132