Battle of Bajo Palacé

Battle context

The Battle of Bajo Palacé stands as the first major military campaign of the Colombian War of Independence, marking an early Patriot victory over Spanish royalist forces. Fought on the banks of the Palacé River at the crossing of the Camino Real north of Popayán, the engagement pitted the Confederated Cities of the Cauca Valley and the Supreme Junta of Santafé, fielding 1,300 men, against a royalist force of 1,500 under Miguel Tacón y Rosique. The royalists suffered around 100 casualties. Control of the Palacé bridge was strategically significant as it sat on the main road linking Popayán to Cali, meaning the Patriot outcome denied royalist forces uncontested use of a key artery through the Cauca Valley in the early phase of the independence struggle.