BATTLE // November 19, 1879

Battle of San Francisco

Name: Battle of San Francisco
Start: 1879-11-19
End: 1879-11-19
Location: Battle of San Francisco

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Significance

The Battle of San Francisco was a major engagement in the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific, fought as Chilean forces under Colonel Emilio Sotomayor held a position at the San Francisco Saltpeter Office deep in the Peruvian department of Tarapacá. The Allied assault, launched by General Juan Buendía with a numerically superior force of over 9,000 against roughly 6,500 Chileans, failed to dislodge the Chilean position. Peruvian casualties reached approximately 1,500. The Chilean hold on this desert interior position sustained the momentum of the Tarapacá Campaign, which aimed at securing the nitrate-rich province that lay at the economic heart of the wider conflict.

Tactics

Allied forces under General Buendía launched a direct assault on the Chilean encampment at the San Francisco Saltpeter Office. Bolivian General Carlos de Villegas pressed the attack against a poorly defended battery in the Chilean centre and came close to breaking through. Chilean Colonel José Domingo Amunátegui stabilized the position only after infantry support arrived, preventing the collapse of the centre and ultimately repelling the Allied assault.