Battle of San Francisco
1879 CE.
Shown on the map at -19.667°, -69.950°.
The Battle of San Francisco, also known as the Battle of Dolores, was a major battle in the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific, fought on November 19, 1879, in the Peruvian department of Tarapacá. A Chilean army under Colonel Emilio Sotomayor had moved via Dolores rail road deep into the desert and was encamped at San Francisco Saltpeter Office, about 30 kilometers south east of the port of Pisagua. Allied forces under General Juan Buendía launched an attack on Sotomayor's army. At the beginning, Bolivian General Carlos de Villegas pressed the attack over a poorly defended battery right in the Chilean centre and almost succeeded. Only the arrival of infantry support allowed Colonel José Domingo Amunátegui to hold the position. The Allies also struck with the intention of driving the Chilean defenders away from Dolores well. Buendía hoped to defeat Sotomayor's army before the anticipated arrival of Gen. Erasmo Escala with reinforcements from Hospicio. The allied columns became confused during the fierce fighting, and Sotomayor's men rejected the attacks over its flanks and centre.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of San Francisco, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.