We have already stated that Carthagena had, when the disturbances first began, declined joining the party that had predominated in the capital. The When Bolivar reached Tunja, the congress was engaged in hostilities with its own refractory capital, the city of Santa F6 de Bogota. The command of an army was offered to him ; he marched at its head, and succeeded in reducing the citizens to submis sion. He was then commissioned to join with the republicans of Carthagena, and reduce to the autho rity of the congress the royalist province of Santa Marta. The president of Carthagena refused, as he declared, on account of the sanguinary conduct of Bolivar, and his ambitious views, to co-operate with him, and thus hostilities were again kindled be tween the two provinces. Bolivar entered the pro vince of Carthagena, and advanced to besiege the capital, hoping to reduce it, and compel it to sub mit to the congress. At this period, intelligence ar rived that the forces from Spain had reached the shores of America. Bolivar quickly accommodated his disputes with the republicans in Carthagena, en tered with his forces into the city, and resolved to contribute with them to its defence.
We have now brought down the transactions of these different communities to the same period,—the time when the forces from Spain first reached these shores in the middle of the year 1815. Before the narrative proceeds, it may not be improper to re mark, that the scenes of confusion, the exhibitions of cruelty, and waste of human life, which we have avoided drawing in their deepest colours, arose sole ly from internal causes. Not a battalion from Spain had arrived. No external hostilities were even threatened ; the vengeful feelings of rude and un cultivated men were stimulated by representations of the happiness to be derived from the various sys tems of government which different parties patron ized, and they were alone sufficient to produce all the atrocities that were exhibited. The reader would sicken at the recital of the bloody docu ments from which this narrative has been framed ; but as some specimen ought to be shown of the tem per of the contending parties, we relate two transac tions, which are too well authenticated to admit of a doubt, and the actors in which were not Spaniards but Americans, prompted by direful hatred, or po litical fury. Puy, a royalist chief, was at Barinas, where had been brought five hundred and seventy four persons of the opposite party, who were to be detained for examination. A report reached Ba rinas that the republicans, with superior numbers, were at hand, the execution of these prisoners be gan, and five hundred had been dispatched, when one of Puy's aid-de-camps reported that the enemy would be instantly upon them. " Have we not time," demanded the chief, " to execute the remaining se venty-four prisoners ?" " No," replied the officer, the retreat began, and thus these were saved. The apologist for Bolivar, in a narrative drawn up to ex culpate him, says, " The massacre of three of the inhabitants of Ocumare in the church, created in dignation in the mind of Bolivar, who, thirsting with revenge, though overpowered with care, did not know on which side to turn his attention. In one of those agonizing moments, in which his soul was first sway ed by fear, then worked up to anger, he gave orders for the execution of the prisoners, and, shocking to lerate, eight hundred were killed on this occasion." When the royalist commandant at Puerto Cavallo heard of these executions, he put to death all his prisoners, amounting to several hundreds.
When Ferdinand was restored to his throne, the knowledge of that event produced a calm through out the American dominions. It was, however, but of short duration ; those who held the power were unwilling to relinquish it at the call of the people, in whose name they pretended to rule. It was ne cessary to temporise, and they stated that deputies should be sent to Madrid to secure a general amnes ty, and to reconcile them to their liberated monarch. At the same time, other deputies were sent to England, with offers of exclusive commerce for a term of years, upon condition of supporting their resistance; and others were sent to the United States of America and to France with similar pro posals. Spain was in too exhausted a state to send numerous armies, even if she had not been induced to suspend her armaments, from the assurances of fidelity and submission which the deputies were in structed to make. At length, however, a force under Morillo sailed and arrived, whilst hostilities were raging, with the greatest fury, between the dif ferent prude. of Americans. The first important operation was the siege of Carthagena, within which Bolivar and his forces were inclosed. That chief escaped with a portion of his troops, and abandoned the city to its fate. A protracted siege, with far more than its usual share of horrors, was at length followed by the surrender. The Spaniards entered it on the 6th December 1815.
Morillo, after the capture of Carthagena, made preparations to scatter the congress, occupy the ca pital, and tranquillize the country. Mompox, an important town on the river Magdalena, had been taken by the royalists from Santa Marta ; this faci litated the operations of the Spanish general, who, with little loss, reached that place in March 1816. The congress of New Granada collected all their forces to oppose the regular troops, who, elated with success in their first operation, defeated a more numerous army, which with desperation at Cachiri. After this defeat, it rallied and fought an other battle, with rather more success, at Remedios, but it was unable to withstand regular troops, and at length dispersed, when Morillo finished the war by the capture of Santa Fe de Bogota, which he entered in June 1816. The congress had dispersed, some of the members were taken, several of them executed, with but little formality of trial, and some escaped to the English islands and the United States of America. Though the Spaniards caused several executions of the leading political men in Santa F6, there was none of that indiscriminate slaughter and general pillage which the city had experienced when captured before by Bolivar. Tranquillity had been restored so fur, that neither juntas nor armies ex isted ; but bands of robbers ravaged the country, too powerful to be kept in awe by the regular magi stracy, though too weak to make opposition to the regular forces. Morillo, on his way to Cartha roe, had captured the Island of Margarita, which is a strong post, and enjoys the benefit of an excel lent harbour, easy to be defended. After he left that place, the inhabitants, under Arismendi, threw of the yoke of Spain, asserted their independence, and strengthened the fortifications. Bolivar had 'saved the wreck of his army, and after recruiting them at Aux Cayes, in the Island of St Domingo, repaired with his forces to the asylum which Ads mendi had provided, and was there soon joined by Brion with some vessels that he had procured.