The royalist surrender at Salta secured Patriot control over most of the northern territories of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
Key Facts
- Date
- February 20, 1813
- Location
- Plains of Castañares, north of Salta
- Patriot commander
- General Manuel Belgrano
- Royalist commander
- General Pío de Tristán
- Outcome
- Unconditional royalist surrender
- Preceding battle
- Battle of Tucumán, September 1812
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Patriot victory at the Battle of Tucumán in September 1812, General Manuel Belgrano's Army of the North pursued the retreating royalist forces under General Pío de Tristán northward, seeking to consolidate control over the upper provinces of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata during the Argentine War of Independence.
On February 20, 1813, the Army of the North engaged royalist troops on the plains of Castañares, north of present-day Salta. Belgrano's forces defeated Tristán's army for the second consecutive time, forcing a complete capitulation of the royalist contingent in a decisive engagement.
The unconditional surrender of Tristán's royalist troops gave the Patriot cause firm control over most of the northern territories formerly belonging to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, significantly weakening royalist military capacity in the region and advancing Argentine independence efforts.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Manuel Belgrano.
Side B
1 belligerent
Pío de Tristán.