Antonio Obando Salazar (15 January 1788 – 30 December 1849)Pita Pico, Roger (2023) Un Patriota Antiguo: autobiografía y recopilación documental sobre el general Antonio Obando. Bogotá. Academia Colombiana de Historia. p. 78. . was a Colombian military officer and politician who fought in the Colombian War of Independence and later served as Secretary of War and Navy during the presidency of Francisco de Paula Santander and was also commander of the New Granadan Army.
Born in the town of Simacota, in the Socorro Province in the Viceroyalty of New Granada, Obando joined the New Granadan independence movement upon the revolt of July 20, 1810 enlisting in the Patriot army. He would later participate in Nariño's Southern Campaign in 1814 fighting in many of its battles and was promoted to captain. He also fought at the Battle of the Palo River in 1815 and was captured by the Spanish at the Patriot defeat at the Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo in 1816. He narrowly avoided execution by the Spanish and was instead forced to serve in the Spanish army, serving for two years until he managed to escape when his unit was stationed in Venezuela joining the Patriot army of General Simón Bolívar fighting in his campaigns against the Spanish in Venezuela. Obando was one of the officers that accompanied General Francisco de Paula Santander when he was sent by Bolivar to Casanare to build an army for the upcoming New Granadan campaign of 1819. Obando was an infantry battalion commander during the campaign and fought in all of the battles in that campaign that allowed for the liberation of much of New Granada where he was promoted to Colonel.
He then fought in the Southern campaigns of 1820–24 against royalist forces and guerillas where he suffered a series of military defeats that brought sharp criticism from Bolivar. Despite this he continued his military career serving in a variety posts, he was a fervent supporter of Vice-president Santander and the 1821 constitution that Bolivar attempted to do away with.
After the dissolution of Gran Colombia, Obando remained in the military, when Santander returned and was elected President of New Granada he was made part of his cabinet serving as his Secretary of War and Navy during his entire term. After the end of Santander's presidency he was made commander of the army in 1837 but resigned from his post a year later.
After resigning from his post he retired from public life and lived on his farm in Tocaima where he later wrote his autobiography. Obando died on 30 December 1849, and received full military honors.
Early life Antonio Obando Salazar was born on 15 January 1788, in Simacota, which is currently in the Department of Santander, Colombia, at that time it was part of the Province of Socorro, in the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the son of Julián Obando Aparicio and Isabel Salazar Losada y Sarmiento. There he learned to read and write and would later be sent to provincial capital of Socorro to attend grammar school.Pita Pico, Roger (2023) Un Patriota Antiguo: autobiografía y recopilación documental sobre el general Antonio Obando. Bogotá. Academia Colombiana de Historia. p. 83. .
Obando was studying at the Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Santa Fe de Bogotá when the events of 20 July 1810 took place. Together with the priest Juan Nepomuceno Azuero he joined the crowd that gathered in the Plaza Mayor to demand the creation of a junta so that the demands of the people could be heard.
Military career After the events of 20 July 1810, Obando subsequently abandoned his studies and enlisted in the Patriot army, where he was part of the "Militias of Cundinamarca" Battalion reaching the rank of lieutenant by 1812, his unit was part of the troops of General Antonio Nariño, and participated in the Southern Campaign (1813–1814).Baraya, José María (1874) Biografías Militares o Historia Militar del País. Bogotá. Imprenta de Gaitan. p. 237. He fought in the battles of the Alto Palacé and Calibío where he was promoted to captain, as well as Juanambú and Tacines.
After the Patriot defeat the Battle of Ejidos de Pasto in December 1814, which led to the capture of General Nariño, Colonel José María Cabal took what was left of the battered Patriot army and retreated to Popayán and fearing a royalist counteroffensive eventually fell back towards Cali in the Cauca Valley. On 15 April 1815, Obando was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and 3 months later took part in the Battle of the Palo River, his cavalry squadron was placed on the Patriot right flank, he participated in the decisive bayonet charge that decided the battle and defeated the Spanish offensive that aimed to capture the Cauca valley and forced them to retreat back to Pasto allowing the patriots to recapture Popayán. However by August 1815 General Pablo Morillo and the Spanish expeditionary army arrived on the Caribbean coast of New Granada and laid siege to Cartagena de Indias while also deploying forces to invade the interior of the country, the government in Santa Fe transferred many of the battalions of the army of the south which weakened the army.
By 1816 Obando was still in the army of the south and garrisoned in Popayán, with the Spanish reconquest in full swing now with Spanish forces bearing down from the north and renewed offensive led by Brigadier Juan de Sámano marching from Pasto. The small patriot army in Popayán now under Colonel Liborio Mejia attempted to do battle with them meeting Sámano's forces west of Popayán but were defeated at the Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo, Obando along with some other officers managed to escape capture and skirmished with the Spanish at La Plata in July 1816 but were captured.
Despite being an officer (which usually meant summary execution by the Spanish) Obando was spared execution and was subsequently forced to serve in the Spanish Army as part of the 3rd Battalion of Numancia which were deployed to Venezuela to fight against Simón Bolívar's forces in 1817. When his battalion was stationed in Merida, Obando successfully deserted his unit and joined the Patriot forces in the llanos of Venezuela that were under the command of José Antonio Páez.
New Granada Campaign of 1819
By mid-1818, Bolívar sought a shift in his strategy after his last two campaigns had failed to liberate Venezuela from Spanish control and began to devise a military operation to liberate New Granada. However a new army would need be to raised as his forces had been weakened as a result of the last two campaigns, thus he appointed then Colonel Francisco de Paula Santander as commander of the vanguard of the Liberator Army and promoted him to brigadier general tasking him with raising forces in the province of Casanare and provided him with 1,200 muskets, Obando along with Lt. Colonel Jacinto Lara, Sgt. Major Joaquín París, and Captain Vicente González were selected to accompany and help Santander in his task.Riaño, Camilo (1969) La Campaña Libertadora de 1819. Bogotá. Editorial Andes. p. 28. After a few months by February 1819 Santander had managed to impose his authority over the caudillos of the Casanare province and was able to transform the old guerrillas of the area into a force of about 1,200 regular men divided into 2 infantry battalions and a cavalry squadron. One of these battalions would be the line infantry battalion "First of the Line of New Granada" with Obando placed as its commander. In addition to being commander of the First of the Line of New Granada, Obando was also a member of the permanent war council established by General Santander on 24 February 1819 to maintain order and discipline within his forces cantoned in Casanare.Riaño, Camilo (1969) La Campaña Libertadora de 1819. Bogotá. Editorial Andes. p. 38.
While preparations for the campaign were still continuing, at the end of March and the beginning of April, Colonel José María Barreiro, commander of the III division of the royalist army garrisoned in the highlands of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, invaded the Casanare provinces under orders by General Morillo in an attempt to destroy Santander's forces. This campaign would be a resounding failure for the Spanish who, due to desertion and lack of supplies, could not continue the campaign as Santander intelligently withdrew to the vast interior of the plains avoiding combat with the Spanish. With the coming arrival of the rainy season, by late April Barreiro decided to withdraw his army back across the Andes, however he left some detachments to protect the mountain passages of the Cordillera Oriental such as the one placed in Salina de Chita which were composed of two companies from the "King's 1st" infantry battalion.Riaño, Camilo (1969) La Campaña Libertadora de 1819. Bogotá. Editorial Andes. p. 60. Obando was ordered by Santander to harass and attack these forces, thus Obando set out with two companies, one from his battalion and the other from the "Cazadores" battalion and managed to take the town on 23 April, capturing the garrison there and its war material. The royalist prisoners were incorporated into the Patriot army.Riaño, Camilo (1969) La Campaña Libertadora de 1819. Bogotá. Editorial Andes. pp. 61-62. Among the captured material that was found were muskets, ammunition, rations, as well as uniforms among which was an officer's jacket lined with fur cloth that Obando decided to donate to General Santander, Santander would use this jacket during the entirety of the campaign and would also wear it in his entrance to Bogotá on 10 August 1819.
By late May with Barreiro's forces retreated back across the Andes, Santander informed Bolívar of the favorability of starting the campaign. Bolívar agreed, and began his march from the town of Mantecal in the Llanos of Venezuela in late May and arrived in Tame on 12 June where his army joined up with Santander's army, the following days would see Bolívar organize the army. Whilst in Tame, Santander submitted a number of requests for promotions of his officers to Bolívar, which were denied, something that caused animosity from Obando towards Bolívar.Pita Pico, Roger (2023) Un Patriota Antiguo: autobiografía y recopilación documental sobre el general Antonio Obando. Bogotá. Academia Colombiana de Historia. p. 36. . The "Liberator army of New Granada and Venezuela" soon departed Tame for the Andes, Obando took part in the Battle of Paya on 27 June when the vanguard encountered a 300-strong Spanish garrison at Paya, after a few hours of combat the Spanish retreated clearing the way for the army to begin their crossing of the Andes.