Data
Date	February 3, 1813.
Place	San Lorenzo (current Santa Fe, Argentina).
Belligerents	Patriot Army vs. Spanish royalists.
Outcome	Patriot army victory.

The Battle of San Lorenzo was an armed confrontation that occurred on February 3, 1813 in the city of San Lorenzo , present-day Santa Fe province, Argentina.

In this combat the following sides faced each other:

• The patriot army, together with the Regiment of Grenadiers on Horseback, under the command of Colonel José de San Martín .
• The royalist army , under the command of Antonio de Zabala, representing the Spanish Crown.

More than a battle, the conflict consisted of the combat of San Lorenzo, due to its short duration (15 minutes) and the small number of soldiers who participated. In any case, it constitutes an important historical event, both for the Independence of Argentina and for the independence of the peoples of South America.

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General San Martín’s combat strategy consisted of hiding in the Franciscan convent of San Carlos de Borromeo, in the town of San Lorenzo, on the banks of the Paraná River and close to the route generally used by the Spaniards settled in Montevideo to supply their town.

Thus, when the royalists arrived by boat from Montevideo , they were surprised by the attack of the patriotic forces.

This was the only combat carried out on Argentine soil by General José de San Martín and his Grenadier Regiment on horseback, and approximately 250 Spaniards and 175 soldiers from the River Plate participated in it.

Causes and consequences

Causes What was the battle of San Lorenzo

In the early 1800s, the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata had organized a very important independence movement, and in 1813, Buenos Aires, which had been the most important city of the viceroyalty, was in the hands of the patriots .

For this reason, the Spanish Crown appointed Montevideo as the temporary capital of the viceroyalty and this became the military and naval headquarters of the metropolis in South America. From there the Spaniards carried out constant armed attacks on Buenos Aires, in order to stop the independence movement.

On the other hand, the supply of Montevideo was carried out by river, through the Río de la Plata, which is why Spanish expeditions frequently left to the interior of the province, which were easy targets for the patriots of Argentina to attack.

For the patriotic authorities, stopping this connection between Montevideo and the towns of the interior meant a weakening of the royalist troops that would allow the independence movement to advance .

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Consequences What was the battle of San Lorenzo

The main consequences that the combat of San Lorenzo produced were the following:

• The Spanish stopped making incursions from Montevideo across the river, which meant a progressive weakening of the royalists and allowed the Spaniards to be dislodged from present-day Uruguay later on .
• It produced an environment of security for all the inhabitants of the nearby provinces who constantly suffered the siege, confiscation of livestock and money by the Spanish troops.
• It allowed commercial fluidity with Paraguay , which was an important source of food and trade for the time.
• It represented the definitive impulse of a whole great independence campaign in the south of the American continent.