Battle of San Francisco

San Francisco is a historical place in northern Chile in the Atacama Desert near Tarapacá . In the Saltpeter War (1879-1883) there was an important battle here , also known as the Battle of Dolores ("Batalla de Dolores").

On November 19, 1879, around 6,000 Chilean soldiers met the troops of Peru and Bolivia under General Juan Buendía . The Peruvian-Bolivian troops were subordinate to 9,000 men. The Chileans came from the direction of Pisagua , where the troops had landed on the beach. Colonel Emilio Sotomayor Baeza occupied the hills around San Francisco in the Pampas of Pozo Dolores.

The battle began in the afternoon of the same day. Buendía finally left the battlefield with his troops. The Chileans lost 62 men and had 187 wounded. After the Bolivians withdrew, the Peruvians had to retreat to Tarapacá .

The victory of the Chileans also led to the withdrawal of the Peruvian-Bolivian troops from the city of Iquique without the Chileans having to attack the city.

Today the area, which is about 1100  m above sea level, is as good as uninhabited.

Coordinates: 19 ° 40 ′ 0 ″  S , 69 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  W.