Vargas Swamp Lancers Memorial

About

The Vargas Swamp Lancers Memorial was dedicated in 1970, on the 150th anniversary of the Colombian Declaration of Independence. The grand, 33-meter-high statue depicts 14 soldiers on horseback charging towards their foes - a heroic, and pivotal point in the Colombian War of Independence. During the Vargas Swamp Battle in 1819, Simón Bolívar and his exhausted troops faced off against the larger and better-positioned Royalist army. The battle appeared to be going towards a Spanish victory, even after a costly bayonet charge helped Bolívar’s forces regain their footing. It was the ride of the 14 Venezuelan and Colombian lancers who broke the Royalist lines and ultimately won the battle. It was the Vargas Swamp Battle and subsequent victory at Boyacá Bridge that secured New Granada’s independence from Spain.