n, and the
patriots occupy the heights of Loma Blanca, overlooking the plains
of the Maipu.

"Do not await a charge to-day," ordered San Martin; "_but charge_
always within fifty paces!"

At the beginning of the action he said,

"I take the sun to witness that the day is ours."

Just then the sun, which had been clouded, shone from the heavens.

The royal army was defeated. That night of May 5th covered their
flight, and the War of Independence was won.

San Martin began now to plan the liberation of Peru, and to create a
navy for the purpose of commanding the ports of the golden mountains
and rich plateaus of the incarial realms.

In August, 1820, he had gathered a patriot force of 4,500 men at
Valparaiso, and was ready to embark for the conquest by sea. The
army was composed of Argentines and Chilians. A former expedition
had made the way of victory clear to the patriots. The fleet left
Valparaiso August 21, 1820. The army landed in Peru and began
operations near Lima.

San Martin began his Chilian campaign by the liberation of the
slaves, whom he afterward found trusty soldiers. He began the
Peruvian war by issuing a most noble manifesto to his countrymen, in
which he said: "Ever since I came back to my native land, the
independence of Peru has been present in my mind."

And again he grandly announced his future policy in nearly these
words: "From the time that a government is established by the people
of Peru, the army of the Andes will obey its orders."

The army of liberation was as successful in Peru as in Chile. The
empire of the viceroys crumbled and fell. Amid the roar of cannon,
the shouts of the people, and strewing of flowers, the independence
of Peru was proclaimed on July 20, 1821, in the great square of
Lima. San Martin, as in Chile, was offered the supreme authority
under the title of the Protector of Peru. He made use of the office
merely for the pacification of the country. He convened the first
Congress in Peru, and to the new government he addressed the words,
or words like those, that we have quoted at the beginning of this
article. He saw that Bolivar was the man to complete the liberation
and bring about the unity of South America. The cause was all to
him: he was nothing.

To Bolivar he wrote: "My decision is irrevocable. I have convened
the first Congress of Peru. The day of its installation I shall
leave for Chile, convinced that my presence is the only obstacle
that prevents y