The Voltigeurs of the Guard Battalion (), originally formed as the Numancia Battalion (), was a battalion of the Spanish American troops of the Spanish Army formed by Pablo Morillo in Venezuela to reinforce the Spanish Army in Peru Viceroyalty during the Spanish American wars of independence. The Numancia marched on foot—an arduous journey of over 3,600 km from New Granada—crossing the Province of Quito and arriving in Lima in February 1819. They subsequently moved to Trujillo, where the 5th and 6th companies, which were severely understrength, filled their ranks with Peruvian recruits. At that time, the unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Delgado decide to join the Patriot governments by crossing the Huaura River on December 2, 1820.
Once the army was formally incorporated in Huaura, it changed its name and went on to fight in the Peruvian War of Independence, most notably in the decisive Battle of Ayacucho, which consolidated the country's independence that was first declared in 1821.
See also Peruvian War of Independence Venezuelan War of Independence
References