After the victory of José Tomás Boves in the Second Battle of La Puerta (15 June), Simón Bolívar evacuated on 6 July what remained of his Patriot army from Caracas, accompanied by two thirds of the population, which were terrified by Boves' reputation for extreme cruelty.

[3] Prior to the main course of battle, a contingent led by José Tadeo Monagas marched with 700 men, including two cavalry contingents, that tracked down and attacked Morales' force, and were able to cause the loss of 600 men, munitions, guns, and horses using a cavalry charge.

This modification proved to be ineffective against the enemy, and Royalist horses ran unabated while the infantry encircled many Patriot controlled areas.

The breaching of the fortification prompted Bolívar to leave the city with 100 soldiers, and only four hours later an assault was made with 250 men by Monagas to destroy two Spanish artillery pieces, which failed and saw nearly all of them wounded or killed.

[4] Patriot General José Félix Ribas proclaimed himself Supreme Chief of the West and ordered that Bolívar and Santiago Mariño must go into exile in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), where they arrived on 19 September.