Governor Tacón, being a skilled politician, encouraged loyalty to the crown in Pasto, upheld obedience to the Council of Regency, and dissolved the Security Junta by taking advantage of the divisions among the patriots.

These threats coupled with news that reached Cali about the military preparations being made by the governor to dissolve the Governing Junta forced the patriots of the Valle del Cauca to begin the steps to organize their own army.

On of the first steps in organizing this force was taken when the patriots seized 200 rifles that were being transported from Panama to Popayán at the port of Buenaventura, as well as gathering all the other weapons that were available in the Valley.

[12] Along with troops received from Santafe, the patriots in the Valley also received support from the Neiva Province in the east, where priest Andrés Ordóñez, a patriot sympathizer, began to organize guerrilla forces composed of the indigenous peoples of that province, they were armed with only a few rifles and were primarily wielded lances, they also constructed fake cannons made out of Guadua wood which were painted to look like real ones.

The 30 troops he had positioned in the town of Inzá to cover his western flank were forced to withdraw by patriot guerrillas, who captured 16 of them as well as 10 rifles and other supplies.

He imprisoned suspected patriot sympathizers in Popayán and, in an effort to bolster his forces, decreed that slaves would be granted their freedom if they volunteered to fight in the royalist army.

There was relatively little movement for the next lthree months as Colonel Baraya had received instructions from the Junta in Santafé to exhaust all possible means to reach a settlement with Tacón before launching a campaign, although he took several measures to attempt this, they alll ended without any favorable results.

However, this cautious measure had to be immediately revised, as it was impossible to force the surrender of a city by blocking supply routes from only one direction while leaving the communication lines with royalist Pasto untouched.

To do this, he concentrated his forces at a site known as Corrales, the combined Valle del Cauca and Santafé patriot army consisted of 450 infantry soldiers, 350 cavalrymen, and 300 foot lancers.

This detachment continued its march along remote paths, taking all necessary security measures in response to reports that the enemy had a strong vanguard stationed near the river.

Meanwhile, the main army was marching in the same direction, led by a vanguard under the command of Lieutenant Atanasio Girardot, consisting of 75 infantrymen, 35 cavalrymen, and 80 foot lancers.

Determined to continue his march toward the city and convinced that his enemy would not leave their entrenchments on its outskirts, Baraya deployed a vanguard consisting of 100 infantrymen and the artillery to the heights near the Cofre River.

On March 27 at 6:00 AM, he sent a 30-man reconnaissance patrol under the command of Captain Ignacio Torres and officers Miguel Cabal and José María Materón to establish contact with the patriot forces from Neiva, whose government had agreed to incorporate them into the army of Valle del Cauca.

On the morning of March 28, at seven o’clock, they encountered the patriot vanguard, whose commander, Lieutenant Atanasio Girardot, had imprudently advanced from the Cofre River, the location designated by Colonel Baraya as the assembly point.

However, the courage of Lieutenant Girardot and his troops managed to hold back the royalist advance, preventing the surprise attack from having disastrous consequences for the independence cause.

[19] In response, Colonel Baraya ordered Ensign José María Cancino to position the patriot artillery—four small cannons—engaging in an artillery duel with the royalist forces.

[19] With this powerful momentum, the patriot infantry, emboldened by the cavalry’s success, launched a bayonet charge, shattering the formations of the king’s troops.

At dawn on March 29, he received a communication from the cabildo of Popayán proposing a cessation of hostilities, as they had assumed control of the government following Governor Tacón’s flight to Pasto.

In his report on the battle, Colonel Baraya left the following statement:"All officers and soldiers fulfilled their duty to my satisfaction in this glorious and forever memorable action.

However, I especially commend Lieutenant Atanasio Girardot, Artillery Ensign José María Cancino, and Sergeant Major Márquez, who distinguished themselves in the battle.