At the Battle of Boyacá on August 7, 1819, Sandes' Rifles Battalion led a bayonet charge on the royalist artillery which turned the tide of the battle. Bolivar credited them with the victory saying ""those soldier-liberators are the men who deserve these laurels" " They were awarded with the ‘Order of the Liberator’ one of the rare occasions during the war when this decoration was bestowed onto an entire unit.