Battle of Alegría de Álava The Battle of Alegría de Álava ( " Acción de Alegría de Álava " or " Batalla de Alegría " ) , a battle of the First Carlist War , occurred on October 27 , 1834 at the field called Chinchetru , at Alegría de Álava , Álava , Spain . It was a Carlist victory . Carlist forces were led by Tomás de Zumalacárregui , who ambushed Isabeline ( Liberal ) troops under Manuel O ' Doyle . Background . The Isabeline ( Liberal ) army under José Ramón Rodil , after a disastrous campaign during the summer of 1834 , had attempted to destroy Zumalacárregui ’ s army and arrest Infante Carlos , Count of Molina . However , Rodil ’ s forces had been reduced by the Carlists by September 1834 . Rodil was forced to give up command to Manuel Lorenzo . Rodil marched towards Madrid , taking with him as escort , as he approached Vitoria - Gasteiz , a division led by O ' Doyle , which had belonged to the Liberal Army of Navarre . Rodil , without authorization , placed O ' Doyle ’ s troops under the command of Joaquín de Osma , commander - general of the Basque provinces and who was based at Vitoria . The Isabeline troops of Navarre , thus reduced , were unable to keep up with the rapid movements of Zumalacárregui ’ s army . Zumalacárregui approached the Ebro with the intention of attacking the Riojan place known as Ezcaray , 40 km south of the river . Ezcaray was the site of important factories producing cotton cloths ; Zumalacárregui wanted this cloth in order to create winter uniforms for his troops . Zumalacárregui ’ s scouts explored this area to carry out this plan . Zumalacárregui meanwhile received information on October 20 , 1834 that a convoy of arms was traveling from Burgos to Logroño and that it would use the nearby royal road ( " camino real " ) as it neared the Ebro . Zumalacárregui attempted to pursue the convoy on October 21 with four battalions and three squadrons , and he crossed the Ebro at Tronconegro . However , the convoy by now had passed . Zumalacárregui rapidly marched in pursuit of the convoy , but he was stopped at Cenicero by the urban militia there , which supported the Liberals and who were stationed at the church of Cenicero . Zumalacárregui was forced to go around the town and his cavalry managed to reach the convoy , which was in sight of Logroño . Zumalacárregui captured this rich booty , burned down the church of Cenicero , crossed the Ebro on October 22 at Tronconegro , and marched towards Navarre . His troops were then stationed in towns in the valley of La Berrueza . On October 21 , at the last minute , the Liberals at Vitoria received news of Zumalacárregui ’ s incursion , and Osma ordered O ' Doyle to march on the Ebro with his division , composed of the Queen ' s First and Second Regiments , the First African Regiment , the First and Second Regiments of Carabiniers , and the battalion of Bujalance . O ' Doyle was ordered to march on the Ebro at Peñacerrada to cut Zumalacárregui off . O ' Doyle reached Peñacerrada on October 22 , during the afternoon , and learned that the Carlists were north of the Ebro . O ' Doyle marched the next day through the valley of the Ega River , and his troops rested for the night at Lagrán . On the 24th , the Liberals reached Maetzu . The Liberal troops , exhausted and short on supplies , rested for a full day , the 25th . On the 26th of October , the troops left Maetzu , crossed the ridge of Andía , and after marching for 22 km , reached Alegría de Álava . Osma then ordered O ’ Doyle to disperse the Liberal divisions ; the only troops that should remain at Alegría de Álava would be the Queen ’ s First Regiment , First African Regiment , some of the cavalry , and two pieces of artillery , with the rest of the troops cantoned at Guevara ( Gebara ) , Arroyabe , and Ullíbarri - Gamboa ( Uribarri - Ganboa ) , locations that were 6 , 12 , and 13 km north of Alegría de Álava , respectively . O ' Doyle disagreed with this order , and consulted his regimental captains , who also thought it was a bad idea . But they carried out the order , abandoning Alegría de Álava and occupying the aforementioned villages . O ' Doyle wrote a letter to Osma , expressing his concern with the order . Zumalacárregui , meanwhile , was in the valley of La Berrueza , 48 km south of Alegría de Álava , and had in his sights , the Liberal troops at Los Arcos of General Lorenzo , who was waiting for reinforcements coming from Cirauqui led by Marcelino de Oraá Lecumberri . Zumalacárregui ’ s aduaneros were watching the movements of the Liberal troops , and thus Zumalacárregui was well informed . Adauneros were also watching O ' Doyle ' s movements , and when O ' Doyle ' s troops left Alegría de Álava , the aduaneros notified Zumalacárregui , who received this news in the afternoon . However , Zumalacárregui did not have sufficient forces to face an entire Liberal division – but he did have enough to face a few battalions . He thus decided to head for Álava and engage with Liberal troops who were headed for the various aforementioned villages . At nighttime , Zumalacárregui left a few men behind to keep the campfires going and took his troops to Campezo , Zúñiga and Orbiso , where they spent the night . Now Zumalacárregui was 35 km from Alegría de Álava . The Liberal general Lorenzo , seeing the campfires that had been left going at La Berrueza , believed that Zumalacárregui ' s troops had remained there . The battle . On October 27 , Osma arrived at an early hour at Alegría de Álava , explaining to O ' Doyle his reasoning behind his order for the dispersal of the Liberal troops : Osma had received news that the pretender to the throne , Carlos , was at Oñate . O ' Doyle ’ s divisions , now arranged as 4 columns , would depart from the town that same afternoon towards the north , marching at night , to reach Oñate by various routes and apprehend the pretender . The Carlist army meanwhile , fired by a ration of aguardiente given to them by Zumalacárregui ( as was his custom before going into battle ) , was divided into 2 columns . One of the columns was under the command of Manuel Iturralde , and consisted of the Third , Fourth , Sixth Battalions of Navarre and the Second Battalion of Guipúzcoa , and had orders to climb the mountains from Saseta . The other column , commanded by Zumalacárregui , consisted of the Guías de Navarra , the First Battalion of Navarre , the Third Battalion of Álava , and the lancers of Navarre , and would advance from Ulibarri . As they traveled , the Carlists apprehended anybody they came across , such as people working in the fields , and placed them in an enclosure guarded by two soldiers ; this they did to avoid anyone from alerting the Liberals of the presence of the Carlist troops . The Carlists soon came across no one around or in the fields , which they intuited signified the nearness of the Liberal army . Zumalacárregui received news that Lorenzo was still not aware of the Carlist advance ; Lorenzo remained at Los Arcos . Zumalacárregui would send a small number of troops to attack Salvatierra / Agurain , 10 km east of Alegría de Álava . Zumalacárregui would remain hidden with his troops , meanwhile , in the forest of Chinchetru , where they would wait for O ' Doyle , who presumably would leave his HQ to defend Salvatierra . Iturralde meanwhile would descend from Saseta , hide in the woody mountain slopes south of Alegría de Álava , and , once O ' Doyle departed towards Salvatierra , Iturralde would march in parallel . Once Zumalacárregui began the attack at Chinchetru , Iturralde would attack from the right against the Isabelines . As it happened , circumstances favored Zumalacárregui . When the Carlist general marched towards Chinchetru , he came across the governor of Salvatierra who was headed towards Vitoria with some prisoners . At 4 : 00 PM , O ' Doyle ' s troops began to leave Alegría de Álava , heading towards the north , when the sound of gunfire erupted at Chinchetru . Zumalacárregui increased the overall sounds of gunfire by having his soldiers also fire into the air . Then , he hid in the forest north of the town of Alegría de Álava . O ' Doyle stopped heading north and headed towards the east instead , through the hills , a shorter route towards Chinchetru . The terrain was difficult ; these foothills towards the range of Andía were woody and not suited for the passage of regular troops . Furthermore , the setting sun caused the weapons of the Liberals to glint brightly ; this allowed Zumalacárregui to spot the Liberals easily from Chinchetru . Zumalacárregui ordered the Guías de Navarra to leave the forest and ordered them to the plan between Chinchetru and these hills . The Isabeline vanguard , led by O ' Doyle on horseback , was composed of mountain troops ( " cazadores " ) and thus marched much faster than the main body of Liberal troops . The Liberal troops soon came across the Guías de Navarra , who were wearing their signature red berets , and were surprised to see the Carlists there . O ' Doyle ordered an attack but the Liberal " cazadores " were quickly pushed back by the Guías de Navarra . When the rest of the Liberal troops arrived , Zumalacárregui ordered the rest of his troops into battle and fierce combat ensued . One source writes that : Meanwhile , the Carlist Iturralde also appeared , attacking the Liberal rearguard and its right flank . The Liberal troops , suffering from confusion , were unable to organize themselves in such a small space , and after having fired an initial volley , were unable to defend themselves from a fierce Carlist bayonet attack . The Liberal troops began to surrender . Meanwhile , the din of battle reached the local villages Guevara , Arroyabe , and Ullíbarri - Gamboa , where the remaining Liberal troops had been stationed . These Liberal troops began to march towards Chinchetru . But soon they encountered Liberal troops who had fled from what was amounting to a massacre , who informed them of what was happening . Thus , the retreating Liberal troops and the troops that had been stationed at these three villages fled to Vitoria , which they reached by nighttime . Aftermath . During the night , the Carlists searched the forests between Chinchetru and Alegría de Álava for Liberal troops who had survived the battle and were now hiding . Liberals who were discovered were bayoneted or shot on sight . The Carlists captured the two pieces of artillery that had belonged to the Liberal army , along with corresponding munitions , supplies , and the regimental banner of the Liberal Regiment of Africa . O ' Doyle , O ' Doyle ' s brother , and other officers surrendered , and were executed by firing squad the next day . 400 Liberal troops were taken prisoner . However , 250 Liberal troops and their officers maintained order and reached Arrieta by forced march , 3 km away from the field of battle , and they fortified themselves in the church at Arrieta . There they fought against the Carlists who pursued them all during the night . News of this action at Arrieta led Osma to the decision to send soldiers to the rescue of the troops at Arrieta , which would lead to the Battle of Venta de Echávarri ( October 28 , 1834 ) . Order of battle at Alegría de Álava . ( 1 ) ( 1 ) Oñate . ( 2 ) Sierra de San Adrián . 3 ) Ulibarri - Gamboa . ( 4 ) Arroyabe . ( 5 ) Guevara . ( 6 ) Vitoria . ( 7 ) Arrieta . ( 8 ) Salvatierra . ( 9 ) Chinchetru . ( 10 ) Alegría de Álava . ( 11 ) Sierra de Andía . ( 12 ) Puerto de Saseta . ( 13 ) Puerto de Ulibarri .