192 years of Battle of Ponte Ferreira 23 july 1832

The Battle of Ponte Ferreira, taking place over the 22nd and 23rd of July 1832, marked the first large-scale confrontation of the Portuguese Civil War, setting the forces of Dom Pedro, former Emperor of Brazil and acting Regent on behalf of his daughter, Maria da Glória, against the army loyal to his brother Dom Miguel, who had seized the Portuguese throne. Although Pedro’s troops technically won the field, the lack of pursuit allowed the Miguelite army to regroup and return stronger, ultimately leading to a prolonged siege of Porto that would last a year.

 

Prelude to the Battle

Dom Pedro’s expeditionary army, having departed from the Azores, landed in mainland Portugal on 7 July 1832. Just two days later, they entered Porto without resistance, as Miguelite forces had withdrawn across the Douro River. However, contrary to Pedro's expectations, neither the local population nor Miguel’s army rallied to the liberal cause.Despite urging from the Count of Vila Flor to launch an immediate offensive, Pedro’s forces paused in Porto to recover and reorganise. During this lull, the Miguelite army, led by General Cardoso and Count of Montalegre, received reinforcements and crossed the Douro once again, this time further east. Colonel Hodges was dispatched on 17 July with his British battalion to assess enemy movements. Learning that the Miguelites had established themselves in Penafiel, a Portuguese volunteer regiment was sent to support Hodges, and by 21 July they had succeeded in retaking the town. However, the Miguelites soon concentrated their forces in nearby Amarante and began pursuing the returning liberals. Before dawn on the 22nd, Dom Pedro’s army left Porto to confront them on the Valongo road.

This force was highly diverse, comprising exiled liberal officers, Portuguese volunteers loyal to Queen Maria, two British units led by Colonels Shaw and Hodges, and a French detachment commanded by Major Checar. General command was held by the Count of Vila Flor, with Portuguese infantry under Colonels Brito and Schwalbach, and artillery commanded by Colonel Fonseca.

The Battle

22 July
At daybreak, Pedro’s forces reached the hills near Valongo and faced the Miguelites, who had entrenched themselves near Ponte Ferreira. Despite being outnumbered, the liberals launched an initial attack with light infantry and artillery, but were repelled and forced to retreat to Rio Tinto, abandoning some of their guns. Vila Flor regrouped his men there, preparing for a decisive engagement the next day.
The Miguelite army followed and positioned themselves defensively behind the Sousa River, anchoring their flanks on high ground: the left overlooking the Douro and the right on a sugarloaf-shaped hill reinforced with cannons. They held a significant numerical advantage, roughly double the liberal force.

23 July
At 3:00 a.m., Pedro’s army resumed its advance. The central column under Schwalbach, Brito’s division on the right, and a left wing comprising the officers' division, Portuguese 18th Regiment (3rd battalion), artillery, and the British and French contingents under Hodges, moved into position. Pedro remained behind with the reserve.
Hodges was ordered to outflank the Miguelite right. His men seized the sugarloaf hill without resistance, but the French were caught on the open plain and suffered significant losses to a Miguelite cavalry charge with one their top officers, Major Checar, was among the dead. The cavalry then attempted to overrun the British, who held firm behind a stone wall and repelled the attack.
Meanwhile, Brito’s division was tasked with attacking the Miguelite left but did not advance, despite repeated orders. The Miguelite troops and accompanying guerrillas recaptured the hill, prompting Hodges to request reinforcements. Though Vila Flor agreed, Pedro delayed their deployment. When they finally arrived, the liberal troops retook the hill in a bayonet charge while Hodges pressed from the left.
Heavily battered, the Miguelite forces withdrew, leaving the field in liberal hands. Vila Flor wanted to pursue the retreating enemy, but Pedro overruled him, and the army returned to Porto on the 24th.

 

Consequences

While the battle was underway, a second Miguelite force under General Póvoas crossed the Douro and seized Vila Nova de Gaia, directly opposite Porto. The city was thrown into panic. Rumours that Dom Pedro was preparing to flee by ship sparked further unrest. That same night, a suspicious fire destroyed a military barracks—Capuchin monks were blamed for the act of arson.
The expected wave of popular support for the liberal cause failed to materialise. Realising this, Dom Pedro focused on fortifying Porto, which soon faced siege from both riverbanks.
Tensions emerged within the liberal leadership. Several officers conspired to oust Vila Flor, who offered his resignation. Pedro refused it, reaffirmed his position as commander-in-chief, and instead dismissed his chief of staff and quartermaster-general, replacing them with Brigadier Valdez. Additionally, the Governor of Porto, Mascarenhas, was replaced by Bernardo de Sá Nogueira.

Summary Table: Battle of Ponte Ferreira

 

Belligerents and Commanders

 

 

Thoughts about the Battle of Ponte Ferreira wargame  

This game was at quebra Dados Boardgame Association and the terrain was prepared the closest possible to the real one, including the river, according with time map information and goggle Maps to place it correctly. also the housing was the more accurate possible for that place. Using my War of the Two Brothers Starting Set and few more units, it was possible to have almost every Regiments from both sides. We played with my Rulebook, The War of the Two Brothers, an authorized adaptation of Andy Callan rules for the Napoleonic Wars since the game mechanics are the same for the 1830's. It was a long and harsh battle in that table, but with lots of fun. And it is curious, since we played this battle more than once, and the outcome was almost the same of the real Battle, at least very close with a Liberal tactical victory. Again, it was a lot of FUN and afterwards we played other battles and scenarios  of the Portuguese Civil War like the Siege of Porto or the Battle of Asseiceira that was fought the 16 May 1834.

An article by Sérgio Coelho

 

Play the battles of War of the Two Brothers with WoFun StarterPack

 

The WOTB StarterPack is a fully functional product, available in both 18 & 28mm, and includes figurines beautifully illustrated by Sérgio. The pack amounts to a total of 62 bases for the Liberal and Miguelite armies, each containing:

- 3 regiments of Infantry

- 1 of Skirmishers

- 1 of Cavalry

- 2 companies of Artillery

- 1 mounted General.

 

Check out the StarterPack here 

The rules are reinterpreted after Andy Callan’s Peninsular War rules, maintaining the same tactics and army organization, but designed for battles such as Bussaco in 1810, or Salamanca in 1812. They are available for free on the WoFun website. After the basic rules, you will find a chapter for a more advanced and challenging game.

 

Check out the Wargaming Rules here:

https://wofungames.com/products/war-of-the-two-brother-rules

Many thanks to Sérgio for this incredible work and contribution towards WoFun Minis with the WOTB collection! 

The WoFun Team