We had the opportunity in a family trip to visit La Casa Fuerte located in the city of Barcelona, it was a nice walk even when very violent events took place in this place.
It was built on land donated on April 6, 1647, Don Juan Cedeño Albornoz. Known as the Convent of the Missionaries of the Observant Fathers, there the Franciscans offered Latin classes and nursing services for the people of Barcelona.
But it was also enabled by El Libertador Simón Bolívar as a warehouse for weapons, food and horses for the patriot troops. Reason why it would be threatened by the Spanish General Juan Aldama and his troops, General Pedro Maria Freites knowing the imminent attack of which would be victims fortified the building giving asylum to children, women and elderly people who had nowhere to protect themselves.
The realist heartless were angry with the children, women and the elderly who were there leaving crying and desolation in their path, in addition to seize rifles, ammunition, horses and food not in accordance with all this the Spanish leader ordered to shoot down the walls with cannons for that would be reduced to rubble and not even the memory will remain. But as everything in this life is paid by the bloodthirsty General Aldama due to his excesses was sent in 1819 to Spain, where he was accused of infinite cruelty, incompetence and insubordination and is expelled from the army dishonorably.
Prepared the defense of the place, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements and between April 5 and 7, 1817 realist soldiers place their batteries in front of the old convent and launch an ultimatum, demanding unconditional surrender, promising to respect the lives of the besieged. General Freites, accompanied by a small group of courageous patriots, asks them to allow the withdrawal of civilians, but General Realista Aldama answers him "Surrender" or death.
The reinforcements that the Patriots expected never arrived and with a 4 to 1 ratio in favor of the Realists, the cannons were resounding causing great damage to the walls of the Convent, when the debris fell they killed many civilians, the royalists enter and take as prisoner to General Freites who was wounded, Colonel William Chamberlain, is forced to kill his wife the heroine Eulalia Ramos by request of herself before the fear of being insulted by the Spaniards as she was considered a great enemy of the royalists , she had killed several in her native population of Tacarigua, upon finding her dead the royalists dismembered her body.
The realist heartless were angry with the children, women and the elderly who were there leaving crying and desolation in their path, in addition to seize rifles, ammunition, horses and food not in accordance with all this the Spanish leader ordered to shoot down the walls with cannons for that would be reduced to rubble and not even the memory will remain. But as everything in this life is paid by the bloodthirsty General Aldama due to his excesses was sent in 1819 to Spain, where he was accused of infinite cruelty, incompetence and insubordination and is expelled from the army dishonorably.
This monument looks even today imposing remembering all that pain and blood shed for the Homeland, for those men and women who preferred to give their lives before surrendering, proud we are of them we follow their example, they could not erase it from the map that is why it is the House Strong.
Sorry for some error in the translation use google.b