The Battery of Ángel San Rafael

On the Horno Hill, also on the island of Tierrabomba near San Fernando and the Battery of Santa Barbara, the battery named Ángel San Rafael was erected. Antonio de Sala had already warned of the need to fortify this hill to avoid a landing that would defeat Bocachica; Antonio de Arévalo embraced the idea and, in 1762, during the war against the English, he constructed the Ángel.

The battery has a base of an irregular “Half Moon,” adapted to the terrain on which it was built. It is surrounded by a narrow, dry trench, it has a strong house, a covered path, a sentry-box, a cistern, and it still conserves the old kitchen of the garrison. At the same time, an underground gallery begins at the stronghouse which connects it to the Battery of Santa Barbara and serves to facilitate the retreat from the fort in case it is seized.

Today, after a necessary restoration carried out in 1995 by INVIAS – the entity responsible for the administration of national monuments until the creation of the Ministry of Culture in 1997—the Ángel San Rafael can be visited and, from its privileged location, the defensive system of the access to Bocachica can be appreciated.