He Was Commended For His Military Strategy

As the George Washington of South America, Bolivar rose to fame. They had similar rich upbringings, a love of independence, and military strategy. Bolivar, though, battled across a much larger region and for twice as long as Washington.

Bolivar took calculated risks that frequently paid off, and one triumph, in particular, helped to solidify his legacy. One of the interesting facts about Simon Bolivar is he was renowned for his lightning-quick decision-making and willingness to take chances, which typically paid off. When an illustration, in 1813, as the Spanish forces drew closer to him, he and his army pulled off the unexpected by marching forward and capturing the city of Caracas.

He overcame the frigid Andes in 1819 to ambush the Spanish in New Granada. He lost all of his horses, most of his weaponry, and a third of his army to malnutrition and the cold. However, the Spanish quickly abandoned their goods after learning of his quick descent from the highlands, possibly remembering Bolivar's brutal 1813 order that allowed the massacre of civilians.

Nothing could stop him because he was adamant about reaching his objective. He led his troops through poor weather to the battle of Junn in the Peruvian highlands in 1824.