In the south, the Carlist general Miguel Gómez Damas attempted to establish a strong position there for the Carlists, and he left Ronda on November 18, 1836, entering Algeciras on November 22. But, after Gómez Damas departed from Algeciras, he was defeated by Ramón María Narváez y Campos at the Battle of Majaceite. An English commentator wrote that "it was at Majaciete that rescued Andalucía from the Carlist invasion by a brilliant "coup de main", in a rapid but destruction action, which will not readily be effaced from the memory of the southern provinces."