Naval battle off San Juan del Sur
The naval battle off San Juan del Sur on November 23, 1856 was a maritime conflict between Costa Rica and the Filibuster Forces William Walker during the Nicaraguan National War ( Guerra Nacional de Nicaragua ) off the Nicaraguan port city of San Juan del Sur .
Strategic situation
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Walker's troops received supplies from the USA by sea and the transcontinental route (see Nicaragua Canal ) through Nicaragua via the ports of San Juan del Sur on the Pacific and San Juan del Norte (also called Greytown) on the Caribbean side of Nicaragua. In order to cut off Walker's supplies across the Pacific, the Costa Rican government under President Juan Rafael Mora Porras decided to block the port of San Juan del Sur from the sea and formally declared the blockade on November 1, 1856.
The battle
Since Costa Rica had neither a navy nor seaworthy merchant ships, the government in Puntarenas acquired the possibly British brig Dover and renamed it in memory of the Second Battle of Rivas on April 11, 1856 in Once de Abril ( April 11 ). The brig had a tonnage of 167 t. She was equipped with four 9-pounder cannons and, in addition to a crew of 7 officers and 27 sailors, received an additional crew of 89 soldiers , a chaplain and a carpenter . The commanding officer was Captain Antonio Valle Riestra (other spelling Villarostra), who was ordered to capture San Juan del Sur and to confiscate all goods imported into Nicaragua under Walker's flag. The brig's artillery was subordinate to the former Italian artilleryman Federico Maheit.
The Once de Abril left Puntarenas on November 11, 1856 and arrived at San Juan del Sur on the 23rd. In the port, under the command of Lieutenant (in this sense, Lieutenant Captain ) Callender Irvine Fayssoux (1820–1897), the Flibustier schooner Granada , size 65 tons, armed with two 6-pounder carronades . The Granada only had her normal crew of 24 sailors .
The Granada raised anchor at 4:00 p.m. and sailed towards the Once de Abril . From 6 p.m. a fierce battle broke out, until at 8 p.m. the mizzen mast of the Costa Rican brig was hit, fell and triggered an explosion that immediately killed most of the crew. Fayssoux dispatched a boat to rescue the rest of the crew who were captured; many of the survivors were badly burned. The "Once de Abril" burned out and sank. A total of 95 Costa Ricans lost their lives, compared to only 2 flibooters.
Walker personally arrived at La Virgen shortly after the battle to question the prisoners. As far as they could walk, they were immediately released to Costa Rica as a token of goodwill. Fayssoux was promoted to sea captain by Walker and received as endowment a valuable cocoa plantation near Rivas , the owner of which was expropriated for this purpose.
With Fayssoux's victory, the strategic situation remained unchanged and Walker could continue to receive supplies of material and mercenaries from California .
literature
- Frederic Rosengarten, Jr .: freebooters must die! Wayne, PA 1976.
- Alejandro Bolaños Geyer: William Walker. El Predestinado , Saint Charles, MISS 1992. ISBN 1-877926-06-X
- William Walker: The War in Nicaragua , Mobile 1860 (Reprint Tucson 1985), p. 315ff.
- Marco A. Soto V .: Guerra Nacional de Centroamérica , Ciudad Guatemala (Editorial del Ministro de Educacion Publica) 1957.
- Rafael Obregon Loria: Conflictos Militares y Políticos de Costa Rica , San José / Costa Rica 1951.