The Battle of El Número, was a major battle during the years after the

Dominican War of Independence The Dominican War of Independence made the Dominican Republic a sovereign state on February 27, 1844. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united for 22 years when the newly independent nation, previously known as the Captaincy Gene ...

and was fought on the 17 April 1849, nearby

Azua de Compostela Azua de Compostela, also known simply as Azua, is a Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') and capital of Azua Province in the southern region of Dominican Republic. Founded in 1504, Azua is one of the oldest Europe ...

Azua Province Azua () is a province which is collectively one of the thirty-two provinces of the Dominican Republic. It is divided into 10 municipalities (the same as Santiago) and its capital city is Azua de Compostela. It is bordered by the provinces of La ...

. A force of 300 Dominican troops, a portion of the Army of the South, led by General Francisco Domínguez and General

Antonio Duvergé Antonio Duvergé Duval (1807–April 11, 1855), a Dominican general of French origin and one of the most legendary military figures in the history of the Dominican Republic, served in the Dominican War of Independence. He was a hero and martyr ...

encountered an outnumbering force of 10,000 troops of the Haitian Army led by General Jean Francois Jeannot.

Campaign of 1849

Faustin Soulouque Faustin-Élie Soulouque (15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Haitian Army w ...

, who now governed Haiti, launched a new invasion with an army of some 10,000 men. On the 21 March 1849, Haitian soldiers attacked the Dominican garrison at Las Matas. The demoralized defenders offered almost no resistance before abandoning their weapons. Soulouque pressed on, capturing

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

. This left only the town of Azua as the remaining Dominican stronghold between the Haitian army and the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

. Since a Dominican flotilla dominated the coastal road with its guns, Soulouque was forced to use the longer approach through El Número and Las Carreras to reach Azua and could not be supplied or reinforced from the sea. These circumstances forced the president of the Dominican Republic,

Manuel Jimenes Manuel José Jimenes González (January 14, 1808December 22, 1854) was a military figure and politician in the Dominican Republic. He served as the second President of the Dominican Republic from September 8, 1848, until May 29, 1849. Prior to ...

, to call upon

Pedro Santana Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras (June 29, 1801June 14, 1864) was a Dominican military commander and royalist politician who served as the president of the junta that had established the First Dominican Republic, a pr ...

, whom he had ousted as president, on the 2 April to restore the confidence of the army and to lead the Dominicans against this new invasion. Santana hurried from El Seibo at the head of his mounted following, some 200 men. On the 6 April, Azua fell to 18,000 Haitians and a 5,000-man Dominican counterattack failed. Santana's force swelled to some 800 men as he advanced westward. On the 17 April General Francisco Domínguez defeated an element of the Haitian army at El Número, but, lacking supplies and drinking water, he ordered a retreat to Las Carreras. Beginning on the 21 April, Santana delivered the ''coup de grâce'' to the Haitian army personally commanded by Soulouque at the two-day

Battle of Las Carreras The Battle of Las Carreras was a major battle during the years after the Dominican War of Independence and was fought on the 21–22 April 1849, nearby Baní, Peravia Province. A force of 800 Dominican troops, a portion of the Army of the South, l ...

. Soulouque had homes and mills burned as he retreated from Azua. In retaliation, a Dominican squadron composed of the

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...

''27 de Febrero'' (guns unknown), commanded by Capt. Charles J. Fagalde, a Frenchman, and

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Constitución'' (guns unknown), commanded by Juan Luis Duquela, raided the Haitian coasts, plundered seaside villages, as far as Cape Dame Marie, and butchered crews of captured enemy ships. Fagalde left the southern coast of Haiti aflame.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of El Numero Conflicts in 1849 El Numero El Número 1849 in the Dominican Republic April 1849 events El Número