The Battle of Tortuguero was the first

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

of the Dominican War of Independence and was fought on 15 April 1844 at Tortuguero,

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 three Dominican

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 schoo ...

s led by Commander Juan Bautista Cambiaso defeated a force of three vessels of the

Haitian Navy The Armed Forces of Haiti (french: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, (ANI) and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police). The Army was always ...

. Though it was a minor naval battle engagement, it determined the naval supremacy of the Dominican Republic over Haiti until the end of the war.

Prelude to battle

On 31 March 1844 news from

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Admiral De Moges from the frigate ''La Neréide'', warned of a flotilla of Haitian vessels that had been raiding the coast of the Ocoa Bay and transporting supplies to the Haitian Army in Azua. He recommended President Tomás de Bobadilla y Briones of the Junta Central Gubernativa, to order all ships in Santo Domingo be used for war. Conscripts for the new navy gathered at ''Puerta de la Misericordia'', among them were Juan Alejandro Acosta, José Antonio Sanabia, Joaquín Orta, Teodoro Ariza, Pedro Tomás Garrido y Fermín González. Juan Alejandro Acosta together with some fellow merchants, armed two schooners. Acosta received the schooner ''Eleonore'' (renamed ''San José'') from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

merchant Abraham Cohen and was followed by the Genoese merchant Juan Bautista Maggiolo who received the schooner ''María Chica'' from the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

merchants José and Francisco Ginebra. Both schooners set sail in early April to ''Aguas de la Estancia'',

Baní Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in the southern region of Valdesia. The town is located 65 km south of the capital city Santo Domingo. Baní is the headquarte ...

to meet there with Commander Juan Bautista Cambiaso, another Genoese merchant.

The battle

On 13 April 1844 three schooners led by Commander Juan Bautista Cambiaso set sail from ''Aguas de la Estancia''. Cambiaso leading the schooner ''Separación Dominicana'' (flagship), the Captain Juan Bautista Maggiolo led the ''María Chica'' and Lieutenant Juan Alejandro Acosta led the ''San José''. Two days later, on 15 April 1844 Commander Cambiaso sighted three vessels off shore bombarding Puerto Tortuguero, Azua. The three vessels were the ''Pandora'', ''La Mouche'' and ''Le Signifie''. Cambiaso quickly decided to engage the fleet and after a combination of manoeuvres the enemy succumbed. All three enemy vessels were sunk. Almost all sailors died in the battle and there is no record of any survivor from the sinkings.

Aftermath

News from this victory travelled fast and on 23 April 1844 the Junta Central Gubernativa authorised to incorporate these three schooners in the newly created Dominican Navy, and Commander Cambiaso was appointed to the rank of Admiral. Haitian presence at sea vanished after this engagement, which ensured naval supremacy for the newborn nation.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Tortuguero Conflicts in 1844 Tortuguero Tortuguero 1844 in the Dominican Republic April 1844 events