The War of 1863 (Spanish: ) was a conflict fought between

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

from 13 February 1863 to 26 October 1863. Guatemalan President

Rafael Carrera José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. During his military career and presiden ...

sought to overthrow Salvadoran President

Gerardo Barrios José Gerardo Barrios Espinoza (24 September 1813 – 29 August 1865) was a liberal Salvadoran military general and politician who served as President of El Salvador from 12 March 1859 to 26 October 1863. Barrios was a liberal and supported the ...

, citing his attacks on the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in El Salvador during his presidency as justification. Barrios was overthrown on 26 October 1863 and was replaced by a conservative politician,

Francisco Dueñas Francisco Dueñas Díaz (3 December 1810 – 4 March 1884) was a Salvadoran politician and member of the Conservative Party who served as President of El Salvador on four different occasions: 3 May 1851 to 30 January 1852, 1 February 1852 to ...

, ending the war.

Background

On 12 March 1859, General

overthrew Salvadoran President

José María Peralta José María Peralta (December 1807 – December 6, 1883) was born in San Salvador. He was President of El Salvador from 15 February to 12 March 1859. He died in San Salvador. His descendants include son José María Peralta Lagos (1873–194 ...

and declared himself

President of El Salvador The president of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de El Salvador), officially known as the President of the Republic of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de la República de El Salvador), is the Head of State, head of state and Head of Government, head ...

. The coup and ascension of Barrios to power caused many conservative politicians to flee to Guatemala for safety.

Barrios-Carrera rivalry

Guatemalan President

was a conservative politician while Barrios was a liberal politician and both ruled as dictators of their respective countries. Barrios passed anticlerical legislation in El Salvador to diminish the power and influence of the

while Carrera made agreements with the Church to expand its influence and uphold its privileges. Carrera initially supported Barrios believing that a strong ruler in El Salvador would be in his best interests, even visiting

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

from December 1860 to January 1861 to improve relations. However, in the following years, Barrios began attacking Carrera calling him a "savage" while Guatemalan newspapers attacked Barrios' "lameness and pomposity." The Guatemalans later labeled the war as a war over religion when it was really a political and ideological war. Salvadoran bishops did, however, support the Guatemalans in the conflict, as did Salvadoran conservatives.

War

Battle of Coatepeque

In 1862, Carrera began plans to topple Barrios from power and instal a conservative as president. On 13 February 1863, Carrera invaded El Salvador. He took control of the settlements of

Ahuachapán Ahuachapán () is a city, and municipality, and the capital of the Ahuachapán Department in western El Salvador. The municipality, including the city, covers an area of 244.84 km² and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people. Situat ...

, Chalchuapa, and Santa Ana, later establishing a headquarters in Jesús de los Milagros de Coatepeque. On 22 February, the Salvadorans, led by Barrios, entrenched themselves in the town of Coatepeque and prepared for battle. After two days of battle, the Salvadorans won and forced the Guatemalans to retreat.

Siege of San Salvador

After his initial defeat, Carrera invaded El Salvador a second time on 19 June 1863. During the invasion, many Salvadorans deserted and either refused to take part in the war or joined the Guatemalans, most notably general Santiago González who served under Barrios during the Battle of Coatepeque. Salvadoran conservative politicians, such as

, also supported the Guatemalans. On 30 September, he began a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

of the Salvadoran capital city,

. Carrera ordered a cease fire from San Salvador to submit, and after a month of being sieged, the capital fell on 26 October. Barrios fled the city and went east to San Miguel, after which, Dueñas was declared President of El Salvador. The fall of San Salvador marked the end of the war.

Aftermath

Carrera died on 14 April 1865. Barrios fled for exile in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

but he was arrested on 27 July 1865 and extradited to El Salvador. He was court-martialed on 10 August and sentenced to death on 28 August. Barrios was executed by a

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

on 29 August 1865.

Notes

References

{{reflist Conflicts in 1863 Invasions Rafael Carrera 1860s in El Salvador Wars involving El Salvador Wars involving Guatemala Wars involving Honduras