Battle of La Arada
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The Battle of La Arada () was fought on 2 February 1851 near the town of
Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La per ...
in Guatemala, between the forces of Guatemala and an Allied army from
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and
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 ...
. As the most serious threat to Guatemala's liberty and sovereignty as a republic, it was the most important military victory in the country's history as an independent state.


Background

After
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 ...
returned from exile in 1849, the Salvadorean ruler,
Doroteo Vasconcelos Doroteo Vasconcelos Vides y Ladrón de Guevara (February 6, 1803–March 10, 1883) was President of El Salvador 7 February 1848 - 1 February 1850 and 4 February 1850 – 1 March 1851. Vasconcelos was close friend of Honduran general Francisco ...
, granted asylum to the Guatemalan liberals, who harassed the Guatemalan government in several different forms: Don
José Francisco Barrundia José Francisco Barrundia y Cepeda (May 12, 1787, Guatemala City – August 4, 1854, New York City) was a liberal Central American politician. From June 26, 1829 to September 16, 1830 he was interim president of the United Provinces of Centr ...
did it through a liberal newspaper that had been established with that specific goal; Vasconcelos gave support during a whole year to a rebel faction "La Montaña", in eastern Guatemala, providing and distributing money and weapons. By late 1850, Vasconcelos was getting impatient due to the slowness of the progress of the war with Guatemala and decided to plan an open attack. Under that circumstance, the Salvadorean head of state started a campaign against the conservative Guatemalan regime, inviting Honduras and Nicaragua to participate in the alliance; only the Honduran government led by Don
Juan Lindo Juan Nepomuceno Fernández Lindo y Zelaya (generally known as Juan Lindo) (16 May 1790, Tegucigalpa, Honduras – 23 April 1857, Gracias, Honduras) was a Conservative Central American politician, provisional president of the Republic of El S ...
accepted. Meanwhile, in Guatemala, where the invasion plans were perfectly well-known, President Don Mariano Paredes started taking precautions to face the situation, while the Guatemalan Archbishop, Don Francisco de Paula García Peláez, ordered peace prayers in the archdiocese. On 4 January 1851, Vasconcelos and Lindo met in
Ocotepeque Ocotepeque is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. The town of Nueva Ocotepeque is the municipal seat and the capital of the department. The department borders two countries, Guatemala and El Salvador and covers 1,630  ...
, Honduras, where they signed an alliance against Guatemala. The Salvadorean army had 4,000 men, properly trained and armed and supported by artillery; the Honduran army numbered 2,000 men. The coalition army was stationed in
Metapán Metapán is a city and municipality in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. Metapán is situated in the northern part of the department, bordering Honduras and Guatemala. It is the second largest city in the department after Santa Ana and ...
, El Salvador, due to its proximity with both the Guatemalan and Honduran borders.


Declaration of war

On 28 January 1851, the Salvadorean president sent a letter to the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Relations, in which he stated the following: # He demanded that the Guatemalan president relinquish power, so that the alliance could designate a new head of state loyal to the liberals. # He demanded that Rafael Carrera be exiled, escorted to any of the Guatemalan southern ports by a Salvadorean regiment. # That once the invading alliance took power in Guatemala, they would convene a constituent assembly. # That the Salvadorean army could occupy any Guatemalan territory they deemed necessary, for an indefinite time. The Guatemalan government responded laconically in the following terms: :"You have no authority under the laws of San Salvador to make declarations of war, neither can you send troops without permission from the senate. Presenting yourselves armed and declaring war on Guatemala, the government considers you and those in your company as seditious, executing an affront against the sovereignty and freedom of the Republic of Guatemala. We cannot therefore do anything else than communicate to the Commander in Chief of the Guatemalan Army, the announcement that you will send your troops into this territory, so that he takes the appropriate measures to preserve the honor and sovereignty of the Republic. May God guard you many years."


Battle

The Allied army entered Guatemalan territory at three different places. On 29 January, a 500-man contingent entered through Piñuelas, Agua Blanca and
Jutiapa Jutiapa is a city and a municipality in the Jutiapa department of Guatemala. Located 124 km from the city of Guatemala City, at an altitude of 892 m (2,926 ft),
, led by General Vicente Baquero, but the majority of the invading force marched from Metapán. The Allied army of 4,500 men was commanded by the following: * Doroteo Vasconcelos, President of El Salvador and Commander in Chief. * General Isidoro Saget, Chief of Staff of the Army, was an experienced French soldier, who had participated in prior wars against Guatemala. * General
José Santos Guardiola José Santos Guardiola Bustillo (1 November 1816 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras – 11 January 1862 in Comayagua, Honduras) was a two-term President of Honduras from 17 February 1856 to 7 February 1860 and from 7 February 1860 to his death on 11 Janu ...
, commander of the 1st Division. * General Ramón Belloso, commander of the 2nd Division. * General Indalecio Cordero, commander of the 3rd Division. * General Domingo Asturias, commander of the 4th Division. * General
José Trinidad Cabañas José Trinidad Cabañas Fiallos (9 June 1805– 8 January 1871) was a liberal Honduran military general and politician who served as President of Honduras on two separate occasions: From 1 March to 6 July 1852. And 31 December 1853 to 6 Jun ...
, commander of the Honduran Division. * General
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 The president of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de El Salvador), officially ...
, commander of the "San Miguel" Division. Additional troops were led by the Salvadorean General Ciriaco Bran y Carrascosa and by the liberal Guatemalan Generals José Dolores Nufio and Doroteo Monterroso. Guatemala was able to recruit 2,000 men, led by: * Lieutenant General
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 ...
, Commander in Chief. * Colonel Manuel María Bolaños. * Colonel
Vicente Cerna Sandoval Vicente Cerna y Cerna (22 January 1815 – 27 June 1885) was president of Guatemala from 24 May 1865 to 29 June 1871. Loyal friend and comrade of Rafael Carrera, was appointed army's Field Marshal after Carraera's victory against Salvadorian lead ...
, ''
Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
'' (Mayor) of
Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La per ...
. * Colonel Ignacio García Granados, commander of the 1st Division. * Colonel Joaquín Solares, commander of the 2nd Division. * Lieutenant Colonel Leandro Navas, commander of the Rearguard. * Colonel Mariano Álvarez, Artillery officer. Carrera's strategy was to feign a retreat, forcing the enemy forces to follow the "retreating" troops to a place he had previously chosen; on February 1, 1851, both armies were facing each other with only the San José river between them. Carrera had fortified the foothills of La Arada, its summit about above the level of the river. A meadow deep lay between the hill and the river, and boarding the meadow was a sugar cane plantation. Carrera divided his army in three sections: the left wing was led by Cerna and Solares; the right wing led by Bolaños. He personally led the central battalion, where he placed his artillery. Five hundred men stayed in
Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La per ...
to defend the city and to aid in a possible retreat, leaving only 1,500 Guatemalans against an enemy of 4,500.


February 2nd, 1851

The battle began at 8:30 AM, when Allied troops initiated an attack at three different points, with an intense fire opened by both armies. The first Allied attack was repelled by the defenders of the foothill; during the second attack, the Allied troops were able to take the first line of trenches. They were subsequently expelled. During the third attack, the Allied force advanced to a point where it was impossible to distinguish between Guatemalan and Allied troops. Then, the fight became a melee, while the Guatemalan artillery severely punished the invaders. At the height of the battle when the Guatemalans faced an uncertain fate, Carrera ordered that sugar cane plantation around the meadow to be set on fire. The invading army was now surrounded: to the front, they faced the furious Guatemalan fire, to the flanks, a huge fire and to the rear, the river, all of which made retreat very difficult. The central division of the Allied force panicked and started a disorderly retreat. General Saget ordered a retreat for the division of General Cabañas. The Honduran division which was fighting alongside the Salvadoreans in the center also retreated in panic. Soon, all of the Allied troops started retreating, but more than a retreat, it was a rout. Guatemalan historian Francis Polo Sifontes describes the scene after the battle: :"...around five in the afternoon, the fire was less intense and the eastern sun illuminated a terrible scene: amid the smoke and ash, the field was full of corpses. When the battle came to an end, people noticed that the Guatemalan Chief was nowhere to be seen; the search for his body started and he was found, alive, on his back under the shadow of a tree, with his arms crossed and breathing slowly; his right hand still brandished his sabre, covered in blood. He could not let go of it because his swollen hand did not allow it." The 500 men of the rearguard under Colonel Navas were still fresh and pursued what was left of the Allied army, which desperately fled for the borders of their respective countries. The final count of the Allied losses were 528 dead, 200 prisoners, 1,000 rifles, 13,000 rounds of ammunition, many pack animals and baggage, 11 drums and seven artillery pieces. Polo Sifontes also noted: "...President Vasconcelos sought refuge in El Salvador, while two Generals mounted on the same horse were seen crossing the Honduran border." Carrera regrouped his army and crossed the Salvadorean border, occupying Santa Ana, before he received orders from the Guatemalan President, Mariano Paredes, to return to Guatemala, since the Allies were requesting a cease-fire and a peace treaty.


Consequences

As an immediate result of the triumph of the Guatemalan Army at La Arada, a National Constituent Assembly enacted, on October 19, 1851, a Fundamental Letter of Government, called ''Acta Constitutiva de la República'' ("Constitutive Act of the Republic"). It was brief, with only 18 articles, but established the general principles of the Republic of Guatemala, which had been formed four years earlier. The battle of La Arada represented the dominance of Guatemala in
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and ensured a period of restoration, security and economic progress. It also marked the beginning of Rafael Carrera's position as President for Life.


See also

*
Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...
*
History of Guatemala The history of Guatemala begins with the Maya civilization (300 BC – 250 AD), which was among those that flourished in their country. The country's modern history began with the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in 1524. Most of the great ...
*
History of Honduras Honduras was inhabited by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Tol, the area east and west of Trujillo by the ...
*
History of El Salvador The history of El Salvador begins with several Mesoamerican nations, especially the Cuzcatlecs, as well as the Lenca and Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New Sp ...
*
History of Central America Central America is commonly said to include Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. This definition matches modern political borders. Central America begins geographically in Mexico, at the Isthmus of Tehuantep ...


References


Bibliography

* {{coord, 14.7167, N, 89.5833, W, source:wikidata, display=title 1851 in Guatemala
Arada Arada may refer to: Geography * Arada, Chad, a town and subprefecture in the department of Biltine in eastern Chad * Arada (Addis Ababa), one of the 10 subcities of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia * Arada, Honduras, a municipality in the Ho ...
Arada Arada may refer to: Geography * Arada, Chad, a town and subprefecture in the department of Biltine in eastern Chad * Arada (Addis Ababa), one of the 10 subcities of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia * Arada, Honduras, a municipality in the Ho ...
History of Guatemala History of El Salvador History of Honduras Chiquimula Department Rafael Carrera February 1851 events
Arada Arada may refer to: Geography * Arada, Chad, a town and subprefecture in the department of Biltine in eastern Chad * Arada (Addis Ababa), one of the 10 subcities of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia * Arada, Honduras, a municipality in the Ho ...