Battle of Estrelleta
The Battle of Estrelleta, was a major battle of the Dominican War of Independence and was fought on the 17 September 1845 at the site of Estrelleta, near Las Matas de Farfán, San Juan Province. A force of Dominican troops, a portion of the Army of the South, led by General Antonio Duvergé, defeated an outnumbering force of the Haitian Army led by General Jean-Louis Pierrot.[1]
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Prelude
Campaign of 1845
On the 17 June 1845, the Dominicans, under the command of General Antonio Duvergé, invaded Haiti in retaliation for Haitian border raids. The invaders captured two towns on the Plateau du Centre and established a bastion at Cachimán.[2] Haitian President Jean-Louis Pierrot quickly mobilized his army and counterattacked on the 22 July driving the invaders from Cachimán and back across the frontier.[3] On the 6 August Pierrot ordered his army to invade the Dominican Republic.
Battle
On the 17 September 1845 the Dominicans defeated the Haitian vanguard near the frontier at Estrelleta where the Dominican "square" repulsed, with the use of bayonets, a Haitian cavalry charge.[4]
Aftermath
On 27 September 1845, Dominican Gen. Francisco Antonio Salcedo defeated a Haitian army at the battle of “Beler,” a frontier fortification.[4] Salcedo was supported by Adm. Juan Bautista Cambiaso's squadron of three schooners, which blockaded the Haitian port of Cap-Haïtien.[1] On the 28 October other Haitians armies attacked the frontier fort “El Invencible” and were repulsed after five hours of hard fighting.[4]
In the first significant naval action between the Hispaniolan rivals, a Dominican squadron captured 3 small Haitian warships and 149 seamen off Puerto Plata on the 21 December.[3]
Notes
- Multiple Authors 2013.
- Clodfelter 2017, p. 301.
- Clodfelter 2017, p. 302.
- Scheina 2003.
References
- Scheina, Robert L. (2003). Latin America's Wars. Potomac Books.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Authors, Multiple (2013). Imperial Wars 1815–1914. Amber Books Ltd.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015 (4th ed.). McFarland.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)