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24.02.18. Report of visit
to Honduran Frontier.
.jpg)
This report on the first leg of the first extended foray of US
troops into the Segovian-Honduran borderlands was probably typed up
in Somotillo. The expedition explored both sides of the
Somotillo-Las Manos border region for another month, as described in
the document that follows this one. This was not an invasion.
It was, in hindsight, an early advance guard of the invasion that
came 3˝ years later, though the five men in the patrol could not
have known it at the time. No one could have. This was a
fact-finding mission.
(Detail
of photo of Nicaraguan soldiers at Santo Tómas, Nicaragua, February
1924, taken by members of this patrol after this report was written,
Leatherneck, March 1928)
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
THE AMERICAN DETACHMENT,
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA,
18 FEBRUARY, 1924.
From:
Captain Thomas E. Bourke, U.S. Marine Corps.
To:
The Secretary of the Navy.
Via:
The Major General Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps.
Subject: Report of Visit to the
Honduran frontier.
1. A party consisting of
four enlisted men and myself with side arms left Managua
at 1:15 p.m. February 6th, 1924, and arrived at
Chinandega at 5:00 p.m. the same date. We were
delayed at Chinandega until 9:00 a.m. February 7th due
to the fact that all animals available had been taken
over by the Nicaraguan Government forces. Left
Chinandega at 9:00 a.m. February 7th and arrived Somotillo at 2:00 p.m.
February 8th.
2. The Honduran rebels had been
informed the night before of our probable arrival by the
Nicaraguan Government. About five hundred rebels
were on the outside of the town to meet us. They
conducted us to their headquarters where a conference
was held with the leaders of their party. They
informed us that there were about fifteen thousand
Hondurans assembled in Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua
ready to join in the revolution. They reported
that vicious outrages had been perpetrated by the
Honduran Government on followers of Carias. It was
reported that the Government forces fired into crowds of
Conservatives who were trying to vote on election day.
In Tegucigalpa sixty-two were killed in this manner.
They also stated that convicts all over Honduras have
been released and armed to protect the present
Government. These convicts have had no regard for
the lives and property of the Conservatives.
3. In Somotillo it is estimated that
there were about fifteen hundred Honduran rebels
gathered. Few arms except pistols and machettes
were in evidence, but it is thought that rifles were put
out of sight when they learned of our proposed arrival,
due to the fact that small parties of armed men with
rifles were met making their way to the border over the
trail followed by our party.
[ p. 2 ]
4. The leaders of the rebels
appear to be men of education and ability and seem to be
animated by patriotic motives. They seemed to be
very pleased of the interest that we showed in their
affairs. In fact when the marine party left
Somotillo they all gathered on the outside of the town
and yelled, "Long Live America."
5. There was no evidence in Somotillo
of any arms or supplies having been shipped by the
Nicaraguan government to the Honduras revolutionists.
/s/ THOMAS E. BOURKE
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Copy to Major General Commandant.
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Capt. Thomas E.
Bourke, USMC to Secretary of the Navy; RG80, Box 336
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PC-Doc Master Inventory
24.03.24.
Marines in Nicaragua, 1924 (From The Leatherneck).
This account of a month-long US Marine expedition through the
war-torn Segovian-Honduran borderlands in February-March 1924 offers
a fuller account of the expedition described in Lt. Bourke's
official report of 18 Feb. 1924, above. This is not an
official report. It takes the form of a long descriptive
letter from USMC Sergeant F. F. Birnbaumer to his
"sidekick" describing his just-completed 500-mile
journey. It was published four years later in the semi-official Marine Corps
magazine The Leatherneck
(March 1928, pp. 7-8, with two photos). The
article offers a fascinating portrait of political and
social conditions in the
borderlands from the perspective of a plainspoken
Marine sergeant and his fellow grunts. Paragraphs
are numbered for easier reference.
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March 1928
The Leatherneck.
Marines in Nicaragua, 1924
By F.
F. Birnbaumer, Ex.-Sgt., U.S.M.C.
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1 |
In the
belief that some Leathernecks now serving in Nicaragua
will be relieved to learn that Nicaragua jungle ticks
and other insects may nibble gleefully, and yet leave
but little scars to stamp their memory on passing years,
an incident of yesteryear is recalled.
Managua, Nicaragua,
March
24, 1924.
Dear
Sidekick,
Hooray! Just finished scrubbing the last of the
cooties off of myself.
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2 |
You have
doubtless heard something of the revolution which has
been going on in Honduras in a half-hearted fashion
since last November. I'm still getting quite a
kick out of the thought of Central American "Generals."
We were informed, while in Honduras, by a "general"
himself that there are thirty-six of them today in that
country.
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3 |
Four
other marines and myself, together with an interpreter,
have been following on the trail of that revolution in
both Honduras and Nicaragua for the past month. A
radio from the State Department started it all off; that
is, our end of the deal. Quite a number of Marines here
volunteered for the trip, as it promised to be quite a
novelty for the local detachment. Most of the
Marines in camp would have been glad to have gone, even
though everyone knew it meant hard riding, miserable
food, not a great amount of even bad water, and
sometimes very little sleep, but then look at the fun
we'd have, to which some other member of the party would
answer, "Oh, yes."
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4 |
Break
out your little map of Central America and follow the
"rosebud" trail that we covered on burros. Leon,
Chinandega, Punte Real, Somotillo., St. Thomas, San
Pedro, San Francisco, Cacamuya gold mines, San Marcos de
Colon, Oyote, El Tamarindo, Somoto Grande, Macuelizo,
Las Limas, Los Manos, Ocotal, back to Cacamuya mines by
way of Somoto Grande and San Marcos, back over the same
run in the order above named, finally back to Cacamuya
and then home again through Chinandega and Leon, a total
distance of five hundred or more miles covered, over the
roughest trails imaginable.
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5 |
At
two p.m. the five of us set out under orders on a
handcar to Chinandega, a station between
Nicaragua and Corinto on the Ferrocarril del
Pacifico de Nicaragua. Chinandega was
reached that night and we had to lay over until
the following evening getting horses and a
guide. After much difficulty we secured
both mounts and an Indian guide and set out that
evening for Somotillo, near the
Honduran-Nicaraguan border. All night was
spent in the saddle in the worst dust I had ever
experienced. In many places it was several
feet deep in the sunken trail, a soft, white
pulverized dust. The air in the vicinity
of the road was so filled with this dust that
sight was difficult. We tied handkerchiefs
over our noses to keep from suffocating and even
then the fine dust sifted through and caused
nose-bleed. Morning found us at Puente
Real (Royal Bridge). He was indeed a
euphemist who gave that bridge its name; a
rickety bamboo span over a syrupy little stream,
bordered on either side with mud flats. To
add insult to injury a toll of 15 cents per
person and five cents per animal is charged.
Here we left the dust behind and all hands felt
like shouting for glee. We soon passed
into a cactus and thorn forest, quite a novelty,
and all day we rode through a blazing sun,
stopping only for a few minutes to rest the
horses. We had had no food, water or sleep
since leaving Chinandega the night before and
some of us were beginning to get a "little
hungry." About five miles out of Somotillo
my horse fell over and proceeded to die, and I
had the pleasure of hiking the remaining miles,
feeling none too pugnacious. My saddle and
equipment was taken care of by another of our
party. Two other members of the party soon
had to dismount and lead, or rather drag their
horses, the remainder of the way.
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6 |
Somotillo
was finally reached; how nice. We chased the
nearly naked wash-women out of the only waterhole and
drank deep. We still had four or five cans of "willie"
and beans and that was reinforced with tortillas
(pronounced tor-tee-as). All this went down as if
by magic and everyone admitted we felt better.
Back we went and chased the dusky maidens out of the
waterhole again and went swimming.
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7 |
The next day
three of us made a side trip to the border at St.
Thomas, which was garrisoned by Nicaraguan troops.
We were received with friendly demonstration and treated
to our first real native dinner of tortillas, stale meat
and very old eggs. Food here in these
foothills is not especially appetizing, and particularly
now during this revolution.
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U. S.
Marines with Nicaraguan Soldiers at St. Thomas,
Nicaragua, February 1924
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8 |
There is
very little revolution, but lots of plundering.
The tortillas here are made from the poor, stale, worm
earthen corn, ground wet and baked into a thin leathery
pancake, without any seasoning whatever. Meat is
hung up in the sun, but doesn't dry, for the flies get
to it first and the maggots next. That little fact
doesn't bother the natives though. They
nonchalantly knock the worms off with a stick, throw the
meat on a hot coal, and presto, you have a nice juicy
barbecue. The eggs, they're good though! It
sometimes takes several days to find the nest, and then
the eggs are buried in straw for a couple of weeks or
months maybe. They come out rather peculiar
looking--maybe they are a little "rotten." The
most prized food here is the birdlike, tough, fighting
stock chicken. Once captured, it is sort of
cleaned and boiled for about fifteen or twenty minutes.
This culinary process sets the flesh and makes it a
little less palatable. Then it is served in its
entirety on a palm leaf. These people use palm
leaves for plates when they aren't too lazy to cut them.
Knives, forks, spoons, cups and saucers are unheard of.
The good old human hand fulfills all those purposes and
gourds make ideal cups. Of course, the menfolk do
use knives, the kind they carry around with them and use
to chop down trees, kill wild beasts, and other men.
They are about four feet long, with a five-inch blade,
weigh about three pounds, and bear the label "Collins"
if they are the fashionable kind. These make
fairly good table knives. I noticed one fellow use
one to put a bit of whey on a small cornmeal cake.
In the States the farmers call these things corn knives,
but here they are machettes.
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9 |
We stayed in
St. Thomas only a few hours and returned to Somotillo,
having covered about forty miles, a big day's work with
poor horses, and our horses were always poor.
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10 |
Another day
was spent in hustling horses again. In the
afternoon we set out for San Pedro, still higher in the
hills and toward the Northeast. We finished the
last of our camp provisions and dropped all equipment
except a blanket and a saddle bag. We could not
carry either food or more equipment on account of the
poor horses and the increasingly bad trails. We
camped in the hills that night and enjoyed a little
coffee and also the ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and such
little inconveniences. San Pedro, garrisoned by
Nicaraguan troops, was reached by noon of the following
day, and another native dinner of tortillas and eggs was
enjoyed by us. In fact, we lived entirely on
native grub for over twenty days and none of us died,
although the MO. did treat me to a lot of emetin on my
return to camp. Somotillo, St. Thomas and San
Pedro were barracks towns with only a few miserable
huts, greatly overcrowded. At San Pedro we
obtained burros instead of horses, better fitted for
hill work and tougher than horses, even on the rider.
Every time I see a burro now I want to walk up to him
and punch him on the nose and pull his ears. We
camped on a ledge that night and by noon next day
reached the Cacamuya Gold Mines, managed by an American
by the name of Samuelson. We got real food there
and how we made his Mex cook put out the chow, and we
got a bath, too, and everyone took his first shave in a
week. We all appeared much less ferocious with the
hair off. We hated to leave Cacamuya a day and a
half later, but had to go on to San Marcos de Colon, the
headquarters of the Honduran Government troops.
There had been a young battle there a week before and
the houses were pretty well sprayed with bullet holes.
We stayed no longer than it was necessary at San Marcos,
and proceeded on to El Tamarindo where we met General
Funez with his wing of the revolutionary army.
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Gunnery Sgt. Bruce, Rene Wallace, Black Chief
and Small Detachment, 1924
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11 |
The soldiers
here on both sides were mostly Indians, barefooted,
with no uniforms except a ribbon for the hat to
designate their politics. All the troops wore
large straw sombreros, trousers, but no shirts or shoes,
and all looked like ancient pirates. They were armed
with machettes, old 1884 single-shot Remingtons and old
7 and 11-mm Austrian Mauser rifles, useful as clubs but
nothing else.
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12 |
All of the
troops were almost starved and have killed off all the
live stock in the country. While we were in the
general's hut a bunch of soldiers chased a young heifer
right up in front of the hut and hacked its head off
with a machette. They did not trouble to skin it,
but just laid it open and each man fought to get a chunk
of meat. Then each man ran off to himself and
built a tiny fire to cook his piece. Some of the
meat was eaten raw. We were glad to get away from
the filth of this place.
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13 |
Our guide
led us astray during the night and lost us in a dry
river bed where we were forced to camp until morning,
and finally got on the right trail to Somoto Grande.
It will be noted that we were traveling in
Northeastward, part of the time in Honduras and part of
the time in Nicaragua. Somoto was reached without
further event and three of us left the following day for
Honduras again.
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14 |
We were
again led astray by a poor guide, who led us off the
right trail and into a jungle of underbrush and bull
nettles. Macuelizo was reached late that night
after a long, hot, tiresome ride on the mules.
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15 |
Macuelizo is
a tiny village hidden away in a bowl shaped valley well
up in the mountain ridge. The inhabitants are
simple, religious folk who seldom venture more than
twenty miles from their homes.
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16 |
Las Limas,
the highest mountain, most inaccessible, and just inside
Honduras, was reached by noon of the next day.
Here General Carias, the big chief of the revolutinoist
cause, and the would-be president of Honduras, had
established his headquarters.
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17 |
Carias proved to be a
man of good education and was surrounded by staff
officers of good mentality. We also met several
Americans here, officers in the revolutionist army and
soldiers of fortune. The food here was even worse
than previously experienced on account of the large
number of soldiers here and all supplies are obtained
locally, there being no such thing as a base of
supplies. The next day we reached Las Manos and
spent the night. We nearly froze that night as we
were high up and the air was very cold. It was so
cold that we were able to see our breath until about
nine o'clock the next morning, before the sun came out
bright and warm enough to thaw us out.
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18 |
Our southward trip
from here to Ocotal and then back to Somoto Grande was
made through a beautiful country, pierced by many
mountain streams of clear, cold water, and covered with
dense pine forests which filled the air with heavy pine
fragrance as is sometimes experienced in passing through
our own southern pine belt. One man was left
behind in Ocotal and the other two joined us at Somoto
Grande, but departed the following day for Managua by
way of the high road to Leon, and the remaining three of
us returned to San Marcos, where it was rumored another
battle was soon to take place. We stayed here
three days awaiting developments and then returned to
Cacamuya Mines.
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19 |
I remained behind at
Cacamuya and the remaining Marine and the interpreter
shoved off the next morning for San Marcos again, then
to Somoto Grande and return to Cacamuya, which trip was
made in three days of hard traveling. It was while
at Cacamuya that news leaked through of the landing of
about two hundred sailors and Marines on the North Coast
of Honduras and their occupation of Tegucigalpa.
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20 |
Orders were received
to return to Managua, and we journeyed homeward through
San Pedro, Somotillo, Puente Real, Chinandega, and then
by train to Managua. The return trip from
Somotillo to Chinandega, a distance of about sixty
miles, was again made at night to avoid the heat.
We rode for about an hour out of Puente Real through the
thick dust, and then, it started to rain, the first of
the season, and how it did rain! It came down in
waves and blasts. The trail turned into a churned
sea of mud and water and the dust on the horses and
ourselves turned to muddy streaks, giving us a desperate
appearance. Several of the party had purchased
native undergarments, which come in bright blues, reds
and stripes. These garments usually bleach white
after a couple of washings, so when the soaking rain hit
us they lost color so rapidly that one Marine, dressed
in a bright red garment, presented some appearances of
being wounded, and the color did not fade nearly so
quickly from the skin as from the garment. The
horses became frightened at the unusual amount of
swirling water in the sunken trail, which was three feet
deep in places, and stumbled and wallowed about throwing
one man and covering all of us with mud.
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21 |
We presented a most
sorry spectacle upon our arrival at Chinandega the next
day, but the following afternoon, when we arrived in
Managua once more, we were quite ourselves again, and
then after the first big chow someone said, "Just look
at the fun we had," to which all hands answered, "Uh
Huh."
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The Leatherneck, March 1928, pp. 7-8
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PC-Doc Master Inventory
27.05.18. Report in Detail of
Engagement at la paz centro.
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MARINE DETACHMENT
La Paz Centro, Nicaragua
18 May 1927.
From:
Second Lieut. C. J. Chappell, U. S. Marine Corps,
To:
Commanding Officer, Landing Forces,
Medical University, Leon, Nicaragua.
Via:
Commanding Officer, Leon Detachment
Subject:
Report in detail of engagement at La Paz Centro.
1.
At about 0055 16 May 1927, shots were heard in the town
of La Paz Centro. Immediately "Call to arms" was
sounded in the camp and one platoon, under the Command
of Captain R. B. Buchanan, U.S. Marine Corps, and Second
Lieutenant C. J. Chappell, U. S. Marine Corps, second in
command, left camp to investigate. Firing was in
the general direction of camp and it was necessary for
the men to keep low in order not to be hit.
2.
A guard of eight men from the Company Headquarters was
left in camp under First Sergeant Dennis W. Green. U.S.
Marine Corps.
3.
Captain Buchanan entered the town with his command in
patrol formation. One patrol consisting of one
squad, under Corporal Donald L. Truesdale, covered the
eastern area of town. Sergeant Glendell L.
Fitzgerald with the following men, Privates Firstclass
Herman Keith, Carl J. Klopp, Harvey C. Thieling and
Private Marvin A. Jackson, covered the main street.
A point consisting of Corporal Gavins Strickland,
Privates Firstclass Claude W. Ash, William F. Simon,
Jr., Privates Charles W. Joullian, Roy Barrett, Wilson
B. Green and Severin Roche, preceded the remaining two
squads, covered the area of the streets north of the
main street. Captain Buchanan was with Corporal
Strickland at the head of the point. I, Lieutenant
Chappell, was with the remaining two squads, following
at least fifty yards.
4.
Captain Buchanan, on hearing firing off to his left
swung in this direction in order to flank them.
After advancing for about a block and a half the point
was fired on and forced to take cover. The point
then moved forward about twenty-five yards, joining
Sergeant Fitzgeranld's patrol. I was ordered to
move the remaining two squads on line and to the left of
where the point was located. Private Marvin A.
Jackson in attempting to secure a better position was
fired upon by a band of liberals located in a house and
was struck in the head and side, mortally wounded and
died at about 0420. Corporal Anthony J. Rausch in
attempting to join Sergeant Fitzgerald's patrol, which
had advanced to this point on the main street and were
engaged in combat with a number of liberal forces
located in houses and behind buildings, was fired upon
and struck in the chest and arm. Private
Firstclass Joseph H. Downs in Moving forward with
Corporal Rausch was [ p. 2 ] fired on, the
bullet striking his rifle and causing part of the butt
plate from his rifle to be driven into his side, this
injury did not prove serious. Captain Buchanan,
attempting to take up a better position, also across the
street, where Sergeant Fitzgerald's patrol was in
position, was fired upon from a window and fatally
wounded, dying shortly afterwards. Sergeant
Fitzgerald had been directing the fire of his men on
this house when the Captain was hit and in a short while
Privates Firstclas Keith, Thieling and Klopp were able
to enter and clear out the remaining Liberals located
there. As soon as this was done Sergeant
Fitzgerald and Corporal Strickland carried the Captain
into the house and the men inside administered first aid
treatment. During the entire time a heavy fire had
been coming from three directions, located in various
houses and from a machine gun to the left of the patrol.
The remaining two squads moved up into position on the
left of where the point had taken cover. Corporal
Rausch, Privates Firstclass Simon and Downs, Privates
Roche and Norman V. Jones, took a position where the
point was located with Sergeant Fitzgerald's patrol and
assisted in clearing out this area. The remaining
men in these two squads were located on the left of the
patrol and covered the houses and area to their front,
routing the remaining liberals located there.
Corporal Strickland, Privates Colin H. Campbell, Wallace
T. Anderson, Joullin and Green, crossed the street and
entered the yard in rear of the house the Captain was
located in and cleared out the liberals located there.
Sergeant Charlie Ryerson and I, on hearing that the
Captain had been wounded attempted to reach him but due
to heavy fire were unable to reach the house where he
was located. After about fifteen minutes, at which
time the fire had ceased enough to allow us to advance
without being hit, we reached the Captain. Upon
reaching the house we found that Captain Buchanan had
received first aid treatment but was in a very critical
condition and practically unable to talk. We also
learned of our other casualties and accompanied by
Corporal Rausch, who had already been wounded, made our
way to the Postoffice, located about one block from the
scene of the fighting. I informed Captain
Woodward, by telephone, what had taken place and
requested medical aid as soon as possible. Then
returning to Captain Buchanan's aid we found that he had
died about 0230. Privates Firstclass Keith, Klopp
and Thieling were with the Captain at the time of his
death. Up to the time of his death the Captain was
continually offering words of encouragement to his men
and inquiring as to how they were faring outside of the
building.
5.
Due to the fact that it was very dark and not knowing
the exact location of the liberal forces we were forced
to hold a position deployed along the main street,
continuing a heavy barrage on the houses occupied by the
opposing forces until they retreated from the city.
[ p. 3 ] At about 0300 the liberals ceased
firing and retreated from the city. Due to the
fact that the liberals were leaving in small bands we
did not attempt to follow them but were re-organized and
carried our casualties to the Railroad Station for
medical aid, leaving a patrol of ten men in the city
until day light. At daybreak the town was
thoroughly patrolled, checking upon the dead, wounded
and any remaining armed forces.
6.
Fourteen liberals, some of who had red bands on their
hat, are known to have been killed in this engagement.
It is assumed, from reports received that morning from
the natives of this city, that a number killed and
wounded were carried away by the retreating liberals.
We took a small group of prisoners but there [they] were
released on being identified as conservative soldiers by
the Commandant.
7.
In addition to Captain Buchanan, killed in action,
Private Marvin A. Jackson was shot through the brain and
side and died at about 0420. Corporal Anthony J.
Rausch was wounded in the right side of his chest and in
the right arm and Private first class William F. Simon,
Jr., was wounded in the right hand, the index finger
being completely shot away.
8.
Lieutenant D. O. Bowan, (MC) U. S. Navy, and two
Hospital corpsman arrived on gasolina at 0420 to give
medical aid and after attending to the bodies of Captain
Buchanan and Private Jackson they returned to Leon with
the two wounded men, leaving La Paz Centro at 0510.
The bodies of Captain Buchanan and Private Jackson were
sent to Leon on the noon train.
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RG127/113C/12
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Summary & Notes |
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Engagement
with Liberal forces in Pacific Coast town of La Paz
Centro near León
-- four Marine casualties (2 killed, 2 wounded),
reported 14 Liberals killed. |
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Less than two weeks
after the Espino Negro Accord formally ended the 1926-27 Civil War,
the battle made the second page of the New York Times; one of
the main reasons for the killing of Liberal General Francisco Sequiera, a.k.a. "Cabulla"
a few weeks later. |
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•
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Engagement
unrelated to EDSN, at the time were in NE Segovias
en route to El Jícaro and San
Albino Mine. |
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•
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Headline of
New York Times article on the battle described
here, 17 May 1927, p. 2. |
PC-Doc Master Inventory
•
back to marine corps casualties
27.06.07.
Patrol to diria, nicaragua.
77th Company, Second Battalion,
Fifth Regiment
Second Brigade, U. S. Marine
Corps,
Granada, Nicaragua.
7 June 1927.
From:
Second Lieutenant Monroe S. Swanson, U.S.M.C.
To:
The Commanding Officer, Second Battalion, Fifth
Regiment.
Subject: Patrol
to Diria, Nicaragua, report of.
1.
In accordance with your Field Message No. 1, received at
1605, 6 June, 1927, I proceeded via Graham truck at
1725, 6 June, 1927 over road GRANADA - DIRIA to the
Village of DIRIA with one squad equipped with three days
rations to investigate reports received regarding the
molesting of liberals at that place by the conservatives
officials. We arrived at DIRIA at 1845 same date,
being quartered at the home of Alberto Sandizo. We
returned to Granada via the same route and same
transportation, leaving DIRIA at 1525, 7 June, 1927, and
arriving in GRANADA at 1620, 7 June, 1927.
2.
Upon arrival at DIRIA orders were given to the Agent of
Police, Pedro J. Rivas, to inform the population of
DIRIA to turn in their arms, which order was carried
out. As a result one green rifle was received.
The rifles of the police were taken away, ten in number,
from them at 2000 6 June, 1927, but were returned to
them at 0900, 7 June, 1927. Orders were also given
to the Agent of Police that his patrolmen were not to
patrol streets with their rifles, but they were to keep
them in the police station for use only in case they
were needed to quell any disturbance. The Agent of
Police was also instructed to keep his rifles unloaded
while in the police station, and to treat members of
both political parties alike.
3.
An investigation of the report turned in by Abrahano
Ruiz that the officials in DIRIA had been molesting the
population revealed the following facts:
On 23 May 1927, four policemen entered the home of
Alberto Sandigo, liberal, at whose home Alberto
Ruiz, also a liberal, was at that time. The
police entered one door and Abrahano Ruiz came out
another when the police fired one shot which entered
the wall. They then took him to the police
station, holding him in custody about one hour when
he was released. Abrahano Ruiz then left town.
This occurrence [ p. 2 ] happened
apparently for no other reason that they belonged to
opposing political parties.
On 27 May, 1927, two conservatives named Alberto
Delgado Sequiera and Edwardo Castillo, who were
riding along the road towards GRANADA, met a liberal
named Jose Ruis Hijo on an ox-cart coming from
GRANADA to DIRIA at a point about half way between
the two towns. Upon meeting, both sides opened
fire with rifles and as a result one conservative,
Alberto Delgado Sequiera and the one liberal were
killed. It is believed this skirmish was a
result of the first mentioned incident. The
other conservative is now awaiting trial in criminal
court at GRANADA. Both sides represent
prominent families in DIRIA, Alberto Delgado
Sequiera being the brother of Francisco Delgado
Sequiera, the former Commandant of Arms at DIRIA.
The liberal, who was killed, was the nephew-in-law
of Abrahano Ruis, who reported the conditions in
DIRIA to you. It is believed that the whole
trouble is enmity between the two families, and
inasmuch as the conservatives are in power, the
liberal faction is unduly afraid. Several
liberals asked that the houses be searched for arms
and gave me the attached list of names of those who
are supposed to possess arms.
At 1030, 7 June, 1927, a liberal, named Francisco
Espinosa, reported that a conservative aimed a rifle
at him when passing his house. An
investigation of this incident was made at once.
Accompanied by the liberal, I took two men to the
house of the conservative, but did not find him
there. A search of his house produced two
rifles. Later I learned that the conservative
was a policeman, named Agapito Lopez.
Questioning him at the police station, he stated
that he had his rifle out trying the bolt as the
liberal passed and did not mean to harm him.
As he appeared to be an honest looking man, I am
inclined to believe his version. He also
stated that inasmuch as he was a policeman he did
not think it was against the law for him to possess
arms.
4.
Two patrols were sent out from DIRIA at 0645, 7 June,
1927, of two men each to report on conditions in the
surrounding country. One patrol went north to SAN
JUAN, a distance of about four miles, and returned at
1045. The other went west about the same distance
and returned about the same hour. Both patrols
reported the people friendly and busy cultivating their
land. The roads in both directions are passable by
bull carts only.
Everyone in DIRIA seems to be friendly and busy with
their normal daily pursuits.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - MONROE S. SWANSON - - - -
NA127/43A/19
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Summary & Notes |
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Report on a series of minor events in district
around Conservative stronghold of Granada; sheds
light on local political practices and unsettled
political conditions after formal end of Civil War.
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•
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Illuminates entwining of political struggles and
family affiliations, and mixed success of Marines in
efforts to disarm general populace. |
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•
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Events had nothing to do with EDSN. |
PC-Doc Master Inventory
27.06.22. Report of Patrol to valle de los zapatos.
Headquarters, 1st Battalion,
11th Regiment, U.S.M.C.
Leon, Nicaragua
22 June 1927.
From:
First Lieutenant Merton A. Richal, U.S.M.C.
To:
The Commanding Officer.
Subject: Report of
patrol to Valle de los Zapatas.
1.
In compliance with orders dated 19 June 1927, the
undersigned conducted a patrol of seven men to the
town of Valle de los Zapatas to investigate
depredations and burnings in that place and the
following report is submitted:-
ITINERARY
Left
Leon 5:00 a.m., 20 June; arrived San Jacinto 10:45
a.m.; left San Jacinto 1:00 p.m.; arrived Apanti
2:20 p.m.; left Apanti 2:30 p.m.; arrived Valle de
los Zapatas 4:45 p.m., 20 June.
Left
Valle de los Zapatas 7:15 a.m., 21 June; arrived
Rota 10:15 a.m.; left Rota 10:30 a.m.; arrived
Laceibita 12:30 p.m.; left Laceibita 2:30 p.m.;
arrived Leon 5:15 p.m.
CONDITION OF COUNTRY AND ROADS
All
cleared fields appear to be under cultivation, the
most common crop being corn, and many natives were
working in the fields.
Numerous herds of cattle and many horses and mules
were seen grazing in pastures. The country for
about twelve miles from Leon is extensively
cultivated. From there to Apanti the country
is heavily wooded and wild. There is a
cultivated region around Apanti for a radius of
about one mile and then wilderness until the
vicinity of Valle de los Zapatas is reached where
there are more cultivated fields and pastures.
The
road from Leon to San Jacinto is passable for bull
carts, there being no steep grades. The main
obstacles encountered were mud holes. From San
Jacinto to Apanti the route traveled was only a
trail, extremely steep and rocky and absolutely
impassable for bull carts. The guide said
there was a bull cart road between the two places but
that it was worse for horses than the one we used.
From Apanti to Valle de los Zapatas the road was
fairly level and passable for bull carts but had
many mud holes and was very slippery due to the
nature of the clay soil. The route of the
return trip to Leon was over a road passable for
bull carts. There were a few steep grades and
many mud holes but was the main route north from
Leon.
VILLAGES ENROUTE
Apanti, about twenty miles from Leon, is a
collection of about six or seven houses and no
stores. The leading citizen or Commandante is
Timoteo Flori. [ p. 2 ]
Valle
de los Zapatas is a one street village of about
twenty houses, 150 population, one church and an
abandoned store. The leading citizen or
Alcalde is Prudensio Silbar.
REPORTS OF DEPREDATIONS AND
BANDITS.
There
were no signs or reports of bandits enroute to Valle
de los Zapatas but in that place six houses had been
burned, the store apparently looted and the owner
either driven away or had left of his own volition.
No one in the town had been killed by bandits.
The
names of the owners of the burned houses are Rebeca
Novoa (conservative), Matias Silba (conservative),
Francisco Gonzalez (conservative), Estebana Pichardo
(liberal), Domingo Norvais (conservative).
Francisco Gonzalez was interviewed and stated that
there were no bandits in the town at the present
time but that some had come in yesterday and the day
before (June 19th and 18th). He did not know
how many there were as they came in the night and
did not come hear his house. He did not
actually see them and did not know where they came
from or went to.
Jesus
Hando was interviewed and said that bandits had come
into the town about two weeks ago and burned the six
houses. They also went to several other houses
and inquired for a certain man who was not known.
He also said that three bandits had come into town
yesterday (June 19th). He did not see any of
the bandits himself and did not know where they came
from or went to. He said no-one in the town
knew who the bandits were. (It is believed
that the bandits reported as having come into the
town on June 19th were the native police enroute to
El Sauce.)
Maria
Louisa Gonzalez was interviewed and said that about
11:00 p.m., June 17th, four bandits armed with two
pistols and one rifle came to her house, threatened
her and forced her to give them food. She said
that she recognized one of the bandits as Bentura
Caballero, living in Posoltega.
No
further information about the bandits could be
obtained. The inhabitants of Valle de los
Zapatas seemed a little cautious about giving
information but were very friendly and not at all
sullen. They said they wanted marine
protection and expected the bandits to come back any
day after the marine patrol left.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - M. A. Richal - - - 23 June
1927 - - - - -
NA127/209/1
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Summary & Notes |
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By mid-June,
Marines extending reach into zones around León and
beyond. |
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Report
on 2-day patrol to village of Valle de los Zapatos,
NE of León. |
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Conveys a sense of area's geography and continuing
unsettled political conditions. |
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Again, EDSN had nothing to do with
these events.
|
PC-Docs Master Inventory
(excel file) •
pc-docs master inventory
(list on pc-docs home)
27.07.16. attack on ocotal.
|
Date: 16 July 1927
Place: OCOTAL
U.S. Forces engaged:
Bandit Forces engaged: Five
Hundred (500)
C.O. U.S. Forces engaged:
Captain G. D. HATFIELD
Bandit Leaders: A. C.
Sandino
At 0115,
16 July, 1927, an attack on the city of OCOTAL was
launched by the forces of A.C. Sandino. The sentry
on post in front of the barracks saw a suspicious
movement in the street just beyond the officer's
quarters and went to investigate. As he approached
he was fired upon by four men from the street corner one
block west of the officer's quarters. He returned
the fire, after which he took his battle station.
All the
men were dressed and at their assigned stations firing
within three minutes from the time the first shot was
fired and were receiving fire from all directions, and
from well located snipers in addition. The outlaws
had evidently infiltrated into the town during the early
part of the night and expected to effect a complete
surprise.
The
street on which the Marine Barracks was located was
swept by machine gun fire from a position on a hill in
prolongation of the street, and it was fire from this
gun which wounded Private Garrison.
The
intersecting street between the barracks and the
officers quarters was swept by machine gun fire from a
gun located in the Jefe Politico's office, and also by a
friendly fire from a machine gun located in the street
in front of the barracks of the Guardia Nacional, being
fired by Lieut. Bruce in an effort to silence the enemy
gun at the office of the Jefe Politico. It was
through this barrage, aided by rifles, that the officers
had to pass to join their organizations.
The
initial attack slackened at about 0300, when the bugles
sounded their assembly for re-organization. It was
at this time that Sandino arrived from Mosonte and
evidently changed the plan of attack. Two
automatic rifles and some snipers kept up a desultory
firing until 0810, when a bearer of a flag of truce
approached with a message from Sandino and another from
Sanchez. Firing was suspended while the truce
bearer approached but all men remained at the ready with
orders to allow no shifting of enemy troops or change of
enemy dispositions while the notes were being read and
replied to.
The notes
were to the effect that we had put up a brave fight,
that we would have guarantee of immunity, and that we
were known to be short of water, an error on his part,
for we had enough in government "guarro" tanks to last
two weeks; therefore if we would throw our arms in the
streets we would not be harmed, but if we did not
surrender within sixty minutes, he (Sandino) would fire
the town and show us an amount of rifle fire that we had
not dreamed of before. [ p. 2 ] Captain
Hatfield replied that, Marines did not know how to
surrender and that water or no water we would stick it
out until killed or captured, and that firing would be
resumed as soon as the flag bearer had turned the
nearest corner.
Heavy
rifle and machine gun fire continued until about 1015,
when two planes arrived, circled the town caught the
messages and fired bursts of machine gun fire.
One
plane, Marine Gunner Wodarczyk, pilot, flew low over
field. The pulled up and regained altitude.
The other plane, Lt. Boyden, pilot, then chased three
mules off field with plane. he saw no marines on
the field and landed at the airdrome. Two natives
came running from bushes beside field to the plane.
They appeared nervous and said that Sandino was in
OCOTAL. They indicated that there had been
shooting. When questioned, they said the Marines
were still in OCOTAL. They then ran to the bushes.
The ship took off immediately. Observed panel
message laid in street of town, "SANDINO ATTACKING".
In the meanwhile the other plane piloted by Marine
Gunner Wodarczyk attacked a point at the river one mile
S.E. of town. The other plane dived in three times
attacking with the front gun. Got off 230 shots.
After M.G. Wodarczyk had fired all of his ammunition,
350 rounds, he headed for home. The other plane
then attacked five times with rear and front guns, then
headed for Managua.
At 1315 a
formation of five planes made a formation flight to
OCOTAL to aid Marines besieged in that place by the
bandit Sandino. Each plane carried 17 pound
fragmentation bombs and two guns with 800 rounds of
ammunition.
The
planes arrived in OCOTAL at 1440 -- reconnoitered the
outskirts of town. On the southeastern edge of
town about fifty (50) saddle horses with the men at a
house nearby were observed. From the
reconnaissance it appeared that the south and
southeastern border of the town was occupied by
Sandino's troops. The planes circled in column and
dove in turn on Sandino's troops, attacking with bombs
and gun fire. Several direct hits were observed
and the effect was immediate, the men streaming away
from the houses and throwing away their arms as they
ran. After the planes had bombed these troops the
attack was followed by a further attack with fixed and
free machine guns completing the rout. The planes
repeatedly circled the town and fired on numerous groups
of bandits that were fleeing. Captain Hatfield had
his headquarters in the center of the town, with the
detachment identification panel laid out in the street
in front of the house.
At 1515
the planes having released all of their bombs the
assembly signal was given and the planes returned to
Managua.
The
bombing and machine gun attack caused numerous
casualties to Sandino's force. The moral effect
was exceedingly great, men throwing down their arms and
running in all directions away from the town towards
wooded country. The machine gun attack which
followed completed their defeat.
NA127/206
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Summary & Notes |
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First of several PC-Docs & other reports on first
military engagement between Marines & EDSN. |
 |
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•
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EDSN
attack on Marine-Guardia garrison at Ocotal made
headlines around the world, as did the slaughter of
upwards of 300 rebels in aviators' counterattacks.
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Military historians consider this the first instance
in history in which ground forces (led by Capt.
Hatfield) directed an aerial assault against
opposing ground forces. |
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Events leading up to the Sandinista attack & the battle
itself receive extensive treatment in the literature
(e.g., Neill Macaulay, The Sandino Affair, chap. 4). |
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Ocotal events also comprise an important element in
Sandinista historical memory, e.g.,
IES testimonies.
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Reaction of
world press to these events
discussed in my article on the air war (International History
Review, Sept. 2007) and on the
Air-Toons
page. |
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•
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Illustration: "The Black Hills of Nicaragua,"
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, 25 July
1927. |
PC-Docs Master Inventory
(excel file) •
pc-docs master inventory
(list on pc-docs home)
back to marine corps casualties
27.07.20. attack on ocotal, july 16, 1927.
|
MARINE DETACHMENT, OCOTAL,
NICARAGUA
20 JULY, 1927.
From: The
Commanding Officer.
To:
The Commanding General, Second Brigade, Managua,
Nicaragua.
Via:
(1) The Commanding Officer, Third Battalion.
(2) The Commanding Officer, Fifth Regiment
Subject: Attack on Ocotal,
July 16, 1927
1.
At 1:15 a.m., 16 July, 1927, an attack on the city of
Ocotal was launched by the forces commanded by one
Augusto C. Sandino the one time general of the Liberal
forces of Nicaragua, but now an outlaw and rebel.
2.
Disposition had been made for such an attack, and the
men, both Marines and Guardia Nacional, had had frequent
drills in quickly assuming their battle stations and
always slept with arms and ammunition at hand.
The Officers were standing watch and watch rather than
the usual officer of the day duty and all slept fully
dressed.
The sentry yon post in front of the barracks, Private
Brainard R. Williams saw a suspicious movement in the
street just beyond the officers' quarters and went to
investigate. As he approached he was fired upon by
four men from the street corner one block west of the
officers' quarters. He returned the fire, after
which he took his battle station.
All men were dressed and at their assigned stations
firing within three minutes from the time the first shot
was fired and were receiving fire from all directions,
and from well located snipers in addition.
The outlaws had evidently infiltrated into the town
during the early part of the night and expected to
effect a complete surprise.
The street on which our barracks is located was swept by
machine gun fire from a position on a hill in
prolongation of the street, and it was fire from this
gun which wounded Private Garrison.
The intersecting street between the barracks and the
officers' quarters was swept by machine gun fire from a
gun located in the Jefe Politico's Office, and also by
friendly fire from a machine gun located in the street
in front of the barracks of the Guardia Nacional, being
fired by Lieutenant Bruce in an effort to silence the
enemy gun at the office of the Jefe Politico. It
was thru this barrage, aided by rifles, that the
officers had to pass to join their organizations.
The initial attack slacked at about 3:00 a.m., when the
bugles sounded their assembly for a re-organization.
It was at this time that Sandino arrived from Mosonte
and evidently changed the plan of attack. Two
automatic rifles and some snipers kept up [ p. 2 ]
a desultory firing until the second attack was launched
at about 4:00 a.m., and lasted until 8:10 a.m., when a
bearer of a flag of truce approached with a message from
Sandino and another from Sanchez. Firing was
suspended while the truce bearer approached but all men
remained at the ready with orders to allow no shifting
of enemy troops or change of enemy dispositions while
the notes were being read and replied to.
The notes were to the effect that we had put up a brave
fight, that we would have guarantee of immunity, and
that we were known to be short of water, an error on his
part, for we had enough in government "guarro" tanks to
last us two weeks; therefore if we would throw our arms
in the street we would not be harmed, but if we did not
surrender within sixty minutes, he would fire the town
and show us an amount of rifle fire that we had never
dreamed of before.
My reply was that Marines did not know how to surrender
and that water or no water we would stick it would until
killed or captured [sic], and that firing would be
resumed as soon as the flag bearer had turned the
nearest corner.
It was during the second attack that Private Obleski was
killed by a sniper from an adjoining wall. This
sniper was killed by Sergeant Ollie R. Blackburn with
fire from his pistol and was found with four forty-five
calibre bullet wounds in his head and neck.
Heavy rifle and machine gun fire continued until about
10:15 a.m., when two planes from Managua arrived,
circled the town, caught our messages and fired bursts
of machine gun fire.
One evidently returned to Managua at about 10:30 a.m.,
while the other remained until 11:00 a.m., assisting us
by machine gun fire.
Five planes came over at about 2:35 p.m., firing machine
guns and dropping bombs until 3:20 p.m., when they
returned to Managua.
The air attack was the deciding factor in our favor, for
almost immediately the firing slackened and troops began
to withdraw.
A desultory firing was kept up until about 5:25 p.m.,
when it ceased, with the exception of some snipers
behind a wall in front of the church. These
snipers were bluffed into surrendering their arms by
Lieutenant Bruce of the Guardia Nacional, who told them
that they were entirely surrounded and would be killed,
all but one of the seven dropped their arms and gave up,
but one tried to run away and was killed by Private
Ingram from a doorway in this barracks.
This was the last of the firing from either side and I
took, and sent, patrols out through town to locate
snipers and count the visible dead, of which there were
more than fifty in the streets alone, to say nothing of
those that had died in houses and along the river.
It was too near darkness for me to search the town, but
from the number of dead seen, the number of funerals
held daily since then and the increased size of the
cemetery, I believe there were at least three hundred
dead from all causes, in addition to [ p. 3 ]
the wounded, which it is impossible to get check or even
an estimate on.
Our total casualties were one dead and one wounded of
the Marine Corps, three wounded, one seriously, and four
captured of the Guardia Nacional.
Of the known dead of Sandino's forces Ruffo Marin [Rufo
Marín] was the most important, Juan Calendreas [Juan
Colindres] next and I have received conflicting reports
as to Simon Jiron "Pichingo", some claim to have
identified his body and others claim he is still alive.
Both marines and guardia claim credit for the death of
Ruffo Marin but it makes no difference so long as he is
dead.
Sandino's forces, I believe, amounted to about four
hundred and were augmented by about one hundred here in
town, a fact evidenced by practically every Liberal
family in town being in mourning.
They admit fourteen dead and twenty wounded citizens of
the town, so there must be many more that they have said
nothing about. However, there have been from three
to ten funerals from the church daily since the battle
and only the better families have church
funerals, the working classes are tied up in a sack and
laid in the grave without ceremony.
All Conservative homes and business places were sacked,
and several Conservative personal enemies were killed by
the invaders.
Private Obleski was buried with military honors at 6:45
p.m., July 16, 1927, in rear of our barracks and a cross
and fence erected over his grave.
I have nothing but praise for the officers and men, both
Marine Corps and Guardia Nacional, all fought like
veterans and the members of the First Company, Guardia
Nacional, are worthy to serve side by side with any
military organization, any time, any where. The
presence of this organization saved us from being in a
very serious if not fatal position.
I have a number of citations for exceptional gallantry
under fire for officers and men of both organizations,
principally Lieutenant Bruce of the Guardia, Lieutenant
Darnall of the Marine Corps and Guardia, Lieutenant
Bliesner of the Marine Corps, and several enlisted men
of both organizations.
These citations will be formally listed in another
communication.
C. D. [G. D.] HATFIELD
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