Battle of Santa Rosa

The Battle of Santa Rosa was a battle between the forces of Costa Rica and those of Nicaragua. It was one of the most important battles in the history of Costa Rica. The battle took place on March 20, 1856 at Santa Rosa, Costa Rica.

The cause

The fighting was caused by the arrival of William Walker in Nicaragua. Walker was an American soldier who believed slavery was good. He told the people of Nicaragua that he wanted to help the country. What he really wanted was to conquer the five free nations of Central America. The president of Costa Rica, Juan Rafael Mora Porras thought that Walker wanted to conquer them. On February 27, 1856, Mora declared the war against Walker and Nicaragua.

The fighting

President Mora called all of his forces to fight. On March 4th, Mora led the forces as they started their march towards Nicaragua. On March 12th, they arrived in Liberia. There they join with Jose Maria Cañas and his battalion. When the filibusters found out what was happening in Costa Rica, they sent troops. Their troops got to Hacienda Santa Rosa on March 19th. On March 20th, the three thousand Costa Ricans walked to Hacienda Santa Rosa where the filibusters had formed their post at La Casona. At four o’clock, the Costa Rican battalions began the attack against the invaders. After fourteen minutes, the Costa Rican forces won the battle. The few filibusters that had escaped went to Nicaragua. William Walker armed a new army. President Mora quickly moved on to Rivas with his 3000 men, and the Battle of Rivas started.