Conflict: | Battle of Las Carreras |
Partof: | the Dominican War of Independence |
Date: | 21–22 April 1849 |
Place: | Nearby Baní, Peravia Province |
Result: | Decisive Dominican victory |
Combatant1: | Dominican Republic |
Commander1: | Gen. Pedro Santana Gen. Antonio Duvergé Gen. Francisco del Rosario Sánchez Gen. Matías Ramón Mella |
Commander2: | Faustin Soulouque |
Strength1: | 400–800 militia 1 field gun |
Strength2: | 10,000–18,000 regulars 7 artillery pieces |
Casualties1: | minimal |
Casualties2: | 500+ killed 7 artillery pieces captured |
The Battle of Las Carreras (es|Batalla de Las Carreras) was a major battle during the years after the Dominican War of Independence and was fought on the 21–22 April 1849, nearby Baní, Peravia Province. A force of 800 Dominican troops, a portion of the Army of the South, led by General Pedro Santana, defeated an outnumbering force of 10,000 troops of the Haitian Army led by Faustin Soulouque.
The battle opened with a cannon barrage and devolved into hand-to-hand combat. As the remnants of the Haitian army retreated along the southern coastal road, they were under fire from a small Dominican squadron. Haitian strategy was ridiculed by the American press: