War of 1863

War in Central America

War of 1863

| Date| 13 February – 26 October 1863
(8 months and 13 days)

|

Location|

Guatemala and El Salvador

Result|

Guatemalan victory

* Overthrow of Gerardo Barrios

Belligerents

* Guatemala
* Salvadoran deserters
* Supported by:
* Costa Rica
* Nicaragua

* El Salvador
* Honduras

Commanders and leaders

* Rafael Carrera
* José Víctor Zavala
* Vicente Cerna
* Santiago González[a]
* Francisco Dueñas

* Gerardo Barrios
* Santiago González[a]
* José Trinidad

The War of 1863[1] (Spanish: Guerra de 1863) was a conflict fought between El Salvador and Guatemala from 13 February 1863 to 26 October 1863.

Guatemalan President Rafael Carrera sought to overthrow Salvadoran President Gerardo Barrios, citing his attacks on the Catholic Church in El Salvador during his presidency as justification. Barrios was overthrown on 26 October 1863 and was replaced by a conservative politician, Francisco Dueñas, ending the war.

## Background

[edit]

On 12 March 1859, General Gerardo Barrios overthrew Salvadoran President José María Peralta and declared himself President of El Salvador.[2] The coup and ascension of Barrios to power caused many conservative politicians to flee to Guatemala for safety.[1]

### Barrios-Carrera rivalry

[edit]

Guatemalan President Rafael Carrera was a conservative politician while Barrios was a liberal politician and both ruled as dictators of their respective countries.[1] Barrios passed anticlerical legislation in El Salvador to diminish the power and influence of the Catholic Church while Carrera made agreements with the Church to expand its influence and uphold its privileges.[1]

Carrera initially supported Barrios believing that a strong ruler in El Salvador would be in his best interests, even visiting San Salvador from December 1860 to January 1861 to improve relations.[1] However, in the following years, Barrios began attacking Carrera calling him a "savage" while Guatemalan newspapers attacked Barrios' "lameness and pomposity."[1] The Guatemalans later labeled the war as a war over religion when it was really a political and ideological war.[1] Salvadoran bishops did, however, support the Guatemalans in the conflict, as did Salvadoran conservatives.[1]

## War

[edit]

### Battle of Coatepeque

[edit]

The Battle of Coatepeque (top) and the Siege of San Salvador (bottom).

Main article: Battle of Coatepeque

In 1862, Carrera began plans to topple Barrios from power and instal a conservative as president.[1] On 13 February 1863, Carrera invaded El Salvador.[3][4] He took control of the settlements of Ahuachapán, Chalchuapa, and Santa Ana, later establishing a headquarters in Jesús de los Milagros de Coatepeque.[3][4]

On 22 February, the Salvadorans, led by Barrios, entrenched themselves in the town of Coatepeque and prepared for battle.[4] After two days of battle, the Salvadorans won and forced the Guatemalans to retreat.[3]

### Siege of San Salvador

[edit]

After his initial defeat, Carrera invaded El Salvador a second time on 19 June 1863.[1][3][5] During the invasion, many Salvadorans deserted and either refused to take part in the war or joined the Guatemalans, most notably general Santiago González who served under Barrios during the Battle of Coatepeque.[5] Salvadoran conservative politicians, such as Francisco Dueñas, also supported the Guatemalans.[5]

On 30 September, he began a siege of the Salvadoran capital city, San Salvador.[5][6] Carrera ordered a cease fire from San Salvador to submit, and after a month of being sieged, the capital fell on 26 October.[5] Barrios fled the city and went east to San Miguel, after which, Dueñas was declared President of El Salvador.[2][5][7] The fall of San Salvador marked the end of the war.[5]

## Aftermath

[edit]

Carrera died on 14 April 1865.[5] Barrios fled for exile in Nicaragua but he was arrested on 27 July 1865 and extradited to El Salvador.[5] He was court-martialed on 10 August and sentenced to death on 28 August.[5] Barrios was executed by a firing squad on 29 August 1865.[5]

## See also

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* Gerardo Barrios
* Nicaraguan-Salvadoran War, a related conflict
* Rafael Carrera

## Notes

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1. ^ a b Santiago González initially supported President Gerardo Barrios and served under him during the Battle of Coatepeque, but he deserted and joined Carrera in June 1863.

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kuhn, Gary G. (1985). "Church and State Conflict in El Salvador as a Cause of Central American War in 1863". Journal of Church and State. 27 (3). Oxford University Press: 455–462. doi:10.1093/jcs/27.3.455. JSTOR 23916318.
2. ^ a b "Presidentes de El Salvador - Capitán General Gerardo Barrios" [Presidents of El Salvador - Captain General Gerardo Barrios]. Presidente Elías Antonio Saca El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
3. ^ a b c d Barrios, Gerardo (1864). "Manifesto of Don Gerardo Barrios: Captain General and President of the Republic of San Salvador: to his fellow citizens". Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection: 1–52. JSTOR 60233738.
4. ^ a b c Gaceta Oficial. Vol. 11\. Diario Oficial de El Salvador. 19 February 1963. p. 20.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k López Vallecillos, Italo (1967). Gerardo Barrios y su Tiempo. Vol. 2\. pp. 377–482.
6. ^ El Constitutional (7 November 1863). "El Constitutional – Periodico official del supremo gobierno" [The Constitutional – Official Periodical of the Supreme Government] (PDF) (newspaper) (in Spanish). Vol. 1, no. 1\. San Salvador: El Constitucional. pp. 1–8.
7. ^ "Presidentes de El Salvador - Licenciado Francisco Dueñas" [Presidents of El Salvador - Licenciado Francisco Dueñas]. Presidente Elías Antonio Saca El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2020.