Battle of Coyotepe Hill

Battle of Coyotepe Hill
Part of theNicaraguan civil war (1912),Occupation of Nicaragua, Banana Wars
Two Marines with Coyotepe Hill in the background in October 1912.
Date 3-4 October 1912 Location nearMasaya,Nicaragua Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Rebels
Commanders and leaders
Joseph H. Pendleton Smedley Butler	Benjamín Zeledón
Strength
850 marines 100 sailors 2artillery pieces	350 militia 4 artillery pieces 2 forts
Casualties and losses
4 killed 10 wounded	32 killed

TheBattle of Coyotepe Hillwas a significant engagement during theUnited StatesoccupationofNicaraguafrom August through November 1912 during the insurrection staged by Minister of WarGeneralLuis Menaagainst the government ofPresidentAdolfo Díaz.

Coyotepe is an old fortress located on a 500-foot hill overlooking the strategic railroad line nearMasayaroughly halfway betweenManaguaandGranada, Nicaragua.

Battle

On 2 to 4 October 1912, a Nicaraguan rebel force led byGeneralBenjamín Zeledónoccupying Coyotepe and another hill, Barranca fort, overlooking the strategic rail line, refused to surrender to government troops underPresidentAdolfo Díaz.U.S. MarineMajorSmedley Butler's Marine battalion, with whom Zeledón's rebels had skirmished on September 19, returned from its capture ofGranada, Nicaraguaon 3 October and shelled the rebel stronghold on Coyotepe.

During pre-dawn hours on 4 October Butler's battalion, in concert with two Marine battalions and one from theUSSCalifornialed by MarineColonelJoseph H. Pendletonconverged from different positions to storm the hill and capture it. Zeledón was killed during the battle, probably by his own men.

Aftermath

Coyotepe Fortress entrance

With the capture ofLeón, Nicaraguatwo days later by U.S. Marines and the recapture of Masaya by Nicaraguan government troops, the Nicaraguan revolution of 1912 was essentially over. During the Somoza dictatorship the fortress was used as a prison. Occasionally dissidents imprisoned there would be taken from the fortress in a helicopter and dropped into a nearby volcano.

See also

• Battle of Fort Dipitie