Battle of Guayacanas

Battle of Guayacanas
Part of the Banana Wars
Guayacanas Battle of Guayacanas (the Dominican Republic)
Date 3 July 1916 Location Santiago, Dominican Republic Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Dominican Republic
Commanders and leaders
Holland Smith Joseph A. Glowin	Desiderio Arias
Strength
800 marines 2+ machine guns	80 militia
Casualties and losses
2 killed 7 wounded	27 killed

The Battle of Guayacanas was fought on July 3, 1916 between Dominican rebels and the United States during the United States occupation of the Dominican Republic. Joseph A. Glowin, a corporal, was awarded the Purple Heart for his bravery during the action.

Battle

The Americans marched on Santiago City, a hotbed for the resistance. However, Colonel Pendelton's unit came under fire from Dominican soldiers and battle began. However, the Americans advancing on the Dominican positions did not record any injuries during the initial action. To aid the US Marines under fire, Cpl. Glowin fired his machine-gun and was only pulled out of battle when forced to, a brave action that decorated him with the USA's greatest military award the Medal of Honor.

After his evacuation, Sergeant Roswell Winans brought up more machine-gun positions to fight off the enemy. This gave the Dominicans more targets to fire at. The captain in charge of the pit was killed and the others wounded. Winans was awarded a medal as well, for firing a Colt machine-gun at the enemy even when it was jammed. Soon, two more gun positions were formed and the Dominicans fled. The 27th and 29th divisions gave chase and killed the enemy commander, routing the Dominican rebels.

References

• Langley, Lester D. (1983), The Banana Wars: An Inner History of American Empire, 1900-1934, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0-8131-1496-9

See also

• Banana Wars