William Walker

I was able to connect to the dealings of William Walker in Battle Cry of Freedom. When I was in Costa Rica I was taken to look at a statue of a hero for Costa Rica. It is of a young boy name Juan Santamaria. He is credited for having pushed fillibuster William Walker out of the Central American country. They were very proud as they told of the story and the triumph of the small country.

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Juan Santamaría statue, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Santamaría was born in the city of Alajuela. When U.S. filibuster William Walker overthrew the government of Nicaragua and attempted to conquer the other nations in Central America, including Costa Rica, in order to form a private slave-holding empire, Costa Rican president Juan Rafael Mora Porras called upon the general population to take up arms and march north to Nicaragua to fight against the foreign invader. Santamaría, a poor laborer and the illegitimate son of a single mother, joined the army as a drummer boy. The troops nicknamed him "el erizo" ("the Porcupine") on account of his spiked hair.

After routing a small contingent of Walker's soldiers at Santa Rosa, Guanacaste, the Costa Rican troops continued marching north and reached the city of Rivas, Nicaragua, on April 8, 1856. The battle that ensued is known as the Second Battle of Rivas. Combat was fierce and the Costa Ricans were not able to drive Walker's men out of a hostel near the town center from which they commanded an advantageous firing position.