Qualla: Second Battle of Rivas https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:12 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Second Battle of Rivas https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas Second Battle of Rivas: Introduction https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas/ Juan Santamaria asked for one thing before he ran. If he died, he said, someone had to look after his mother. Then the young Costa Rican soldier grabbed a torch and sprinted toward the hostel where William Walker's filibusters had barricaded themselves. Others had tried and failed. Santamaria made it far enough to set the building ablaze before enemy fire cut him down. The flames forced Walker's men into retreat, and Costa Rica claimed victory at Rivas on April 11, 1856. Today Santamaria is Costa Rica's national hero, his sacrifice commemorated every April 11. But the battle that made him famous was only one act in a saga that entangled Cornelius Vanderbilt, the institution of slavery, and the geopolitics of an entire hemisphere.

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/4/4/c/second-battle-of-rivas-wp/d44c-second-battle-of-rivas-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Second Battle of Rivas: The Gold Road Through Nicaragua https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas/ Before the Panama Canal existed, the fastest route between New York and San Francisco ran through southern Nicaragua. Ships from the Atlantic entered the San Juan River, crossed Lake Nicaragua, and offloaded passengers near the city of Rivas, where stagecoaches carried them overl...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/4/4/c/second-battle-of-rivas-wp/d44c-second-battle-of-rivas-the-gold-road-through-nicaragua.mp3 0:06 2 full Second Battle of Rivas: A Mercenary President https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas/ Walker declared himself president of Nicaragua in July 1856 after a farcical election. As his position weakened -- cholera thinning his ranks, desertions mounting -- he made a desperate bid for support from the American South by revoking Nicaragua's emancipation edict of 1824 and...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/4/4/c/second-battle-of-rivas-wp/d44c-second-battle-of-rivas-a-mercenary-president.mp3 0:06 3 full Second Battle of Rivas: Fire, Aprons, and a Church https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas/ The battle on April 11 centered on a fortified hostel in Rivas where Walker's forces had dug in. Salvadoran General Jose Maria Canas proposed setting the building alight. Several soldiers attempted it and failed. Santamaria's successful charge turned the tide, but he was not the ...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/4/4/c/second-battle-of-rivas-wp/d44c-second-battle-of-rivas-fire-aprons-and-a-church.mp3 0:06 4 full Second Battle of Rivas: Victory Turned to Plague https://qualla.com/second-battle-of-rivas/ Walker and his surviving soldiers fled to Granada under cover of darkness. Costa Rica had won the battle, but the country could not celebrate. Bodies from the fighting had been thrown into the city's wells, and a devastating cholera epidemic erupted. Believing the disease was cau...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/4/4/c/second-battle-of-rivas-wp/d44c-second-battle-of-rivas-victory-turned-to-plague.mp3 0:06 5 full