A force of 8,000 Dominican troops defeated a Haitian army of 22,000 under Emperor Faustin I, helping end the prolonged Dominican-Haitian conflict.
Key Facts
- Date
- 24 January 1856
- Dominican troop strength
- 8,000 soldiers
- Haitian troop strength
- 22,000 soldiers
- Dominican commander
- General Juan Luis Franco Bidó
- Haitian commander
- Emperor Faustin I
- Secondary engagement
- Jácuba near Puerto Plata, won by Pedro Florentino and General Lucas de Peña
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Dominican independence in 1844, Haiti repeatedly attempted to reassert control over the entire island of Hispaniola. Emperor Faustin I marshaled a numerically superior force of 22,000 troops and advanced into Dominican territory in early 1856, threatening the northern regions of the country.
On 24 January 1856 at Sabana Larga in the Dajabón region, General Juan Luis Franco Bidó led 8,000 Dominican soldiers of the Army of the North against the Haitian force, defeating it despite being vastly outnumbered. Simultaneously, a separate Haitian contingent entrenched at Jácuba near Puerto Plata was repelled by Pedro Florentino and General Lucas de Peña.
The Dominican victories at Sabana Larga and Jácuba effectively repulsed Haiti's last major military offensive, contributing to the conclusion of the Dominican War of Independence in 1856 and consolidating Dominican sovereignty over the eastern portion of Hispaniola.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
General Juan Luis Franco Bidó, Pedro Florentino, General Lucas de Peña.
Side B
1 belligerent
Emperor Faustin I.