Battle of Arroyo Bermejo

The Battle of Arroyo Bermejo (Spanish: Batalla de Arroyo Bermejo), also known as the Combat of Arroyo Bermejo or Action of Arroyo Bermejo, was a military confrontation that took place on September 29, 1863, occurring in the Bermejo River in Monte Plata, within the framework of the Dominican Restoration War during the reign of Isabel II of Spain, where the Spanish troops, led by Lieutenant General Pedro Santana faced against the troops of the Dominican army of General Gregorio Luperón.

The events of the revolution that took place in August 1863 in the border towns with Haiti and in the Cibao gave rise to the superior civil governor and captain general of Santo Domingo, Felipe Rivero to conceive the plan of undertaking an expedition to the Cibao with a division headed by General Pedro Santana, following the same tactics usually followed constantly with respect to the disturbances in times of the republic and which always gave the desired result. That expedition made up of peninsulars and Dominicans had among its objectives to cross the central mountain range, destroy the revolution along with its campaign started in the Cibao and assist the forces in the city of Santiago. This plan was seen by the supporters of the Spanish monarchy as a hope, while for the supporters of independence it was a cause for concern.

The battle would result in the victory of the independentists, and the withdrawal of the royalist forces towards the city of Santo Domingo. The victory of the liberating army is widely known due to the apocryphal story narrated in the work of General Gregorio Luperón, Autobiographical Notes and Historical Notes, where a parallel is made between Generals Santana and Luperón. Currently the battle is commemorated by the Permanent Commission of Patriotic Anniversaries and the Ministry of Defense of the Dominican Republic, the mayor's office and the government of Monte Plata following the narrative of the apocryphal story.