Estrada, José Dolores (1792–1869)

José Dolores Estrada (b. 16 March 1792; d. 12 August 1869), Nicaraguan general and hero of San Jacinto. Born in Nandaime to an agricultural family descended from the Gonzalo de Sandoval group of conquistadores, Estrada showed an affinity for the military at an early age. During the independence movement, Estrada accompanied Argüello but achieved real fame only decades later, when he led a dramatic victory against the filibuster forces of William Walker and Byron Cole. The battle of San Jacinto (14 September 1856) was fought on an old hacienda near Tipitapa. There 160 men led by Estrada barricaded themselves in the house and fought the North Americans bravely. Their successful effort convinced other Central Americans that Walker could indeed be beaten, and Estrada and his forces quickly became symbols of nationalism and patriotism.

See alsoSan Jacinto, Battle of; Walker, William.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ildefonso Palma Martínez, La guerra nacional (1956).

Francisco Pérez Estrada, José Dolores Estrada: Héroe nacional de Nicaragua (1970).

Marco Antonio Soto V., La guerra nacional de Centroamérica, 2d ed. (1975).

Ernesto De La Torre Villar, ed., La batalla de San Jacinto, Nicaragua, 1856 (1987).

Additional Bibliography

Bolaños Geyer, Alejandro. La Guerra Nacional de Centroamérica contra los Filibusteros en 1856–1857: Conversaciones con el Doctor Alejandro Bolaños Geyer. Alajuela: Museo Histórico Cultural Juan Santamaría, 2000.

Molina Jiménez, Iván. La campaña nacional, 1856–1857: Una visión desde el siglo XXI. Alajuela: Museo Histórico Cultural Juan Santamaría, 2000.

                                          Karen Racine