During the night of the 2nd, Walker had force marched his men down the transit route that led to La Virgen, arriving late that night. Having been defeated earlier by the Democrats under General
Trinidad Muñoz in the North, the fearsome general
José Santos Guardiola (the Butcher), a native of
Honduras, was determined to exact his vengeance on Walker and his men. Confident in the superiority of his numbers, Guardiola stated that he would, "drive the Filibusters into the lake and drown them and save his ammunition". While Walker's men were preparing breakfast on the 3rd, Guardiola struck, his men pouring into the streets of the city. With the lake at their backs and no hope of retreat, Walker's men and their native allies fought vigorously, with Walker, who usually disapproved of the fighting spirit of the natives, even later giving them praise for their efforts. Nicaraguan and American fought literally shoulder to shoulder in the streets of the city, and at one point, the health of Walker even came into question after he was grazed in the throat by a stray bullet. Moments later, another bullet smashed into his coat pocket, but being filled with a package of letters, his life was saved. Walker's men mounted charge after charge against the weakening Legitimists, and after some time, the section of Guardiola's men directly across from Walker's position in the city began to flee. Instead of completely chasing them off, Walker brought his men to the aid of his native subordinates, perhaps lending credibility to the claims of his growing appreciation of his ally's fighting abilities. A troublesome column of Legitimists, led by a certain Colonel Bosque, had troubled Walker before at Rivas, and were now putting Walker's native allies under immense pressure. Walker quickly had the opposing leader shot off of his signature white horse. Thus, the final Legitimist column was routed, and Guardiola barely escaped back to Rivas with his life. == Aftermath ==