on the Central Park of the city. His surprise attack tactics caused heavy casualties to the army of Morazán and forced the survivors to fight for their lives. In combat, Morazán's soldiers lost the initiative and their numerical superiority. Furthermore, unaware of their surroundings in the city, Morazan's troops had to fight, carry their dead and care for their wounded while still tired by the long march from El Salvador to Guatemala. Carrera, by then an experienced military man was able to stand up and defeat Morazán thoroughly. The disaster for the liberal general was complete: aided by Angel Molina who knew the streets of the city, he had to flee with his favorite men, disguised and shouting "Long live Carrera!" through the ravine of El Incienso to El Salvador, to save his life. In his absence Morazán had been relieved as head of state of that country, and he had to embark for exile in Perú. In Guatemala, survivors from his troops were shot without mercy, as Carrera pursued Morazan, whom he failed to catch. This lance definitely sealed the status of General Carrera and marked the decline of Morazán, and forced the conservative criollos to negotiate with Carrera and his revolutionary peasant supporters. Agustin Guzmán, freed by Morazán when the latter had seemingly defeated Carrera in Guatemala City, had gone back to Quetzaltenango with the good news. The city's liberal criollo leaders rapidly reinstated the Los Altos State and celebrated Morazán's victory. However, as soon as Carrera and the newly reinstated Mariano Rivera Paz heard the news, Carrera went back to Quetzaltenango with his volunteer army to regain control of the rebel liberal state once and for all. On 2 April 1840, after entering the city, Carrera told the citizens that he had already warned them after he defeated them earlier that year. Then he ordered most of the liberal city hall officials from Los Altos shot. Carrera, then forcibly annexed Quetzaltenango and much of Los Altos back into conservative Guatemala. After the violent and bloody reinstatement of the State of Los Altos by Carrera in April 1840, Luis Batres Juarros — conservative member of the Aycinena Clan, then secretary general of the Guatemalan government of recently reinstated Mariano Rivera Paz — obtained from the vicar Larrazabal authorization to dismantle the regionalist Church. Active priests of Quetzaltenango — capital of the would-be-state of Los Altos — Urban Ugarte