The Battle of La Flor was fought in May 1928 between the United States Marines, their Nicaraguan National Guardsmen allies, and a force of Sandinista rebels. It occurred at a hill north of the La Flor coffee plantation and ended with a rebel victory when the Americans and Nicaraguan National Guard troops were forced to withdraw. Battle As part of the Coco River Campaign, United States Marine Corps Captain Robert S. Hunter was in command of a patrol along the Cua River. Besides the captain, there were thirty-eight Marines and guardsmen as well as United States Navy Corpsman Oliver L. Young. The men came from the garrisons of Quilalí, Matagalpa and Corinto plantation. On the 13 May, at about 3:40 pm, Captain Hunter was leading his men through a ravine when they were attacked by an advance guard of rebels positioned on a hill next to the Bocaycito River which links up with the El Cua River. The ambush was eventually beaten off so the Marines and Guardsmen continued on to the hill where the enemy fire had come from. The Sandinistas then launched another attack, numbering at least seventy-five guerrillas, and in the fight Corporal William R. Williamson was hit with a bullet and killed. The corporal was carrying a Thompson submachine gun so Captain Hunter moved forward to retrieve it in order to open fire on the attackers. After picking up the weapon and returning fire, Hunter was struck in the neck by a bullet, and then once again in the shoulder. The captain could barely speak at this point so he wrote notes and instructions to his men on paper while the corpsman tried to tend to Hunter's wounds and that of a Marine private. The battle continued for about fifty minutes before the rebels retreated to take up positions along the trail leading back south. At that point, the Marines and Guardsmen captured the hill and began fortifying the position in case of another attack. However, all remained quiet and there was no more fighting that day. On 14 May, Second Lieutenant Earl S. Piper assumed command and chose to retreat in order to evacuate the wounded. Since the Sandinistas occupied areas along the trail, the only way to escape was by breaking through enemy lines to the south, back towards La Flor and Quilalí. Lieutenant Piper sent a reconnaissance patrol out and, when they returned