in parapets made of pine trees. After the first shots, Richal ordered his men to return the enemy's fire which had mortally wounded Sergeant Thomas G. Bruce who was serving as a lieutenant and commander of the Nicaraguan Guardsmen. His body was later found stripped and mutilated. The Sandinistas then charged and forced the Marines and Guardsmen back fifty yards placing the latter within the protection of their 3-inch Stokes mortar and a Lewis machine gun which then opened up against the hill along with a 37-millimeter field piece positioned some distance up the trail. Richal ordered his men to form a skirmish line and he also noted that most of the fire, at that point, was coming from his right flank against the main body while a few rebels on his left flank were engaging both his main body and the rear guard. Though the machine gun used by the marines eventually jammed, rifle fire and that of the artillery successfully held off further Sandinista attacks. Gunnery Sergeant Edward G. Brown, who assumed command after Richal was hit, counterattacked with a handful of men and captured the hill as the rebels fled. Immediately afterwards, two American biplanes arrived on scene and began strafing the retreating rebels. Aftermath Augusto César Sandino, the rebel general who was known to exaggerate, claimed that his men won the battle after three hours of fighting. Sandino also stated that ninety-seven Americans were killed, mostly by machetes, and another sixty men were wounded. He claimed that six Lewis machine guns, three M1A1 Thompsons, forty-six Lewis automatic rifles and sixteen pack mules loaded with ammunition were captured, as well as battle plans and a code book for communicating with American aircraft. Captain Livingston, knowing Richal was likely to run into an ambush during the march, sent a platoon of sharpshooters under Second Lieutenant A. T. Hunt, to reinforce the column. This force of about twenty men arrived at Las Cruces Hill at 2:15 pm, after the fighting was over. Both Richal and Hunt's men camped on the hill for the night. On the next day, they proceeded into Quilali without opposition. Meanwhile, Sandino reinforced his defeated troops and besieged Quilali for a few days, which forced the Marines and guardsmen to abandon the expedition to El Chipote. During the battle Lieutenant Bruce was the only fatality although Richal was seriously wounded when he was hit in