be set for February 27. A day later, the rebels were sent to various parts of the country for the purpose of finalizing the agreements made during the meeting. In addition to Sánchez and Mella, Vicente Celestino Duarte (brother of Duarte), José Joaquín Puello, those of La Concha (Jacinto and Tomás), Juan Alejandro Acosta and others attended that meeting. At the proposal of some of his companions, among whom were Félix Mercenario, Manuel María Valverde, Manuel Jiménez and Mariano Echavarría, it was agreed that Sánchez would preside over the Governing Board that was to direct the destinies of the nascent republic. On that night of February 27, Sánchez and his men marched to the tip of Puerta Del Conde. Mella, who had just arrived in the city, fired his legendary blunderbuss into the air, while Sánchez raised the first independent Dominican flag, shouting at the top of his lungs, the national slogan, "Dios, Patria, Y Libertad," (God, Homeland, and Freedom), proclaiming to the world the birth of the new independent nation: The Dominican Republic. Sánchez was just 26 years old when this took place. First Dominican Republic As agreed, his first act after declaration of independence was to take presidency of the Central Governing Board, designed to govern over the nation in the wake of its independence. The main purpose of this board was two lead the country against upcoming attacks from the Haitians, who rejected the notion of Dominican Republic being its own separate state. Sánchez was informed that during this time, Haiti was preparing for a military advancement into the country, determined to reunite the island once again. In response to this, the Central Government Board sent the generals Pedro Santana and his brother, Ramón, to the south, while Sánchez and Mella were commanded to Santiago. This attack resulting in the Battle of Azua, fought on March 19. This invasion was crushed by the Dominican army. Unfortunately, the invasions would continue to transpire, thus precipitating into a series of invasions over the next 12 years. Sánchez ceded his position to Bobadilla after serving in office for 24 hours. Sánchez had anticipated for his predecessors to follow Duarte's ideals to maintain an independent state free of any foreign power. But these ideas were tossed to the ground due to opposing sides who felt that the new nation was not financially and economy able to withstand on its own, especially