The Sandino Rebellion: Photos Page 1, US National Archives

These USNA-PHOTO pages house around 100 photographs from the US National Archives, Record Group 127, Entry 38, Boxes 29 and 30. A few have been published; most have not. These comprise only a fraction of the sum total of the National Archive's visual materials on the Nicaraguan intervention. The main collection is up in Suitland, MD (my next stop!), Swiss Replica Watches which reportedly contains upwards of 5,000 photos; perhaps several hundred of these treat the guerrilla war in Las Segovias.

Each Photos Page contains 25 photos or photo clusters. Right now there are four USNA Photo Pages. Photos are clustered topically and thematically and accompanied by brief introductions. Overall sequence of subject matter as follows:

1	P?o and Pedro Bland?n Arr?glia ( 2 copies and rear )
2	Damage at La Luz Mine from Sandinista Raid of April 1928 ( 6 photos; see Top 100, 6 May 1928 )
3	George Marshall, Superintendent of La Luz Mine ( 6 photos, April-May 1928 )
4	Sandino's Wedding to Blanca Arauz ( 2 photos, May 1927 )
5	Sandino and Blanca Arauz in Camp, ca. 1930
6	Sandino and Liberals in Jinotega during the Civil War? ( 2 photos, n.d.)
7	EDSN in the Western Segovias, 1927-28 ( 5 photos )
8	EDSN and Ismael Peralta in Jinotega
9	EDSN in the Jungle ( 4 photos )
10	EDSN: Augusto Sandino, Francisco Estrada, Juan Gregorio Colindres
11	EDSN: Lorenzo Bland?n, Carlos Salgado, Clemente Torres H.
12	EDSN: Horsemen
13	EDSN: Horsemen
14	EDSN: Horsemen
15	EDSN: Manuel Mar?a Gir?n Ruano and Francisco Estrada, 1928
16	EDSN Colonel Carlos Quesada
17	Jefes Pedro Torres and others, ca. 1928
18	Sandino and Staff along R?o Coco, ca. 1926-28
19	Sandino and Staff in Jungle Camp, 1927-28
20	Sandinistas along the Banks of the R?o Coco, ca. 1928
21	Sandino and the EDSN, ca. 1928
22	Sandino and His Entourage in Mexico, 1930
23	Sandino in Mexico
24	Sandinista Propaganda
25	Pedro Jos? Zepeda in Mexico

Two copies of the same photo. Both of these men were Sandinista sub-jefes in the area from El J?caro to La Concordia-La Pavona and Condega from at least late 1929 (this is NOT the better-known Sandinista General Pedro Bland?n). The two brothers, cousins of Doroteo Bland?n, are mentioned by old-time Sandinista Mart?n Bland?n Rodr?guez, IES 033: 7, and in PC30.01.20 Uhrig Contact Report; Pedro Arr?glia is also mentioned as a Sandinista jefe in IR30.01.18 and IR30.03.22 and other reports from the first six months of 1930. On the rear of the second photo is the following:

For documents describing the events surrounding the destruction of the mine, see the page 2 of the Top 100 Pages by clicking here.

George Marshall, superintendent at La Luz Mine, was seized by the Sandinistas and died in captivity, though evidence indicates he died of dysentery, not Sandinista mistreatment; in fact it appears the rebels treated him well. These photos show Marshall during his captivity. In the last photo (3C), the arrow on the left points to "Arcadio Herrera," and on the right, to what looks like "J. M. Lopez".

Augusto Calder?n Sandino and Blanca Arauz, day of their wedding, May 19, 1927.

The man labeled "1" is definitely Sandino. "2" is labeled Pedro Lopez. Pedro Lopez's name appears exactly once in extant Sandinista correspondence, in the early stage of the war (S-Docs 28.01.01). What's the man doing with the handkerchief in the left foreground? Judging from the position of the roof corner in the building in the background, this photo was probably snapped a few moments after Photo 6B, as the photographer moved along with the crowd and horsemen.

If the writing on this photo says "Sandino," it's clearly wrong. These look like Liberal soldiers. Is that a head atop a pike to the left of the labeled man? If not, what is it? Note that the photographer faces the middle of a large tall windowless building with elaborate molding to the left, suggesting a church. The photographer is probably moving to his left, following the flow of the horses and procession, and will soon get to the corner of the building and roof, at which point Sandino and Pedro L?pez ride by. That seems likeliest anyway.

These two photos present something of a puzzle. They were pasted onto the page of a Marine Corps scrapbook with the title "Groups of Sandino's Bandits, July 1928," as seen in this thumbnail:

The two were clearly taken the same day during the same event, by someone in the street near the town plaza, watching a passing parade of Liberal or Sandinista soldiers, as we see above.

The context is clearly a large town -- evidenced by the size of the building in the background, probably the church. The likeliest places are Ocotal, Jinotega, Esteli, or maybe Somoto. The only time Sandino rode triumphantly through major towns was during the Civil War. He entered no major town after the Ocotal attack of July 1927. For these reasons I suspect these two photos were taken in one of these major Segovian towns around February-March 1927, while the Civil War still raged. These are probably Liberal Sandinistas.

This photo, and the four to follow, appear to be in the Western Segovias, probably around San Lucas-Somoto. Note the characteristic half-moon shape of the horsemen's formation, with rifles raised and the skull-and-crossbones red-and-black flag in the center.

Evidently a mock battle being staged in the center of the half-moon formation. Appears almost ritualized, and certainly theatrical. Such mock combat is also seen in the next photo.

Pointing rifles directly in each other's faces. The piled-stone and thatch dwelling suggests an area of longtime indigenous settlement, such as around Somoto-San Lucas.

The man on the far right is identified as Ismael Peralta, a Sandinista general in the Yal?-Constancia district, which suggests that this photo was taken somewhere around Jinotega. The men seem especially interested in brandishing their weapons. Two separate prints of the same photo.

The four men on the left point their rifles skyward. On the right is a Lewis machine gun resting on a man's right shoulder, also aiming skyward; the man in the white shirt in the center seems to direct the two men in front of him. All this suggests that these six rebels were posing in an offensive posture directed against airplanes (seven men total: six in the photo plus the photographer, marked by his shadow). Caption of the top photo reads, "A BANDIT LEWIS MACHINE GUN." Two copies of the same photo.

I can't quite make out the lettering here, but it looks like "Explorando de . . . pod, 13 de mayo de 1928."

The scrapbook page says July 1928, which is probably close. Looks like it's in the Eastern Segovias or Jinotega area.

No date. Sandino on left, Francisco "Pancho" Estrada in middle, Juan Gregorio Colindres on the right. Probably 1927-28.

Probably 1928, probably the Western Segovias. Carlos Salgado, of course, was one of the leading Sandinista generals in this region from the end of the Civil War till the end of the rebellion, and one of the shrewdest and most capable of all rebel chieftains.

This photo, and the next one (Photo 17) were taken a few moments apart by the same person standing in the same place, as one can see by comparing the corner of the roof:

The place was probably La Luz Mine, the time April 1928 (see Photo Cluster 2 on this page). The inscriptions read "Jiron," "Estrada," and (in Photo 17) "Carlos Quesada." On the capture and execution of Gir?n in Feb-March 1929, see Top 100, p. 6 by clicking here.

My best interpretation of the lettering on this photo (

) is: "3. Pedro Torres. 2. Celestino Zeledon. 1. Carmen Torres." The latter's name appears frequently as a Sandinista sub-jefe; the other two names do not correspond to any names in my databases. Were these men Sandinistas? Liberals? Conservatives? Unknown.

Undated photo, probably late 1927 or early 1928, with Sandino front and center, along what looks like the banks of the R?o Coco. Again, the men seem most interested in displaying their rifles. Perhaps this was during the Civil War, after Sandino's successful journey to Puerto Cabezas on the East Coast to secure arms (Nov-Dec 1926).

This is a wonderful photo, probably 1927-28; here's a thumbnail of my photo of the original: (

). The black line obviously points to Sandino. Who is the small compact mustached man to his right? (Sandino himself was physically small; the man next to him must have stood five feet tall or less.) All the men are wearing scarves that would've been red and black.

On the left side of the big photo appears what looks like a man of African phenotype with a distinctive top hat; is this Gregorio Urbano Gilbert? I don't think so. Who was it? On the right side, one of Sandino's men holds a Thompson sub-machine gun.

Undated. Who's the woman with the riding boots and holstered pistol? Blanca Arauz? Teresa Villatoro? The shed, the roadway, and the logs positioned along the riverbank make this look like a lumber camp of some kind, perhaps on the R?o Poteca or Coco.

This is a marvelous photograph; wish there were a better copy. Note the Thompson sub-machine guns in the foreground; the skull-and-crossbones flag; and Sandino in the rear, just to the right of the flagpole. Who is the man lying in the front? Why is he lying down? It's a very uncharacteristic pose for a formal photograph gathering like this. He has a beard and looks light-skinned. Is he a prisoner?

This photo has been published in plenty of places. The black lines (l. to r.) point to: Gregorio Urbano Gilbert, Jos? de Paredes, Sandino, unknown woman (notation on photo says "Arauz?"), and Faribundo Mart?.

Announcement for a fund-raising appearance by Sandino's brother S?crates at Plumbers Hall, Chicago, April 1929?

Photos 24B. Revista Sandino (year 2, no. 4) Jos? Vasconcelos and Norberto Salinas de Aguilar, San Jos?, Costa Rica, May 1930.

Writing on back: "Center figure is Zepeda." The Nicaragua-born Zepeda was a leading Sandinista activist in Mexico City from mid-1929. The figure on the left is probably the journalist and activist Norberto Salinas de Aguilar, and on the right, the philosopher, writer, and former Minister of Public Education in Mexico, Jos? Vasconcelos.