It was not until late at night on the 20th that Schlessinger arrived at the country-house of Santa Rosa, the men hungry and exhausted by the long and weary march. The guard seems to have been properly posted during the night, and the next morning mounted men were sent to get news and, if possible, guides. An inspection of arms had been ordered first for two and afterward for three o’clock in the afternoon; and the men were lounging in all directions in and around the camp, when, shortly before the inspection was to take place, the alarm was given and the cry of “Here they come,” was uttered by a mounted rifleman as he rode up to the main building where the colonel was quartered. Schlessinger was taken entirely by surprise, and, in the confusion, could not be found by the adjutant. Capt. Rudler with his rifles seized a corral near the main house with a view of protecting the American flank; but the fire of the advancing enemy soon forced him to leave it. In the meanwhile Capt. Creighton, aided by Major O’Neal, had formed his company, its right resting on the house, and fired a few volleys at the Costa Ricans; but the German company had broke and left the field, while the French under Legeay retired from the hilly, broken ground, they had attempted to occupy. In five minutes, the whole command, led by its colonel, was in full and most disorderly retreat. Major O’Neal, with several other officers, strove in vain to turn the men and carry them back toward the enemy; but the panic was such that they found few willing to listen or to follow. The Costa Rican force attacking at Santa Rosa was the advance guard of the whole army, then on its march toward the northern frontier. It consisted of about five hundred men, and among its officers was Manuel Arguëllo, the Legitimist. They wore the red ribbon, with the view both of deceiving the Americans and of conciliating the Nicaraguan Democrats. After the main body of the army, with the President, Rafael Mora, at its head, reached Santa Rosa, the Nicaraguan prisoners, many of them wounded, were tried by court martial and ordered to be shot. The cruel sentence was too faithfully executed. After wandering for some time between Santa Rosa and the lake of Nicaragua, the disorganized remains of Schlessinger’s force arrived at a point near Tortugas, whence they found their way to Virgin Bay. They came to the latter place by squads rather than by companies, some without hats and shoes, and some even without arms. In their flight many had been torn by the thorns through which they had been forced, and it was days and even weeks before straggling men of the expedition ceased to arrive. The depression of spirits was great, and some of the soldiers, in order to diminish the shame of their retreat, were but too ready to exaggerate among their comrades the disciplined air, fine military conduct, and excellent arms and equipment of the enemy they so hastily saw at Santa Rosa.