Battle for Colônia Militar dos Dourados

The Combat of Dourados, also known as the Combat of the Military Colony of Dourados, or the Battle of Dourados, was a confrontation between a Brazilian garrison of fifteen men and a Paraguayan column with 3,500 soldiers, fought on December 29, 1864, in the current city of Antônio João, Mato Grosso do Sul, during the Paraguayan War. In the context of the Mato Grosso Campaign, the Paraguayan invading army reached the Military Colony of Dourados, in the south of the then Province of Mato Grosso. There was a small garrison defending it, under the command of Lieutenant Antônio João Ribeiro.

The Paraguayans supposedly offered the garrison the opportunity to surrender, however, the Brazilian commander refused the proposal. In the combat that then ensued, the lieutenant and all his 15 men were killed, with the Paraguayans occupying the military colony.^[1]