The Liberal Party rebelled against the Conservative government of Manuel Antonio Sanclemente on 17 October 1899 and attempted to seize the Magdalena River in a bid to sever riverine transportation to Bogotá.

Initially, the rebel forces lacked any central authority, and local party bosses formed their own Liberal units during the war's opening weeks.

Julio E. Vengoechea, a Liberal doctor from Barranquilla, seized control of the dredge Cristobal Colón on 19 October and began a blockade on the Magdalena River.

The Liberal flotilla included Cristobal Colón and seven passenger steamships, Barranquilla, Cisneros, Gieseken, Elena, Magdalena, Elbers, and Antioquia.

[5] While Hércules and Colombia were unified under Castro's command, a group of prominent Liberals (Domiciano Nieto, Manuel Vásquez, Nicanor Guerra, and Efraín Mejía) who dubbed themselves generals, shared control over the rebel fleet.