At San Francisco de Macorís, Governor Juan Pérez, a supporter of Arias, refused to recognize the U.S. military government. Using some 300 released prisoners, he was preparing to defend the old Spanish colonial structure, the "Fortazela". On November 29 U.S. Marine Lt. Ernest C. Williams, whose detachment was billeted in San Francisco, charged the closing gates of the fort at nightfall with a dozen Marines. Eight were shot down; the others, including Williams, forced their way in and seized the old structure. Another Marine detachment seized the police station. Reinforcements from nearby detachments soon suppressed the uprising. The Marine Corps' subsequent efforts at "state-building", as it is commonly known today, received little assistance from Dominicans. Dominican elites, animated by nationalist resentment of the takeover of their country, refused to help the foreigners restructure their government and society.