While these things were occurring in the "Ever Faithful Isle," there
were doings of epochal significance in Peninsular Spain. Queen Isabella
had, as we have seen, for some time been an exile, and on June 25, 1870,
the Serrano republican government forced her to sign a final manifesto
of abdication. The government itself, however, was far from strong, and
was unable to stand against strong opposition in the Cortes. It was
shortly overthrown by a vote of that body, and a monarchical form of
government was re-established. The crown was formally offered to and
accepted by Amadeus, son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, on
December 4, 1870. When this news reached Cuba, the Spanish troops on the
island took formal oath of allegiance to the new king of Spain.
The reestablishment of a monarchy was, of course, exceedingly pleasing
to the Volunteers, for they had no sympathy with a republic, and the
freedom which it was supposed to entail, although in the case of the
republic in Spain, few changes or concessions had been extended to its
Cuban subjects. The Volunteers promptly took oath to support the
monarchy, and denounced the republican constitution. They embraced this
as a favorable opportunity to further an end of their own. They had long
suspected the Bishop of Havana of being in sympathy with the revolution.
He was at this time absent in attendance at the Vatican Council at Rome,
and the Volunteers were able so to manipulate matters that, upon his
return on April 13, 1871, he was refused permission to land.
Believing that the new government would give even more cordial support
to their machinations than had the previous one, the Volunteers now
began a system of persecutions against Cuban patriots. The Volunteer
corps, in 1872, numbered eighty thousand members, and in 1870 and 1871
they could not have fallen far below that number. They were so powerful
that the Captain-General must either conform to their wishes or sooner
or later give way to a successor whom they selected. Now there was
published in Havana a paper, called _La Voz de Cuba_, which was really
the "_Voice of the Volunteers_," for its editor, Gonzalo Castanon, was a
Colonel of that organization. It busied itself, among other things, with
attacks on the patriots, and took occasion to voice some derogatory
remarks concerning Cuban women. Naturally the Cuban husbands, sons,
fathers and lovers were hot with indignation against such calumny.
Castanon paid the just penalty of his scurrilous lack of chivalry, for
he was challenged by an outraged Cuban and in the duel which followed he
received a mortal wound. He was buried in a tomb in the Espada Cemetery.
Some time afterward, a party of young students--hardly more than
boys--from the University of Havana, visited the cemetery, and it was
reported to the authorities that one of them had been heard, while
standing near the tomb of Castanon, to make remarks derogatory to the
dead Colonel. This information was given by a Spanish soldier, who
claimed to have overheard the conversation, and when it was repeated to
a Spanish judge, the accusation was added that the boy's companions had
defaced the glass which closed the Castanon tomb. The Volunteers
immediately pounced upon the happening, as a delightful opportunity to
chastise and punish the members of wealthy families in Havana who were
suspected of aiding and abetting the revolution. The power of the
Captain-General was invoked, and forty-three students were arrested and
brought to trial. They were ably defended by a Spanish officer, Senor
Capdevilla, and he made such a good case for their innocence that they
were acquitted. The Volunteers, however, were not satisfied. Injustice
had in some manner miscarried, how they could not conceive, and justice
had triumphed. Such things would not do in dealing with Cubans. They
made a vigorous appeal to the Captain-General, and obtained from him an
order for assembling a second court martial, and this time they saw to
it that their own body was well represented in that body. The boys were
again apprehended, and the trial which ensued was a tragic farce, in
which they were given not the slightest chance for justice. Eight of
them were condemned to death, and the others to imprisonment at hard
labor. Consternation reigned among the best families of Cuba. One
distracted father offered a ransom of a million dollars for the life of
his son, but without avail. On November 27, 1871, the condemned
criminals, whose worst offence, if indeed there was any offense at all,
was the utterance of an indignant remark about a ruffian who had
attacked those dearest to all loyal, chivalrous and patriotic hearts,
the women of Cuba, were led out and shot in the presence of fifteen
thousand Spanish Volunteers, all under arms. In after years when the
wrong was beyond repair, justice was done to the memory of these
martyred youths, for not only did the Spanish Cortes, with admirable
fairness, investigate the matter and pronounce in favor of the innocence
of the students, but also the son of Castanon came to Cuba from Spain
with the object of removing thither his father's remains, investigated
the condition of the tomb, and made a sworn statement before a notary
that it had never been disturbed.
The murder of the students of course created intense feeling in Cuba;
Havana was in a turmoil, and the sentiment engendered by this and
similar outrages committed or incited by the Volunteers swelled the list
of those who were in sympathy with a speedy release for Cuba from
Spanish rule. The scene of the tragedy has since been marked by the
Cuban government with a tablet which bears this inscription:
"On the 27th of November, 1871, there were sacrificed in front of this
place, by the Spanish Volunteers of Havana, the eight young Cuban
students of the First Year of Medicine:
Alonzo Alvarez de la Campa,
Carlos Augusto de Latorre,
Pascual Rodriquiz Perez,
Angel Laborde,
Jose de Marcos Medina,
Eladio Gonzales Toledo,
Anacleto Bermudez,
Carlos Verdugo.
To their eternal memory, this tablet is dedicated, the 27th of November,
1899."
While these events were taking place, and in spite of the troubles which
had beset them within their own ranks, the Cuban leaders maintained a
force of fifty thousand men in the field, and gained an important
victory in the vicinity of Mayari. This was more than offset by an
occurrence which struck brutally at the very foundation of the Cuban
army. In July, 1871, the Spanish defeated at Guantanamo a force of two
hundred men, under General Quesada, but this was trivial compared with
the catastrophe which it involved. General Quesada was taken prisoner,
as was General Figueredo, and in August these two loyal patriots who had
so ably supported the revolution, and the former of whom had been the
brains of the army, were executed by the Spaniards. The deepest gloom
filled the hearts of the Cuban leaders, and their discouragement is the
only explanation which can be offered of what followed, when a force of
Cubans, who had been operating in the central part of the island, under
General Agramonte, deserted, and approaching the Spanish authorities,
agreed to lay down their arms, provided their lives would be spared. The
Spaniards accepted their offer, and promptly gave out a statement that
the Cuban army was disrupted and that all that remained was a few slaves
under General Agramonte. They were to learn, however, that the Cubans
still had some fighting spirit left in them. Although the defection of
so large a body of his command left only thirty-five men under
Agramonte, he speedily recruited a new company, and was able to harass
the Spanish for two years longer, until he was killed in battle.
The death of General Quesada left the post of Commander-in-Chief of the
Cuban army vacant, and General Modeste Diaz was elected to that office.
An official report made by the Cubans at this time shows the composition
of the army to have been:
_Army Corps of Oriente._
Commander-in-Chief, General Modeste Diaz
Division of Santiago de Cuba; Major-General Commanding, Maximo Gomez
_Regiments_ _Commander_ _Localities_ _No. of Men_
1 and 2 Col. Jesus Perez Cobre 600
3 Lt. Col. Prado Baracoa 450
4 Lt. Col. Guillermo Moncada Baracoa 550
5 Lt. Col. Pacheco Guantanamo 450
6 Brig. Calixto Garcia Jiguani 600
-----
Total 2,650
Division of Holguin--General Commanding, Jose Inclan
_Regiments_ _Commander_ _Localities_ _No. of Men_
1 Co. Fco. Herrero West 300
2 Gen. Inclan East 500
---
Total 800
Division of Bayamo--General Commanding, Luis Figueredo
_Regiments_ _Commander_ _Localities_ _No. of Men_
1 Maj. Gen. N. Garrido Manzanillo 550
2 Gen. Luis Figueredo Bayamo 450
------
Total 1,000
Grand Total Army Corps of Oriente 4,300
_Army Corps of Camaguey_
Commander-in-Chief, General Vicente Garcia
Division of Las Tunas--General Commanding, Vicente Garcia
_Regiments_ _Commander_ _Localities_ _No. of Men_
1 General Vincente Garcia Santa Rita 650
2 Brig. Francisco Vega Arenas 400
------
Total 1,050
Division of Camaguey--General Commanding, Ignacio Agramonte
_Regiments_ _Commander_ _Localities_ _No. of Men_
1 Lt. Col. La Rosa Guaican Amar 300
2 Col. Agramonte Porro Guaican Amar 400
3 Lt. Col. Espinosa Guaican Amar 250
4 Lt. Col. Manuel Suarez Guaimaro 300
5 Lt. Col. Antonio Rodriguez Cubitas 200
------
Total 1,450
Grand Total Army Corps of Camaguey 2,600
_Army Corps of Las Villas_
Commander-in-Chief, Major-General Matso Casanova
_No. of Men_
Division of Trinidad, General Commanding, Brig. Juan Villegas 700
Division of Sancti Spiritus, General Com'ding, Brig. Jose Villamie 800
Division of Villa Clara, General Commanding, Brig. Carlos Ruloff 600
Division of Cienfuegos, General Commanding, Brig. Juan Villegas 700
Division of Remedios, General Commanding, Brig. Salome Hernandez 600
------
Grand Army Total of Las Villas 3,400
Grand Total 10,300
In June, 1871, three regiments under General Maximo Gomez--that able
soldier and patriot who was to figure so largely in the final struggle
against Spain in 1895--were instructed to take up their position and
endeavor to hold the line between Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, and
they accordingly entrenched themselves in the Loma de la Gallista, but
they were almost immediately attacked by the Spanish. The battle was
hotly contested for four hours and ended in a victory for the Cubans.
The Spanish losses included arms and ammunition which were eagerly
appropriated by the conquerors. A few days later, a Spanish force
renewed the attack, advancing fifteen hundred strong against the men
under Gomez, and again they went down to defeat, their total losses in
the two battles amounting to one hundred killed, and a large number
wounded. In addition to this, the Cubans took fifteen Spaniards
prisoners. What must have been still more gratifying was an encounter
which a small band of Cubans had about this time with a company of
Volunteers, in which twenty-five of the latter were made prisoners.
On July 3, Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Guevara with a company of Cubans
was encamped at La Cabana del Estribo, when they were attacked by a
force of three hundred Spaniards. He promptly ordered the camp
abandoned, covering his retreat by a weak fire on the enemy. The Cubans
were unable to make a more vigorous resistance, because they were
inadequately supplied with ammunition, even though, with plenty of
supplies, their position at La Cabana del Estribo might have been
considered an advantageous one. But with the odds so greatly against
them, the Cubans killed five Spaniards, and wounded forty others, among
whom was Pedro Popa, one of those who had turned traitor to the cause of
the revolution. But the Spaniards took vengeance on two practically
defenseless persons. On their retreat, with their wounded, they met
Major Baldoguin and two companions, who were on their way to see
Lieutenant-Colonel Guevara, and captured Major Baldoguin. They took him
to Bayamo, and in spite of the fact that he was severely wounded, they
executed him at once upon arrival at that city.
A few days later, the same force which had attacked Lieutenant-Colonel
Guevara at Estribo, were reported to be again advancing against him. He
sent a company of infantry to meet them, and an engagement ensued which
lasted for over an hour. The Spaniards retreated to Los Toros, leaving
behind them fifty-three killed and wounded. On this occasion Guevara's
son was wounded, and one private was killed.
A few days previous, on the evening of July 4, a small Cuban force
attacked the Spanish camp at the village of Veguita, and harassed the
enemy during the entire night, and the next day a company from the same
division of the Cuban army had an engagement with a hundred and fifty
Spanish cavalry, and put them to flight. The Cubans pursued them, and
forced them to take a stand, when a fight took place which lasted an
hour. The Cubans did not suffer a single casualty, while several of the
Spaniards were killed, and they were obliged to retreat.
On July 25, Major Dominguez with a small force, attacked the sugar
plantation of Las Ovas, and sacked it almost in the presence of the
Spaniards, who were encamped only about half a mile distant, on the
Esperanza estate. Having accomplished this feat, Major Dominguez's
soldiers raided a nearby estate, which was owned by Tomas Ramirez,
another of those who had turned traitor. All the buildings on this
plantation were set on fire, and razed to the ground, as were also those
on the estate of Antonio Lastes. Curiously enough, although the
Spaniards in much larger numbers, were near at hand, and must have been
cognizant of these happenings, they made no attempt to interfere.
A few days later, Major Noguera, with a small band, attacked forty of
the enemy on a road leading to Bayamo, and put them to rout, capturing a
considerable stock of supplies. This same band of patriots a little
later encountered a company of fifty Spaniards, who were driving a herd
of cattle toward El Huinilladero. They opened fire, and dispersed the
Spaniards, wounding an officer, and taking possession of the cattle,
together with a supply of cartridges, horses with their equipment,
blankets and provisions.
On July 30, several companies from the division of Bayamo and Manzanillo
attacked a force of a hundred Spaniards who were strongly entrenched
near La Caridad. After a fight which lasted not over half an hour, the
Spanish were dislodged from their trenches, and fled into a nearby wood.
The Cubans followed, forcing the Spaniards into the open, and, after a
brief engagement, put them to rout. One Spaniard was captured, and he
gave information that the Spanish forces had lost seventeen men killed,
and that in their flight they had thrown away their rifles, which were
afterward recovered by the Cubans, who also took possession of a large
amount of supplies of all kinds.
The estate of La Indiana had been fortified by the Spaniards, and on
August 4, General Gomez led an attack against it. The Spanish put up a
strong resistance, but the Cubans were able to take the buildings, and
capture thirty-five Spaniards. The entire district of Guantanamo was at
this time practically controlled by the insurgents. They destroyed
fourteen coffee plantations, and did other damage to the property of
Spanish sympathizers. On August 8, the Spaniards made an attack at El
Macio, but it was unsuccessful. For the next week there was one
engagement after another, with victory first with the Spaniards and then
with the Cubans, but the results were not of moment to either of the
belligerents. The Cubans were not able to marshal a sufficiently large
or well equipped force to venture a decisive battle, and so kept up an
annoying guerrilla warfare. Late in the month they advanced to the
outskirts of Santiago, destroying all plantations which lay along the
line of march, and defeated the Volunteers in an unimportant engagement.
Perhaps the most serious defeat that they inflicted on the Spanish at
this time was the destruction of the fortified camp at Miguel, in the
district of Sagua de Tanamo. Earlier in the month they had attacked and
taken a fortified camp in the neighborhood of Santa Isabel. All the
buildings were burned to the ground, twenty-six Volunteers were killed,
and a large quantity of stores was taken. There followed other
engagements in which the odds and the victory were with the Spaniards,
and the Cuban patriots were put to rout with heavy losses. But for the
most part in guerrilla warfare the Cubans had the advantage and made the
most of it.
Late in August, a force under Major Villanueva and Captain Rios
surprised some Spanish soldiers at breakfast near Malangas. The
Spaniards largely outnumbered the Cubans, but the attack was so sudden
that they fled, leaving their rice and salted beef behind them. In this
engagement eight Spaniards were killed.
On the first day of September, news reached Major Noguera that the enemy
were convoying a stock of supplies in the neighborhood where he was
stationed. He divided his men and concealed them at different points
along the road over which the Spaniards must pass. Six Volunteers and
one regular soldier were killed, and the enemy abandoned to the Cubans a
number of carts, filled with food stuffs, carbines, machetes, and other
supplies.
[Illustration: CALIXTO GARCIA
One of the most gallant figures in the patriot ranks in the Ten Years'
War and the War of Independence was that of Calixto Garcia e Iniguez.
Born at Bayamo on August 4, 1839, he was in the prime of young manhood
when he took the field under General Marmol in 1868. Soon as a brigadier
general he was the right-hand man of Maximo Gomez, and was made by him
commander in chief in Oriente when Gomez himself marched westward. After
six years of almost incessant and victorious fighting, he was surprised
and surrounded at San Antonio de Baja, when, rather than be captured, he
placed the muzzle of a pistol in his mouth and fired. The bullet pierced
the roof of his mouth and came out at the centre of his forehead. The
Spaniards then took him to a military hospital and, respecting his
valor, nursed him back to health. After the Treaty of Zanjon he was
released, whereupon he took the lead in the Little War. He was in Spain
in 1895 and could not get into the War of Independence until March,
1896, but thereafter he was one of its chief warriors. After the close
of the war he was sent to Washington on a diplomatic mission, and died
there on December 11, 1898.]
September 18 was to be a memorable day in the year's fighting, for on
that date General Calixto Garcia with three regiments advanced against
Jiguani, where a large force of Spaniards were garrisoned. The latter
defended the town for two hours, but in the end the Cubans were
victorious, and gained control of the major portion of the town and its
fortifications. Many houses were burned, and two hundred Spaniards lay
dead in the streets. General Garcia then retreated, carrying with him a
large quantity of captured supplies, since he did not have a large
enough force to complete the occupation of Jiguani. He was pursued by
the Spaniards who had been reinforced, but the patriots made good their
escape with only slight losses.
Throughout the entire months of August and September the eastern part of
the island was in a constant state of uproar and confusion. Attack and
counter-attack followed in succession, and yet neither side was any
nearer a significant victory or a decision.
On October 23, the Spaniards gained a victory over the Cubans at El
Toro, and in November the insurgents turned the tables by defeating the
Spanish forces under Captain Ferral y Mongs. So the war continued, the
whole country witnessing the destruction of plantations, the burning of
buildings, the pillaging of villages, and loss of life as well as of
property. In the end it was the land of Cuba that suffered, for from a
once prosperous country it bade fair to be transformed into waste lands.
Meanwhile the Cuban forces were slowly degenerating. The Spaniards were
well fed, well clothed and well equipped, while the Cuban forces were
poorly armed, often hungry, and in torn and ragged garments. The
resources of Spain reinforced her army, but the patriots had to rely on
chance help that came to them from their American sympathizers. Nothing
in their existence was certain, and as the war was prolonged without
their gaining a victory which seemed to bring the end nearer, the weaker
spirits began to despair and there was dissension and an undercurrent
of revolt among the common soldiers. In vain the leaders tried to put
heart into their forces, and desertions became alarmingly common. The
reductions in numbers compelled the Cuban leaders more and more to
resort to guerrilla warfare. This involved deplorable destruction of
property, valuable holdings of both loyalists and patriots were rendered
valueless, and naturally the morale of both armies suffered from a
spirit of lawlessness. By the end of 1871, two thirds of the farms and
coffee and sugar plantations in the district of Trinidad were destroyed
or abandoned, and the entire central portion of the island had suffered
grievously.
Valmaseda on December 27, 1871, issued a proclamation to the effect that
after the first of the year every prisoner would be shot, and every
patriot who delivered himself up would suffer life imprisonment. This
applied to both negroes and white men; while all white women captured
would be banished, and all negro women would be returned to their
owners, and condemned to wear chains for a period of four years.
However, prior to that date, only if four days distant, the leaders or
any of the soldiers would lay down their arms and announce their
allegiance to Spain, they would be received with kindness and clemency.
This might have had more effect than it did but for the fact that the
Cubans were distrustful of promises of clemency, and feared that if they
escaped the vengeance of the government, they would later suffer at the
hands of the Volunteers.