Calixto García
Encyclopedia
Calixto García e Iñiguez (August 4, 1839 – December 11, 1898) was a general in three Cuba
n uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: Ten Years' War
, the Little War
and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the Cuban War for Independence, which bled into the Spanish-American War
, ultimately resulting in national independence for Cuba
.
to parents of Cuba
n Criollo
descent; his maternal surname Iñíguez, indicates descendence from Iñigo Arista, Basque King whose forces are referred to as demons in the Song of Roland. He was a large, strong, educated man with a short fuse. García was the grandson of Calixto García de Luna e Izquierdo
, who had fought in the Battle of Carabobo
in what is now called Venezuela
. His grandmother was Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez, said to be the daughter of a Cacique Chief from Valencia Venezuela. His grandfather (who had dropped the aristocratic "de Luna" upon taking refuge in Cuba) had been jailed on March 18, 1837 for demanding emancipation of slaves, constitutional freedom for all, and allegedly trying to hang a priest who opposed him. As befitted a man of importance of that time, Calixto had a wife, Isabel Velez Cabrera, and a good number of mistresses; these women gave birth to many children both legitimate (about 7) and illegitimate (at least six, each to a different woman). A number of his sons, most notable Carlos García Velez http://www.cubagenweb.org/mil/mambi/generals.htm http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/comentarios/nacional-02.htm and Calixto Enamorado http://www.spanamwar.com/calixtoenamorado.htm, fought in his armies.
. García fought against Spanish colonial rule for five years until his capture. Far from his troops, protected only by a small detail who soon lay dead or dying around him, Garcia in an attempt to avoid giving the Spanish the satisfaction of his seizure shot himself under the chin with a .45 caliber pistol. Although the bullet went out of his forehead and knocked him unconscious, he survived; the wound, which left a great scar, gave him headaches for the rest of his life. When the Spanish authorities came to Holguín to inform Calixto's mother, Lucía Iñíguez, she said that wasn't her son, when the officials explained to her Calixto tried to commit suicide she replied that was her son, "first dead than captured!" He was imprisoned until the Pact of Zanjón
and the end of the Ten Year's War, was signed in 1878. García travelled to Paris and New York between imprisonments. In keeping to his quest, García joined with Maceo
in the Little War
from 1879 to 1880 as well as the 1895 War for Independence
. He, and separately at least three sons, escaped Spain and arrived with a well supplied expedition in 1896. In that last conflict he succeeded Maceo, once his subordinate in the Ten Years' War
, as the second in command in the Cuban Army.
This General had a long string of victories in this war including the taking of Tunas and Guisa, and the emotionally significant re-occupation of Bayamo. García made liberal use of spies to prepare his attack, these include Dominador de la Guardia father of Ángel de la Guardia and María Machado, illegitimate daughter of Spanish General Emilio March who helped prepare the taking of Tunas; Frederick Funston
later US Major General and José Martí y Zayas Bazán son of José Martí
the major Cuban National Hero directed artillery; Mario García Menocal
a to be president of Cuba was wounded in a principal assault. Angel de la Guardia, also a major Cuban national hero died in this battle on August 30, 1897 http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/comentarios/nacional-02.htm.
At the time of the U.S. landings, García, with skilled use of mobile artillery, controlled the interior of old Oriente Province, and prepared the landing places for the U.S. Army near Santiago. His troops effectively supported the Marine forces at Guantanamo who, once out of range of the guns of the , had difficulty dealing with Spanish guerrilla tactics. He was the general who dealt with the American troops and joined them in military actions, only to be denied entrance into Santiago de Cuba when the Spaniards surrendered.
in the U.S., then transported on the heavily armed seagoing war ship http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/spanam/ships/gbt-lg.htm http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rblume.htm http://www.homeofheroes.com/e-books/mohW_spanam/page_12.html to Cuba. His final burial in Cuba was preceded by a number of emotional incidents, and his statues and busts are found throughout Cuba. A major statue is found on the Malecon
near the US Interests Section in Havana http://google.com/search?q=cache:-rNmq-eGPpMJ:www.cubatravels.net/Ingles/Descripciones/RVedadoIing.htm+Cuba+Malecon+jpg+++statue+OR+estatua+OR+monumento+%22Calixto+Garcia%22&hl=en. After his death, a large bronze tablet prominently inscribed with the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
" was erected by the Masons at the place of his demise—the Raleigh Hotel in Washington, D.C. Today, this tablet resides at the private residence of one of Gen. García's direct descendants.
The essay "A Message to Garcia
" by Elbert Hubbard
was written in reference to U.S. intelligence officer Andrew Rowan's successful mission, against great odds, to establish contact with García early in the Spanish-American War. According to language expert Charles Earle Funk, "to take a message to Garcia", meaning to accept an extremely difficult challenge, was a popular U.S. slang expression for years.
In 1976, a municipality in Holguín Province
was named Calixto Garcia
for him.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: Ten Years' War
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...
, the Little War
Little War (Cuba)
The Little War or Small War , was the second of three conflicts in the Cuban War of Independence. It followed the Ten Years' War of 1868–1878 and preceded the War of '95, itself sometimes called the Cuban War of Independence, which bled into the Spanish-American War, ultimately resulting in...
and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the Cuban War for Independence, which bled into the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, ultimately resulting in national independence for Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Ancestry and progeny
García was born in HolguínHolguín
Holguín is a municipality and city, the capital of the Cuban Province of Holguín. It also includes a tourist area, offering beach resorts in the outskirts of the region.-History:...
to parents of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n Criollo
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
descent; his maternal surname Iñíguez, indicates descendence from Iñigo Arista, Basque King whose forces are referred to as demons in the Song of Roland. He was a large, strong, educated man with a short fuse. García was the grandson of Calixto García de Luna e Izquierdo
Calixto Garcia de Luna e Izquierdo
Calixto Garcia de Luna e Izquierdo was born in Soria, Castilla somewhere around 1768. He went to Valencia, Venezuela where he was a merchant. There he married Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez, said to be the daughter of an Indigenous Chief...
, who had fought in the Battle of Carabobo
Battle of Carabobo
The Battle of Carabobo, 24 June 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuela....
in what is now called Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. His grandmother was Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez, said to be the daughter of a Cacique Chief from Valencia Venezuela. His grandfather (who had dropped the aristocratic "de Luna" upon taking refuge in Cuba) had been jailed on March 18, 1837 for demanding emancipation of slaves, constitutional freedom for all, and allegedly trying to hang a priest who opposed him. As befitted a man of importance of that time, Calixto had a wife, Isabel Velez Cabrera, and a good number of mistresses; these women gave birth to many children both legitimate (about 7) and illegitimate (at least six, each to a different woman). A number of his sons, most notable Carlos García Velez http://www.cubagenweb.org/mil/mambi/generals.htm http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/comentarios/nacional-02.htm and Calixto Enamorado http://www.spanamwar.com/calixtoenamorado.htm, fought in his armies.
War record
Around the age of 18, taking after his grandfather, García joined with a Cuban uprising which became the first war of independence Ten Years' WarTen Years' War
The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...
. García fought against Spanish colonial rule for five years until his capture. Far from his troops, protected only by a small detail who soon lay dead or dying around him, Garcia in an attempt to avoid giving the Spanish the satisfaction of his seizure shot himself under the chin with a .45 caliber pistol. Although the bullet went out of his forehead and knocked him unconscious, he survived; the wound, which left a great scar, gave him headaches for the rest of his life. When the Spanish authorities came to Holguín to inform Calixto's mother, Lucía Iñíguez, she said that wasn't her son, when the officials explained to her Calixto tried to commit suicide she replied that was her son, "first dead than captured!" He was imprisoned until the Pact of Zanjón
Pact of Zanjón
The Pact of Zanjón was the treaty that ended the Cuban Ten Years' War. Slaves who had fought against Spain were given freedom. The Maceo brothers refused to sign the treaty and kept on fighting until they took to exile to return later. Calixto Garcia was released from Spanish prison....
and the end of the Ten Year's War, was signed in 1878. García travelled to Paris and New York between imprisonments. In keeping to his quest, García joined with Maceo
Maceo
Maceo may refer to:*Antonio Maceo Grajales , Cuban general*Sam Maceo and Rosario Maceo, organized crime bosses of Galveston, Texas from the 1920s through the 1940s*Maceo Anderson , American tap dancer...
in the Little War
Little War (Cuba)
The Little War or Small War , was the second of three conflicts in the Cuban War of Independence. It followed the Ten Years' War of 1868–1878 and preceded the War of '95, itself sometimes called the Cuban War of Independence, which bled into the Spanish-American War, ultimately resulting in...
from 1879 to 1880 as well as the 1895 War for Independence
Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War and the Little War...
. He, and separately at least three sons, escaped Spain and arrived with a well supplied expedition in 1896. In that last conflict he succeeded Maceo, once his subordinate in the Ten Years' War
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...
, as the second in command in the Cuban Army.
This General had a long string of victories in this war including the taking of Tunas and Guisa, and the emotionally significant re-occupation of Bayamo. García made liberal use of spies to prepare his attack, these include Dominador de la Guardia father of Ángel de la Guardia and María Machado, illegitimate daughter of Spanish General Emilio March who helped prepare the taking of Tunas; Frederick Funston
Frederick Funston
Frederick N. Funston also known as Fred Funston, was a General in the United States Army, best known for his role in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War...
later US Major General and José Martí y Zayas Bazán son of José Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
the major Cuban National Hero directed artillery; Mario García Menocal
Mario García Menocal
Aurelio Mario García Menocal y Deop was President of Cuba, from 1913 to 1921...
a to be president of Cuba was wounded in a principal assault. Angel de la Guardia, also a major Cuban national hero died in this battle on August 30, 1897 http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/comentarios/nacional-02.htm.
At the time of the U.S. landings, García, with skilled use of mobile artillery, controlled the interior of old Oriente Province, and prepared the landing places for the U.S. Army near Santiago. His troops effectively supported the Marine forces at Guantanamo who, once out of range of the guns of the , had difficulty dealing with Spanish guerrilla tactics. He was the general who dealt with the American troops and joined them in military actions, only to be denied entrance into Santiago de Cuba when the Spaniards surrendered.
Death
In 1898, García died of pneumonia, at the age of 59, while on a diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C. He was buried temporarily in Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in the U.S., then transported on the heavily armed seagoing war ship http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/spanam/ships/gbt-lg.htm http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rblume.htm http://www.homeofheroes.com/e-books/mohW_spanam/page_12.html to Cuba. His final burial in Cuba was preceded by a number of emotional incidents, and his statues and busts are found throughout Cuba. A major statue is found on the Malecon
Malecón, Havana
The Malecón is a broad esplanade, roadway and seawall which stretches for 8 km along the coast in Havana, Cuba, from the mouth of Havana Harbor in Old Havana to Vedado.Construction of the Malecón began in 1901, during temporary U.S. military rule...
near the US Interests Section in Havana http://google.com/search?q=cache:-rNmq-eGPpMJ:www.cubatravels.net/Ingles/Descripciones/RVedadoIing.htm+Cuba+Malecon+jpg+++statue+OR+estatua+OR+monumento+%22Calixto+Garcia%22&hl=en. After his death, a large bronze tablet prominently inscribed with the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes . The line can be roughly translated into English as: "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country."-Context:...
" was erected by the Masons at the place of his demise—the Raleigh Hotel in Washington, D.C. Today, this tablet resides at the private residence of one of Gen. García's direct descendants.
The essay "A Message to Garcia
A Message to Garcia
A Message to Garcia is a best-selling inspirational essay written in 1899 by Elbert Hubbard that has been made into two motion pictures.Felix Shay, Hubbard's personal assistant, wrote:...
" by Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
was written in reference to U.S. intelligence officer Andrew Rowan's successful mission, against great odds, to establish contact with García early in the Spanish-American War. According to language expert Charles Earle Funk, "to take a message to Garcia", meaning to accept an extremely difficult challenge, was a popular U.S. slang expression for years.
In 1976, a municipality in Holguín Province
Holguín Province
Holguín is one of the provinces of Cuba, the third most populous after Ciudad de la Habana and Santiago de Cuba. It lies in the northeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín , Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa....
was named Calixto Garcia
Calixto Garcia, Cuba
Calixto Garcia is a municipality in the Holguín Province of Cuba. The municipal seat is located in the town of Buenaventura.The municipality was named for Calixto García e Iñiguez, an independence war hero.-Demographics:...
for him.
Print sources
- Castellano García, Gerardo 1927. Tierras y Glorias de Oriente (Calixto García Iñiguez) Editorial Hermes Havana
- Escalante Beaton, Anibal 1946 Calixto García Su Campaña en el 95. Arrow Press Havana. (Introduction by General Carlos García Velez son of the mayor general and a first hand witness to many of the events described). Today you can find out about Calixto García's son's granddaughter who still lives, Kathleen Garcia. when we interviewed her she said 'I still remember the stories my grandfather would say about his father'. I can remember it like it was yesterday' she said. although many people know her they have never known how much history is in her Cuban family. One of the interviews was very sentimental to her, she said with a low tone of voice 'though my great grandfather is not with us he will be with us but in our hearts forever no matter what'! and that was the last we heard of her when she then left our stage very sentimental and we never saw her again, except her friends but they don't know the history that lives on in her family.