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Calixto GarciaCuban General
Date of Birth: 04.08.1839
Country:  Cuba |
Content:
Cuban General and Independence Leader
Early Life and FamilyCalixto García Íñiguez was born in Holguín, Cuba, to Cuban Creole parents. His mother's surname, Íñiguez, suggests a descent from Íñigo Arista, the King of the Basques whose troops were famously referred to as "demons" in the Song of Roland. García was the grandson of Calixto García de Luna e Izquierdo, who had fought in the Battle of Carabobo in present-day Venezuela.
Military Career
In October 1868, García joined the Cuban Liberation Army and led military operations in the Oriente province. He was captured in September 1874 and, in an attempt to avoid captivity, shot himself in the chin with a .45 caliber pistol. Remarkably, he survived, the bullet exiting through his forehead. The wound, which left a large scar, plagued him with headaches throughout his life.
García was exiled to Spain, where he later traveled to Paris and New York. After the Zanjón Peace Treaty, he returned to Cuba in 1880 and joined Antonio Maceo during the Little War. Upon its conclusion, he was exiled again. However, García escaped Spain and arrived in Oriente in 1896.
During the Cuban War of Independence (1895), García served as the second-in-command of the Liberation Army, achieving numerous military victories. When the Spanish-American War erupted, García assisted the Americans in their landing on Cuba, preparing beachheads near Santiago. His troops provided invaluable support to U.S. Marines at Guantánamo, who were struggling against Spanish guerrilla tactics.
Relationship with the United States
Although García aided the American forces, he was denied entry into Santiago de Cuba after its surrender. Following the end of the Spanish-American War and the American occupation of Cuba, García traveled to the United States in December 1898 to discuss the fate of the Liberation Army. He passed away from pneumonia at the age of 59, before meeting with the president.
Legacy
Calixto García was buried temporarily at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States. Later, his remains were transported back to Cuba aboard the USS Nashville (PG-7) for burial. García is remembered as a prominent leader in the fight for Cuban independence and a symbol of resistance against Spanish rule.
