Antonio Maceo Grajales - Ten Years' War (1868-1878)

Ten Years' War (1868-1878)

Approximately two weeks after the October 10, 1868 revolt led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes against Spain known as "The cry of Yara" ("El grito de Yara"), Maceo, together with his father and brothers joined the war. Mariana Grajales, followed her family members into the manigua (the woods and most thick countryside) in order to support the mambises, as Cuban rebels were known in the 19th century. The Maceos enlisted as privates when the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) began. Within five months, Antonio Maceo was promoted to Commander (or Major), and within a matter of weeks after that he was again promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

Later, a promotion to Colonel followed, and five years later he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General because of his bravery and ability to outmaneuver the Spanish Army. Maceo participated in more than 500 battles. However, the humble origin of Maceo and the colour of his skin, delayed his raising to the Major General degree, due principally to the racist and class exclusiveness tendencies of several other patriots of an aristocratic or bourgeois origin. Men under Maceo's command began to name him “The Bronze Titan”, because of his exceptional physical strength and resistance to bullet or blade injuries. He recovered from more than 25 war injuries over the course of some 500 military battles, and none of Maceo's wounds diminished his willingness to lead his troops into combat.

He had special recognition and admiration, as chief and war teacher, of the great Dominican strategist Máximo Gómez, who would become, in the years to come, the General-in-Chief of the Cuban Liberator Army. The use of the machete as a war weapon by Gómez as a substitute for the Spanish sword (also due to the scarcity of firearms and ammunition) was rapidly adopted by Maceo and his troops.

Antonio Maceo rejected the military seditions of Lagunas de Varona and Santa Rita, which undermined the independent troops' unity and favoured a regionalism in Las Villas. This stood in contrast with the style of leadership exhibited by Vicente Garcia González, who eschewed front line heroics in favor of planning from behind the lines, and who also advocated a regional approach to secession. Divisionism and the imprecise designs of García were plainly rejected by Maceo when the former asked for support to constitute a “New Revolutionary Government”.

Divisions, regionalism, and indiscipline were the main reasons for the decline of the Revolution, of which the Spanish General Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, then already named Captain General of Cuba, drew considerable advantage. An officer of honour, he offered peace guarantees, amnesty for revolutionary men and legal reforms, in exchange for a cease of hostilities, which had already lasted 10 years (in 1878). At the same time, the Spanish Government continued the concentration of more forces to enclose the diminishing Cuban rebel forces.

Antonio Maceo was one of the officers who opposed the signing of the Pact of Zanjón, which ended the Ten Years War. He and other mambises (independence soldiers) met with General Martínez-Campos on March 15, 1878, to discuss the peace terms, but Maceo argued that no peace could be achieved if none of the objectives of the war had been accomplished; chief among these aims was the abolition of slavery in Cuba and Cuban independence. The only immediate benefit was amnesty for those involved in the conflict and liberty for the black soldiers who had fought in the "Liberator Army." Maceo did not recognize the treaty as valid and did not adhere to the proposed amnesty. This meeting, known as the Protest of Baraguá ("Protesta de Baraguá"), began when a messenger was sent to Maceo from another Cuban high officer, who proposed an ambush against the Spanish general. Maceo rejected the plan, informing the would-be conspirator via letter: “I don’t want victory if it goes accompanied with dishonor.”

After respecting the truce time for the interview (a few days), Maceo resumed hostilities. In order to save his life, the government of the Republic of Cuba gave him the task of gathering money, arms and men for an expedition from the exterior. Maceo's movements were useless, however, due to the dismay of the exiled sympathizers who were unhappy with the Zanjón pact.

Later in 1879, Maceo and Major General Calixto García Íñiguez planned from New York a new invasion to Cuba, which initiated the short-lived Little War. Maceo did not personally fight in these battles, for he had sent Calixto García as highest commander. This avoided exacerbating the racist prejudices of fellow Cuban officers that were inflamed by Spanish propaganda. The Spanish tried to create the impression that Maceo was trying to start a racial war against white Cubans, though their propaganda efforts did little damage to Maceo's reputation.