Our War with Spain for Cuba's FreedomWhite, Trumbull
History
Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom
White, Trumbull
Cuba -- History; Spain -- Foreign relations -- United States; Spanish-American War, 1898; United States -- Foreign relations -- Spain
A Great Leader in a Great Cause--A Modern Judas--The Worthy Son
of a Noble Sire--The Farewell Letter--An Estimate of Maceo's
Character--Rejoicing Among Spanish Supporters--Their Mistaken
Belief--Patriotic Ardor of the Insurgents.
In the death of Antonio Maceo the Cuban cause lost one of its
strongest defenders. Besides being a man of acute intellect, and a
general of great military skill, he had the rare gift of personal
magnetism, and no one ever followed his leadership who did not
feel for him the devotion which often gives courage to cowards and
makes heroes in the time of need.
That his death was due to treachery there is little doubt. Doctor
Zertucha, his physician and trusted friend, is accused of having
betrayed him to the Spaniards. An Insurgent officer, who was with
the general when he received his death wound, says that they heard
gun shots in the vicinity of Punta Brava. Zertucha galloped into
the brush a short distance and returned, calling to them to follow
him. Maceo at once put spurs to his horse, and, followed by his
aides, rode swiftly after the physician, who plunged into the
thick growth on the side of the road. They had ridden only a short
distance, when Zertucha suddenly bent low in his saddle and
swerved sharply to one side, galloping away like mad. Almost at
the same moment a volley was fired by a party of Spanish soldiers
hidden in the dense underbrush, and Maceo and four of his aides
dropped out of their saddles mortally wounded.
The single survivor, the one who tells this story, managed to make
his way back to his own men, and brought them up to the scene of
the tragedy, but the bodies had been removed, and when they were
finally discovered, they had been mutilated in a most shocking
manner. It was then learned that one of the victims was Francisco
Gomez, a son of the Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban army, who was
one of Maceo's aides. It seems that his wound was not necessarily
a fatal one, but he refused to leave his dying commander, and
rather than to fall alive in the hands of his foes, he committed
suicide. This letter was found in his hand:
Dear Mamma, Papa, Dear Brothers: I die at my post. I did not want
to abandon the body of General Maceo, and I stayed with him. I was
wounded in two places, and as I did not fall into the hands of the
enemy I have killed myself. I am dying. I die pleased at being in
the defense of the Cuban cause. I wait for you in the other world.
Your son,
FRANCISCO GOMEZ.
Torro in San Domingo.
(Friends or foes, please transmit to its destination, as requested
by one dead.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account