Rafael Rodríguez Agüero, Division General of Ignacio Agramonte’s cavalry, was among the 35 horsemen who together with El Mayor rescued the then Brigadier General Julio Sanguily. When the ’95 War began, malaria prevented him from joining. In July 1898 he traveled to Cuba, and Máximo Gómez conferred on him the position of Chief of the General Staff. In 1901 he was appointed Inspector General of the Rural Guard Corps with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and in 1903 he held the position of Chief of the Artillery Corps with the same rank.
Rodríguez Agüero was born in Puerto Príncipe, Camagüey, on October 24th, 1846 and died on May 3, 1905 in the La Cabaña fortress. He was not on the list of those who rose up on November 4th, 1868 but later joined under the orders of Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz. In the period from April 1870 to January 1871, when Agramonte was without command, he continued fighting in actions such as those of El Cercado, Jimirú, Socorro and Ingenio Grande.
Promoted to Brigadier General
He was a member of Ignacio Agramonte’s General Staff with the rank of lieutenant colonel. On May 11th, 1873, he was in Ignacio Agramonte’s cavalry as chief of his General Staff when El Mayor fell in combat. Máximo Gómez ratifies him as his chief of staff.
In 1873, upon taking charge of the Camagüey Division, Máximo Gómez promoted him to lieutenant colonel. On March 26th, 1876, due to his merits, he received the promotion to colonel. Since then he has been in charge of the Guáimaro and Cascorro regions.
He then held the command of the Agramonte Cavalry Regiment, subordinated to the chief of the 1st Camagüey Division, Brigadier General Henry Reeve. In 1875 he joined the forces invading Las Villas and assumed command of the jurisdiction of Cienfuegos.
On October 7th, 1875, he replaced Major General Carlos Roloff in command of the 2nd Division of the 3rd Corps of Las Villas.
On February 28th, 1876, in the battle at Loma del Jíbaro, he was disabled by the impact of a projectile in his left hand.
On April 4th, 1877, he was promoted to brigadier general and took part in all the combats in command of the Agramonte and Camagüey cavalry regiments.
During the Pact of Zanjón
Rodríguez Agüero, despite his indisposition, was appointed secretary of the Committee of the Center that dealt with the peace without independence proposed by the Spanish. Only he and Goyo Benítez chose to continue the fight. However, together with the then commander Enrique Collazo, he was appointed to inform the heads of the Santiago de Cuba jurisdiction of the bases of the aforementioned pact.
Tregua Fecunda
On March 5th, accompanying Major General Máximo Gómez, they left for Jamaica. He was part of the organization of the revolutionary movement among Cuban immigrants. He began working on the Gómez-Maceo plan.
War of ’95
Malaria and a serious liver condition made it impossible for him to join the war of 1895. It was not until July 4th, 1898 that he traveled to Camagüey at the head of the expedition of the Florida and Fanita ships, which set sail from Tampa and arrived at Palo Alto, south coast of Camagüey.
Máximo Gómez assigned him as chief of the General Staff and he is promoted to division general.
During the US Army occupation
From April 24th to May 25th, he was part of the consultative Commission created by Gómez to deal with the discharge of the Liberation Army. In May 1901 he was appointed inspector general of the Rural Guard Corps with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In the first Republic
The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Military History of Cuba notes that on April 14th, 1903 he held the position of head of the Artillery Corps with the same rank. Meanwhile, the journalist María Delys Cruz Palenzuela reflected in the newspaper Adelante on October 19th, 2015 that Rafael Rodríguez Agüero, on January 26th, 1904, was appointed lieutenant colonel, head of the Artillery Corps.
Legacy
Proverbial bravery. Proven independence. Loyalty to his homeland.
Bibliography
– Diccionario Enciclopédico de Historia Militar de Cuba. Primera parte (1510-1898) Tomo 1 Biografías (2014) Editorial Verde Olivo.
– Cruz Palenzuela, María Delys (2015). “El General Rafael Rodríguez Agüero, valiente general y fiel compañero” en http://www.adelante.cu 19 de octubre 2015. Recuperado 1 de mayo de 2023.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
