On February 10th, 1963, an active fighter for the independence of Cuba died. He reached the rank of Brigadier General for war merits. Chief of the General Staff of the first division of Las Villas. Representative to the Constituent Assembly of Jimaguayú. He composed the Invader Anthem. Friend of José Martí and secretary of Major General Antonio Maceo.

Son of Enrique Loynaz y Arteaga and Juana del Castillo y Betancourt. His father, a combatant in the Ten Years’ War (1868-1878), was captain and owner of the Galvanic Schooner, the first ship with which expeditionaries were taken to Cuba in said war.

Tregua Fecunda

Enrique Loynaz del Castillo founded the separatist weekly “El Guajiro” in 1893, for which he was fined and arrested on several occasions. By orders of José Martí, he introduced arms and ammunition through the Nuevitas Customs, Camagüey, on March 30th, 1894. In January 1895 he participated in the organization of the Fernandina plan.

War of 1895

He entered the ranks of the Liberation Army on July 24th, 1895 as a member of the James Woodall steamship expedition, under the command of Major General Carlos Roloff.

He was head of the General Staff of Major General Serafín Sánchez, head of the first division of the fourth corps of Las Villas. He was elected on September 3rd, 1895 as representative for Camagüey to the Constituent Assembly of Jimaguayú, where he drafted the declaration of independence contained in the Constitution approved there.

He joined the invading column as Maceo’s aide-de-camp. He composed for November 15th, 1895 the Invader Anthem. He participated in all the fights of that stage.

On January 1st, 1897, he was appointed second chief of the infantry of the expeditionary regiment, which operated in the province of Matanzas, subordinate to Division General Avelino Rosas, chief of the first division of the fifth corps. A month later, he was appointed chief of the General Staff of Major General José María Rodríguez, head of the Western Department.

On April 1st, 1898, he served as Chief of Staff of the Western Department, where the war ended. He took part in more than 60 combat actions.

During the Republic

He served as secretary of the Police Corps, under the orders of Major General Mario García Menocal. He was representative to the Chamber for Camagüey, from 1902 to 1906.

He was one of the main figures in the uprising against the reelection of President Tomás Estrada Palma. He assumed command of the rebel forces in the provinces of Havana and Matanzas. He was wounded in the head with a machete. Two days later, on the 16th, he was officially proclaimed with the rank of Major General.

From 1908 to 1911 he served as Cuba’s ambassador to Mexico.

Before the re-election of President Mario García Menocal, in February 1917, he rose up with the Liberals.

In 1928 he was ambassador to Portugal. He held the same position in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

In addition, he fought against the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado. He participated in the uprising of the Havana Police Corps on August 12TH, 1933.

He rejoins the diplomatic service. He was ambassador in Panama and Venezuela. As adviser to the Ministry of State, he opposed the regime of the dictator Leónidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.

In addition to his own life, an unstoppable example of patriotism, he wrote the work Memoirs of the War, an obligatory reference.

Bibliography

– Diccionario Enciclopédico de Historia Militar de Cuba. Primera parte (1510-1898). Tomo1 Biografías (2014) Editorial Verde Olivo.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García