The Third Corps of the Liberation Army was constituted during the Ten Years’ War and lasted until the end of the 1995 War, having as its base of operations Puerto Príncipe province, nowadays Camagüey.

On October 10th, 1895, it was given command of the Third Corps of Camagüey to Brigadier General José María (Mayía) Rodríguez. At the head of two cavalry regiments, he gave cover to the invading column under the command of Major General Antonio Maceo in his march through this province.

When Generalissimo Máximo Gómez de Camagüey left, for the preparation of the invasion campaign (October 30th, 1895) the then Colonel Javier de la Vega Basulto was placed under the orders of Major General Mayía Rodríguez and collaborated in the reorganization of the Third Corps of Camagüey.

In 1896, de la Vega, was appointed Military Chief of Camagüey, temporarily replacing Gómez, while he was in the East.

From military history a decisive victory

Between October 17th and 28th, 1896, the Third Corps of Camagüey Army combined with forces of the Second, attacked the town of Guáimaro, under the command of Major General Calixto García Íñiguez. The square had a main fort, the Mella, at the top of the Gonfau hill and eight secondary forts, the infantry barracks, the fortified church and other buildings in the center of the town.

It was carried out a surprise attack. The fort was taken. On the 26th, Lt. Colonel Carlos Masó arrived with projectiles after a ten-day march.

On the morning of the 27th, the artillery kept firing on decisive targets. At 6:30 p.m. The general assault began and all the enemy positions fell into the hands of the patriots, with the exception of the barracks and the military hospital.

At 08:30 h. On the 28th, the Government of the Republic in Arms entered the town. García surrounded the barracks and gave an ultimatum to those inside; the seriously wounded Spanish leader accepted it, although his second in command, Captain José Rosarion was the one who signed it. The survivors were taken prisoner and later released. The soils of war obtained: 200 rifles, 100,000 cartridges, clothes, food, medicines and other things. Before leaving the town the insurgents destroyed it.

Popular recognition during the first Republic

These liberating troops were part of the distinctive Territorial Council of Patriots and Veterans of Camagüey, of which Major General de la Vega Basulto served as president. The ordinary people recognized their dignified and unequal actions against the troops of Spanish colonialism.

Consequently, they were the object of veneration and respect by different generations, those who, looking from afar at a Homeland with everyone and for the good of everyone, did not spare their own lives in favor of that conquest, instantly frustrated.

Legacy

Their moral reach allowed them to be a beacon against government administrative corruption. Their voices and presence led public protests, demands for justice and social inclusion, and outlined the forward thinking of subsequent charters. Their lives are the essential fertilizer for today’s virtuous principles.

Bibliography

Diccionario enciclopédico de Historia Militar de Cuba, (2014) Tomos I y II. Casa editora Verde Olivo, La Habana, Cuba.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García