Antonio Maceo

Born June 14, 1845, in Santiago de Cuba; died Dec. 7, 1896, in San Pedro. One of the leaders of the national liberation struggle of the Cuban people against Spanish rule. The son of a peasant.

Maceo entered the rebel army at the start of the Ten Years’ War for independence (1868-78). In 1878 he received the rank of major general in the Army of Liberation. After the war he lived in exile in various countries of America and prepared a new armed uprising in Cuba. In April 1895, Maceo and a group of patriots disembarked in Cuba and headed the insurgent forces of Orient Province. In September he became the deputy commander in chief of the Army of Liberation. In the three months from October 1895 to January 1896, the army he headed battled its way across the whole island. Maceo perished in battle near San Pedro.