LT. GENERAL ANTONIO MACEO GRAJALES - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 8/1896 - HFSID 217713

ANTONIO MACEO
The Cuban general hurriedly writes this war-time letter discussing the delegating of bombs, signs his name in blue pencil only four months before his death
Autograph letter signed: "A. Maceo" in blue pencil. 1 page, 6½x9, affixed to piece of white paper. August 1896. Addressed to Senor Captain A. Podarse. Cuba's coat of arms stamped in top margin. Fully Translated in English: "I sent all the bombs we had to lieutenant colonel F. Alfonso or F. Nunez who really needs them to carry out his orders. When you have finished the first bombs, as Nunez said, can you form the workshop that we talked about. Yours A. Maceo". Lieutenant general Antonio Maceo (1845-1896) was second-in-command of Cuba's Army of Independence, and as so one of the most noteworthy guerrilla leaders of nineteenth-century Latin America. The son of a Venezuelan mulatto and an Afro-Cuban woman, Maceo began his fight for Cuban liberation by enlisting in the army in 1868 at the beginning of the Ten Years War; within five years he had been promoted to the rank of general due to his bravery and strategic prowess. Although most believed that Cuba could not defeat Spain, Maceo refused to surrender without independence and the abolition of slavery, ultimately being forced to leave Cuba. He returned when the war with Spain began again, and is best remembered for his invasion into Western Cuba when his troops (Afro-Cuban soldiers on horseback) covered more than 1,000 miles in 92 days and fought the enemy in 27 separate encounters. On December 7, 1896 Maceo was captured and killed as he attempted to aid Maximo Gomez' forces, and his death prompted yet another congressional resolution for belligerent rights for Cuba. Normal mailing folds. Worn and soiled. Torn in left margin. Pencil notes in top margin. Stained throughout. Otherwise, fine condition.