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Ángel del Castillo Agramonte

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Ángel del Castillo
Birth nameÁngel del Castillo y Agramonte
BornAugust 14, 1834
Puerto Principe, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire
DiedSeptember 8, 1869
Ciego de Ávila, Ciego de Ávila Province, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire
Allegiance Cuba
Service/branchCuban Liberation Army
Years of service1868-1869
RankGeneral
Battles/wars

Ángel del Castillo y Agramonte (August 14, 1834 - September 8, 1869) was a Cuban revolutionary and military general who was killed during the Ten Years' War in Cuba.

Early life

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Ángel del Castillo y Agramonte was born in Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey), Spanish Cuba on August 14, 1834. As a member of a distinguished family, he was a wealthy planter on the Cuban island.[1]

After finishing his dentistry studies in the United States in the mid-1850s, he returned to Cuba.[2]

Ten Years' War

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After the revolutionary Cry of Yara and uprising led by Cespedes on October 10, 1868, Castillo and many other figures of Camagüey injected themselves into the Ten Years' War.

Las Clavellinas Uprising

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Castillo was involved in the Las Clavellinas Uprising during Camagüey's armed revolt in November 1868. As coordinated by Cisneros Betancourt, the trusted allies of Eduardo Agramonte Piña were summoned to meet in the early hours of the morning.[3] 76 Cuban patriots met at the Las Clavellinas river, three miles from Camagüey, and organized for battle on November 4, 1868.[4] Ángel del Castillo, Jerónimo Boza Agramonte, Adolfo Varona y de la Pera, and Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, among others assembled at the stream.[5] Castillo and his brother freed their slaves to join the fight.[6] While Jerónimo Boza Agramonte assumed command as the superior chief, Col. Agramonte Piña divided the Cuban insurgents into several platoons.[7]

Battle of Bonilla

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During the Battle of Bonilla in Minas on November 28, 1868, insurgent forces commanded by Ángel del Castillo and Bernabé Varona routed a Spanish regiment led by Blas Villate, who retreated to Nuevitas.[8] Shortly after, he engaged in another skirmish with Villate, Count of Valmaseda.[6]

After Céspedes assumed the presidency in April 1869, Castillo was named colonel of the 2nd Brigade, under Maj. Gen. Ignacio Agramonte's Camagüey division in Manuel de Quesada's Cuban Liberation Army.[9]

Battle of Las Minas

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Ángel del Castillo participated in the Battle of Las Minas in May 1869, where he and Manuel de Quesada gathered over 4,000 troops and established a stronghold beyond Las Minas. Gen. Juan de Lesca launched an assault, leading to Salvador Cisneros Betancourt coming to their aid, and they successfully repelled the attack.[10]

Death

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Ángel del Castillo died on September 8, 1869, while assaulting Fort Lázaro López in Ciego de Ávila, Ciego de Ávila Province.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cuba Rediscovered: Searching for Cuba's future in the home of my ancestors | The Seattle Times". projects.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  2. ^ "1 Centro Nacional de Información de Ciencias Médicas ..." (PDF). salud.msp.gob.cu. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  3. ^ Jiménez González, Á., Cepero Echmendía, O., Hernández Garaboto, J. (2003). Historia militar de Cuba. Cuba: Ediciones Verde Olivo.
  4. ^ "Nuevitas, October 10th, 1868". radionuevitas.icrt.cu. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  5. ^ Revista bimestre cubana. (1951). Cuba: Tip. Molina.
  6. ^ a b "Generales camagüeyanos: Ángel del Castillo Agramonte | El Camagüey". elcamaguey.org. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  7. ^ Islas. (1974). Cuba: Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de Las Villas..
  8. ^ Walker, J. M. (1875). Life of Capt. Joseph Fry, the Cuban Martyr: Being a Faithful Record of His Remarkable Career from Childhood to the Time of His Heroic Death at the Hands of Spanish Executioners; Recounting His Experience as an Officer in the U. S. and Confederate Navies, and Revealing Much of the Inner History and Secret Marine Service of the Late Civil War in America. United States: J. B. Burr publishing Company.
  9. ^ "Revista | Cuban Genealogical Society" (PDF). cubagenweb.org. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  10. ^ (1870) The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year ..., Volume 9; Volume 1869. United States: D. Appleton.