The History of Cuba Volume III Part 6

Now the information which Captain-General Concha had received concerning the expedition had led him to believe that the landing would be made at Mantua, and he was delighted when information reached him, as it speedily did, that the filibusters had gone ash.o.r.e at Morillo. He quickly dispatched Colonel Morales by rail to Guanajay, where he collected a Spanish force of about four hundred men, who were instructed to attack from the front; while General Ena from Bahia Honda and Colonel Elezalde from Pinar del Rio were to join forces to cut off retreat, if the filibusters attempted to escape by sea, and thus Concha hoped to surround and destroy the army of invasion.

Meanwhile, the _Pampero_ had been cleared, and under orders from Lopez set out on a return trip to Key West to bring reinforcements, and Lopez decided to march his forces to Las Pozas, ten miles away. Contrary to their expectations, the filibusters had found the town of Morillo practically deserted, and there were no enthusiastic patriots to welcome their would-be deliverers. Now difficulty arose as to transportation of the provisions, and the main portions of the military supplies. There was no practical means of conveying them to Las Pozas, and in consequence Lopez made a mistake which afterward proved his undoing. He concluded to divide his forces, leaving Crittenden, with a hundred and twenty men, to guard the supplies, and himself, with the remainder of his army, to push on to Las Pozas.

He reached this objective without mishap, but again found conditions very different from what he had been led to expect. This town, too, was almost deserted, and there was the same disheartening lack of support, and failure of the Cubans to join his expedition. Lopez determined that on this occasion there should be no occasion to bring against his army the accusations which the Spaniards had made at Matanzas. He therefore ordered his men to accept nothing in the way of food for which they did not pay, and he stationed guards at places where liquor was sold to prevent any drunkenness on the part of his men. In consequence the best of order prevailed.

An attack from the Spaniards was momentarily expected, and Lopez maintained a careful watch for the approach of the enemy. This was delayed until the next morning, when, in spite of his precautions, he was taken virtually by surprise. A portion of his forces were eating their breakfast, while others were bathing in a nearby stream, when word came that the Spanish had overpowered the outposts, were then within two hundred yards of the village, and that the attacking force was estimated to be twelve hundred strong. Lopez hastily issued the call to arms, and his men were arrayed to meet the on-coming Spaniards. A hot battle ensued, in which, in spite of the fact that they were so largely outnumbered, the filibusters were victorious and forced the Spaniards to retire. However, Lopez suffered a very great blow in the death of Colonel Dorman, who was the best disciplinarian and most efficient organizer and drill-master in the army, while Colonel Pragay, Lopez's chief adviser--who, however, had been responsible for persuading Lopez to make the mistake of leaving Crittenden behind--was also killed, as was Captain Overto. The other casualties amounted to fifty killed and wounded. Even the fact that the Spanish losses were far heavier did not compensate for the loss to Lopez of his three brave commanders.

Lopez's army had been increased by only a few stray Cubans, whom they had encountered on their march to Las Pozas, and who had joined fortunes with them. He now had fifty-three less men that at first, and besides he was separated from his stores. Unless they were promptly brought forward, or unless he returned to Morillo and Crittenden, he would be in a serious situation, since help from the natives was not materializing.

While he was contemplating this situation, a messenger arrived from Crittenden, asking permission to join Lopez, and the messenger was promptly ordered to return with orders to Crittenden to march his forces to Pinar del Rio to join Lopez there, and Lopez headed his men toward the mountains, with the intention of pushing on to Pinar del Rio.

Promptly on receipt of the desired permission from Lopez, Crittenden, with his one hundred and twenty men, set out to join him. They had proceeded only three miles when the little band was attacked by a body of five hundred Spaniards. Crittenden's men quickly took to cover, and fought so desperately that in spite of the fact that they were so greatly outnumbered, they killed a large number of the Spanish forces, and put the others to rout. But Crittenden, it would seem, had not learned the proper lesson from the earlier division of Lopez's forces, and his own plight in consequence, for he now decided to make the mistake a second time. The little band had made slow progress, because of the necessity for transporting the supplies in carts, and Crittenden made up his mind to leave Captain Kelly for the time with forty men to defend the supplies, and with the remaining eighty himself to lead an attack against the Spaniards who were now rallying. But the Spanish soldiers were better trained than were Crittenden's men, and the Spanish leader was cleverer in manoeuvres and had a greater knowledge of the country. He had no difficulty in effecting a separation between the two bodies of Crittenden's men, and he forced those under Crittenden to flee for their lives. They took refuge in a wooded ravine, where they remained for two days and nights without food and without water, in constant terror of a Spanish attack. Realizing that if they stayed where they were they faced no better fate than slow starvation, they finally, under cover of the night, emerged from their hiding-place and made their way to the coast, where they took possession of four small boats and set out to sea, in the hope of reaching Key West, or of being picked up by some other expedition, since they had no doubt that several were already on their way from the United States. Two days later, starving, and almost mad for want of fresh water, driven by the tides back to the sh.o.r.e and aground on the rocks, they were captured and taken to Havana.

The Spanish General Bustillos, gives the following account of their apprehension:

"Your Excellency: I started yesterday from Bahia Honda, in the steamer _Habanera_, with a view to reconnoiter the coast of Playitas and Morillo, in order to remove all the means by which the pirates could possibly escape; or in case of more expeditions to these points, to remove the means of disembarkation. At seven o'clock in the morning, I communicated with the inhabitants of Morillo, and was informed by the inhabitants that, at 10 o'clock on the preceding night, one part of them embarked in four boats. Having calculated the hour of their sailing and distance probably made in 10 hours and supposing they had taken the direction of New Orleans--I proceeded in that direction 18 miles, with full steam, but after having accomplished that distance, I could not discover any of those I pursued. Believing the road they had followed was within the rocks, I directed my steamer to that point, and made the greatest exertions to encounter the fugitive pirates. At 10 o'clock I detected the 4 boats navigating along the coast and I could only seize one. Two others were upon the rocks of the island, the fourth upon the rocks of Cargo Levisa. When I seized the men of the first boat, I armed the boats of the ship in order to pursue the second and third, which were on the rocks, but the officers of the army who were in the boats, as well as the troops and sailors, the commander of the boat, Don Ignacio de Arrellano and the captain of the steamer _Cardenas_, Don Francisco Estolt threw themselves in the water to pursue the pirates of whom two only escaped. Having left their arms we did not pursue them in order to occupy ourselves with the boat in Cargo Levisa, for it was one of the largest and contained more men. These, twenty-four in number, were hidden within a small neck, having the boat drawn up among the rocks; and here the pirates were seized. The number of prisoners was fifty well armed men, headed by a chief and five officers."

When the captives reached Havana, they were brought up on deck, stripped except for their undershirts and trousers, and before the people who had a.s.sembled at the dock they were made to undergo the greatest indignities. Not only were they grossly insulted by word of mouth; they were spit upon, and railed at, kicked and a.s.saulted; nothing seemed too harsh or vile for their captors to do in venting their spleen.

Meanwhile, when the Captain-General was apprised of their arrival, he sent spies to them to take down their statements and farewell messages, promising to transmit these to their families, but in reality his agents were instructed to use every effort to influence each man to inform on the others. In this, however, they were entirely unsuccessful. Concha announced his intention of dealing summarily with the offenders, as a warning to others who might contemplate an invasion of Cuba. Therefore, without even the pretense of a trial, the following decree was issued against them:

"It having been decreed by the general order of April 20 last, and subsequently reproduced, what was to be the fate of the pirates who should dare to profane the soil of this island, and in view of the declarations of the fifty individuals who have been taken by his Excellency the Commander-General of this naval station, and placed at my disposal, which declarations establish the ident.i.ty of their persons, as pertaining to the horde commanded by the traitor Lopez, I have resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Royal Ordinances, General Laws of the Kingdom, and particularly in the Royal Order of the 12th of June of the past year, issued for this particular case, that the said individuals, whose names and designations are set forth in the following statement, suffer this day the pain of death, by being shot, the execution being committed to the Senor Teniente de Rey, Brigadier of the Plaza.

"JOSE DE LA CONCHA."

Attached to this doc.u.ment was the following list of names. Since it is known that fifty-two men were shot, the list is accordingly incomplete:

"Colonel W. S. Crittenden; Captains F. S. Sewer, Victor Kerr, and T. B.

Veacey; Lieutenants James Brandt, J. O. Bryce, Thomas C. James, and M.

H. Homes; Doctors John Fisher and R. A. Tourniquet; Sergeants J.

Whiterous and A. M. Cotchett; Adjutant B. C. Stanford; Privates Samuel Mills, Edward Bulman, George A. Arnold, B. J. Wregy, William Niseman, Anselmo Torres, Hernandez, Robert Cantley, John G. Sanka, James Stanton, Thomas Harnett, Alexander McIllger, Patrick Dillon, Thomas Hea.r.s.ey, Samuel Reed, H. T. Vinne, M. Philips, James L. Manville, G. M. Green, J.

Salmon, Napoleon Collins, N. H. Fisher, William Chilling, G. A. Cook, S.

O. Jones, M. H. Ball, James Buxet, Robert Caldwell, C. C. William Smith, A. Ross, P. Brouke, John Christides, William B. Little, John Stibbs, James Ellis, William Hogan, Charles A. Robinson."

On August 16, early in the morning, the prisoners were taken from the vessel and brought to the Castle of Atares for execution. An appeal was made to the American Consul at Havana, F. A. Owens, to use his influence with the Captain-General to obtain some clemency for the condemned men, but he not only declined on the ground that they had been declared outlaws by the American Government, but he seemed to be utterly lacking in kindness of heart or compa.s.sion, for he refused to see the men, or to make any attempt to transmit their last messages to their friends and families.

An eye witness thus describes the execution:

"Havana, August 16, 4-1/2 P. M.

"I have this day been witness to one of the most brutal acts of wanton inhumanity ever perpetrated in the annals of history. Not content was this government in revenging themselves in the death of those unfortunate and perhaps misguided men, and which, it may even be said, was brought upon themselves; but these Spanish authorities deserve to be most severely chastised for their exceedingly reprehensible conduct in permitting the desecration, as they have done, of the senseless clay of our brave countrymen. This morning forty Americans, four Irish, one Scotch, one Italian, one Philippine Islander, two Habaneros and two Germans or Hungarians, were shot at 11 o'clock; after which the troops were ordered to retire and some hundreds of the violent rabble, hired for the purpose commenced mutilating the dead bodies. Oh! the very remembrance of the sight is frightful.

"I never saw men--and could scarcely have supposed it possible--conduct themselves at such an awful moment with the fort.i.tude these men displayed under such trying circ.u.mstances. They were shot, six at a time, i.e., twelve men were brought to the place of execution, six made to kneel down and receive the fire of the soldiers, after which the remaining six were made to walk around their dead comrades and kneel opposite to them, when they were also shot. They died bravely, those gallant and unfortunate young gentlemen. When the moment of execution came, many, Colonel Crittenden and Captain Victor Kerr among them, refused to kneel with their backs to the executioners. 'No,' said the chivalrous Crittenden, 'an American kneels only to his G.o.d, and always faces his enemy!' They stood up, faced their executioners, were shot down and their brains then knocked out by clubbed muskets. After being stripped and their bodies mutilated, they were shoved, six or seven together, bound as they were, into hea.r.s.es, which were used last year for cholera cases. No coffins were allowed them.

"A finer looking set of young men I never saw; they made not a single complaint, not a murmur, against their sentence, and decency should have been shown their dead bodies in admiration for the heroism they displayed when brought out for execution. Not a muscle was seen to move, and they proved to the miserable rabble congregated to witness the horrible spectacle that it being the fortunes of war that they fell into the power of this government, they were not afraid to die. It would have been a great consolation to these poor fellows, as they repeatedly asked, to see their consul, and through him to have sent their last adieus, and such little remembrances as they had, to their beloved relations in the States. But Mr. Owens, the American Consul, did not even make application to the Captain-General to see these unfortunate countrymen in their distress, and their sacred wishes in their last moments have been unattended to. Lastly, at the very hour of triumph, when the people of the Spanish steamer _Habanero_ knew that the execution of the American prisoners, whom they had taken to Havana, had taken place, two shots were fired across or at the steamer _Falcon_ off Bahia Honda; and notwithstanding that this vessel was well known to them, having as she had the American flag hoisted, etc., she was detained and overhauled by these Spanish officers."

Another reliable source, the report of an American naval officer, furnished the information, that after the prisoners had been shot, their bodies were mutilated; they were dragged by the heels, and outraged in a manner which would make the most unenlightened savage shudder; their ears and fingers were cut off, and portions of these, together with pieces of skull, were distributed to the Spanish officers as souvenirs, while some of these grim relics were afterward nailed up in public places as a warning against attempts to revolt against the Spanish Government. Ten of the bodies were placed in coffins, and the rest were merely thrown into a pit.

When Captain Kelly and his forty followers had been separated from Crittenden, they managed in some manner--the details of which have not come down to us--to evade the Spaniards and to escape with such supplies as they could carry. They took to the cover of the woods, and being unfamiliar with the country wandered around, until they fell in with a loyal negro who undertook to act as guide for them. He led them to a dense wood, in sight of Las Pozas, and they sent him on ahead to report conditions. He returned, stating that Lopez was in possession of the town, and so they joined him, just as he was about to lead his men into the mountains. Captain Kelly's men had been so engrossed with their own predicament that they had remained in ignorance of the fate of Crittenden's force, and they were therefore unable to give Lopez any definite information concerning them, and he treasured the hope that they too had escaped the Spaniards, and would be able to join him at Pinar del Rio, in accordance with the original plan.

Lopez's forces were now reduced to about three hundred men, and they found themselves obliged to leave their wounded behind them. They pushed forward all night, and until about nine in the morning, covering a distance of twelve miles. They shot a cow, and roasting the meat on the points of their bayonets, ate it without bread or salt. They then continued their march until eight in the evening, when, utterly worn out, they lay down and slept on their arms until midnight.

The moon was now shining brightly, and Lopez awakened his tired army, and again they were on their way. Shortly after dawn, they reached a plantation, where they were received with kindness by the owner, who was in sympathy with the cause of Cuban freedom. Two cows were killed, and some corn roasted, and once more the little band was refreshed. But now Lopez discovered that in the absence of a guide or a compa.s.s they had been traveling almost in a circle, and instead of going southwest toward San Cristobal and Pinar del Rio, they were within only three miles of their original landing place, where there was a large Spanish force. He immediately a.s.sembled his footsore companions, who were now almost barefoot because the rough and stony pa.s.ses had worn the shoes from their feet, and led them on a forced march. Many had already dropped out by fatigue, and the others were almost exhausted, but Lopez realized that safety could only be a.s.sured by putting many miles between his men and the Spanish garrison, and reaching, before they were overtaken, some place of strong vantage.

The Spaniards seem, however, to have been thoroughly puzzled by Lopez's circuitous course, and they sent word to the Captain-General that since they despaired of capturing him, they felt the best measure to take was an effort to induce his men to desert him. Concha, therefore, issued the following proclamation, which was posted in conspicuous places all over the vicinity where Lopez was supposed to be hiding:

"Proclamation!

"The Most Excellent Senor, the Captain-General, has seen proper to direct, under this date, to the chiefs of columns in the field and to the Lieutenant-Governors of Bahia Honda, Mariel, San Cristobal and Pinar del Rio, the following circular:

"The greater part of the pirates who dared to invade the island have been destroyed by the valiant troops of that army to whom the lot fell of being destined to pursue them, as well as by the not less decided and active cooperation of all the loyal inhabitants of the district they had sought to make their den. Considering, at once, the unanimous confession of all those who have been taken and executed, that they had been brought here into a foreign territory through a complete deception, having been made to believe that the country called them, that the army would make common cause with them, and that triumph would be as easy as it was certain, such being the promise of the traitor who led them; and that the directors of such a foolish and disorderly enterprise could not in any other way have got together the mult.i.tude connected herewith, and also that public vengeance has already been satisfied by the severe chastis.e.m.e.nt inflicted on those individuals. .h.i.therto captured, as well as those that have perished by the b.a.l.l.s or the bayonets of our gallant troops; and that finally, the time has arrived to make use of clemency, according to the dictates of humanity, I have determined:

"I. That quarter shall be given to every individual belonging to the band under command of the traitor Lopez who shall surrender or be taken by the troops of His Majesty within four days from the publication of this resolution in the respective districts; it being well understood that after the expiration of that period the general army order of April 20 last will remain in full force as it has up to now.

"II. The individual or individuals belonging to said band who shall surrender said leader, Lopez, shall be free from all punishment, and if he be a foreigner, shall be restored to his own country.

"This I communicate to you for your exact observance, ordering that it be immediately published in all the district under your command. G.o.d guard your Excellency many years!

"JOSE DE LA CONCHA.

"Havana, Aug. 24, 1851."

Meanwhile stragglers who fell by the wayside, and afterward fell into the hands of the Spaniards, were brutally treated, and murdered in the most revolting manner, their bowels being ripped open by bayonets after they had been practically flogged to death.

A native guide who offered his services to Lopez, now led him to a coffee plantation near Las Frias. He represented to Lopez that the owner was a sympathizer, and that the wanderers would be given rest and shelter, and a place to hide until the arrival of reinforcements from the United States. This guide is believed to have been a Spanish spy, for while Lopez and his men were received with the greatest courtesy, and entertained for two days by the planter, their host secretly dispatched a courier to the Spanish leaders, and presently a Spanish army arrived to attack the filibusters. Lopez dispersed his men, who hid themselves behind the trunks of mango trees, and picked off the Spanish soldiers, with the result that the Spaniards were put to flight, and when word presently came that General Eno was advancing to the rescue of his compatriots with a force of two thousand men Lopez retreated to a high hill, with the remainder of his army, now reduced to two hundred and twenty men, many of these disabled by wounds. Lopez was in a position of vantage, and small parties of his men fired on the advancing Spaniards, wounding their commander, and several of their number.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FALLS OF THE HANEBANILLA

Each of the Provinces of Cuba has its own characteristic charms of scenery; among which it would be rash to attempt to choose. Santa Clara boasts the great falls of the Hanebanilla River, a scene of majestic splendor. This is one of numerous cataracts on the rivers of Cuba, enriching the scenic attractions of the island, and at the same time suggesting immense value as sources of industrial power.]

Lopez now endeavored to reach a plain near San Cristobal, but his men were worn out, their clothes torn, their flesh bruised and bleeding, and their feet lacerated so that they could hardly walk.

Dissatisfaction and dismay was rife among them, and presently they sent a committee to Lopez, asking him to advise them just what he intended to do, and what he expected to accomplish, and stating that unless he had some good plan, they were unwilling to proceed further. Lopez listened to them attentively, and asked for suggestions. They were all for hiding in the mountains, until relief should be sent to them from the country which they all now sorely regretted leaving. While putting this project into execution, they were again attacked by the Spaniards, three or four of them were killed, and a number taken prisoners, and immediately executed. One hundred and forty men escaped with Lopez through the woods. Many of them had lost their arms; only sixty-nine guns remained, while on most of these the bayonets were broken. They had no food and they killed Lopez's horse and ate it. Open dissension broke out among them. Lopez was, as will be recalled, under sentence of death, having been condemned, after the betrayal of the first plans to free Cuba, to be killed should he ever again be apprehended on the island. A price had been set on his head, and now, with characteristic self-abnegation, he besought his men to deliver him up to the enemy, securing clemency for themselves in return for such action. To do them justice, they were heartily ashamed, and repudiated the suggestion. Finally after a long discussion it was decided to stake all on one attempt against the Spaniards, and consequently they made their way again to the plain near San Cristobal and there attacked a force of five hundred Spanish troops.

They were charged by the Spanish cavalry, and all but six were taken prisoners. Lopez and his remaining six followers took refuge upon a plantation. They were received with cordiality and a.s.sured of the sympathy of their owner, Senor Castenada, who offered to hide them until their friends, whom they believed to be even then on the ocean, or perhaps making a landing on the island, should rescue them. He gave them good food and drugged wine, and took them to the upper part of the house, to his bedrooms, that they might sleep. They were utterly exhausted, and soon fell into deep slumber, whereupon Castenada notified the Spanish authorities, who at once sent troops to take the little company prisoners. So profound was their sleep that they were securely bound before they realized what had happened. They were at once taken to Havana, where the Captain-General was so delighted at the turn events had taken that he issued a proclamation complimenting his brave officers on their capture "of this dangerous traitor."

Concha did not accord Lopez a trial, but at once issued a proclamation ordering his execution. It was dated October 31, 1851, and ran as follows:

"By a superior decree of the Most Excellent Senor, the Governor and Captain-General, Don Narciso Lopez, who commanded the band of pirates that disembarked at the place called Playitas, to the leeward of the capital on the morning of the 12th instant, has been condemned to the infamous punishment of the garrote. The execution is to take place at seven o'clock in the morning of September 1st. The troops of all arms composing the garrison of the town, and the forces from elsewhere, will a.s.semble at sufficient time beforehand, at the camp of the Punta, where the scaffold is placed, around which they will form a square. The regiment of Galicia will take its station in front with a banner displayed. The other corps will be present with all their disposable force. The artillery will take the right, with the engineers next them; the other forces without distinction will occupy the places a.s.signed to them. The cavalry will be stationed according to the direction of the Brigadier, the Royal Lieutenant commanding the town, who will command the troops, having under his orders the staff officers of the army, and an equal number of town adjustants. A true copy.

"ZURITA."

The Spanish archives contain the following names of members of the Lopez expedition who were taken prisoners about this time and who witnessed the execution of their leader. Most of these men after a long imprisonment were finally pardoned, through the intervention of powerful friends, and returned to their homes:

Elias Otis, Michael O'Keenan, John Danton, First Lieutenant P. S.

VanVechten, M. L. Hefren, Captain Robert Ellis, W. Wilson, W. Miller, P.

Lacoste, M. Lieger, P. Coleman, Henry Smith, Thomas Hilton, First Lieutenant E. H. McDonald, D. D. Waif, H. D. Thomason, Charles A.

Conunea, Emanuel R. Wier, First Lieutenant J. G. Bush, Conrad Taylor, Thomas Denton, C. A. McMurray, J. Patan, Conrad Arghalir, Jose Chiceri, G. Richardson, John B. Brown, Thomas S. Lee, Captain James Aquelli, Franklin Boyd, Thomas Little, Commissary J. A. Simpson, George Wilson, First Lieutenant D. D. Rousseau, First Lieutenant Robert McGrier, J. D.

Hughes, William H. Vaugale, Francis B. Holmes, Malbone H. Scott, First Lieutenant W. H. Craft, J. D. Prenit, Julio Chasagne, John Cline, George Forster, C. Knoll, Nicholas Port, Patrick McGrath, Charles S. Daily, James Fiddes, S. H. Prenell, W. L. Wilkinson, C. Cook, James Chapman, James Brady, Henry B. Hart, Jacob Fonts, Preston Esces, William Cameron, Thomas Mourou, Isaac Fresborn, Cornelius Derby, Peter Falbos, Benjamin Harrer;

_From England_: William Caussans, John Nowes;