Battle of Bayamo
Part of Ten Year's War
Date 18 October 1868 – 20 October 1868 Location   Cuba Result Insurgent victory
Belligerents
Cuban insurgents	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Pedro Figueredo Francisco Vicente Aguilera Luis Marcano	Julián Udaeta Guajardo Fajardo Manuel López del Campillo
Strength
4,000 soldiers	1,075 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Bayamo was the first significant military action of the Ten Years' War ( 1868- 1878). The battle took place between October 18 and October 20, 1868, just over a week after the outbreak of the war.

Many of the main leaders of the independence movement, such as Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Perucho Figueredo and Francisco Vicente Aguilera participated in the battle, along with several Dominican officers such as Luis Marcano, Máximo Gómez, and later, Modesto Díaz.

Historical Context

In September 1868, the Glorious Revolution had taken place in Spain, and the Grito de Lares revolts were taking place in Puerto Rico. For their part, the Cuban independentistas had been conspiring for several years to take up arms in pursuit of Cuba's independence from Spain.

Taking advantage of the troubling situations in Spain and in Puerto Rico, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and other Cuban leaders took up arms on October 10, 1868 at the "La Demajagua" sugar mill. ^[1] Very soon, other leaders would also rise up in other regions of the island.

On the 12th of October, Céspedes' forces triumphantly entered the town of Yara, but were surprised by a Spanish ambush, suffering large numbers of casualties and dispersing. Only 13 men, including Céspedes, survived the attack.

Céspedes' small group was quickly found by Dominican General Luis Marcano who had served under Spain but was now fighting alongside the Cubans. General Marcano convinced Céspedes to attack the unsuspecting city of Bayamo by surprise and he accepted.

Military Actions

On the 17th of October, approximately 4,000 Cuban troops entered the outskirts of the city despite being poorly armed. The lieutenant colonel Julián Udaeta, the military chief of the plaza ordered the execution of any inhabitant of the city who cooperated with the Mambises, but this order had no effect on the civilian population, who left en masse to help the Mambi troops.

Céspedes informed Udaeta of the imminence of the assault on the city and requested its surrender. The Spanish chief refused, so the fighting began on October 18. Lieutenant General Luis Marcano went to the main church square, where he surrendered without a fight to Brigadier Modesto Díaz, who was a relative of his and who immediately joined the Cuban forces.

Céspedes established his headquarters in the city jail. At noon, the "Cabaiguan Division" arrived under the command of General Francisco Vicente Aguilera. Céspedes ordered Aguilera to cover the strategic road to the city of Holguín with his troops.

On October 19th, a skirmish took place in the Plaza de Santo Domingo between the troops of Perucho Figueredo and the Spanish cavalry of Commander Guajardo Fajardo. The Cuban troops tried to set the barracks on fire by launching combustible projectiles from two cannons that had been placed in the direction of the barracks.

Céspedes sent Aguilera and Modesto Díaz to repel a Spanish reinforcement under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Manuel López del Campillo, coming from the city of Manzanillo.

Since the Spanish reinforcements were repelled by the Cubans, the garrison of the Plaza de Bayamo had to surrender and was capitulated on October 20. ^[2] The Spaniards were taken prisoner and their lives were spared.

Consequences

The capture of the important city of Bayamo, one of the first cities founded by the Spanish in Cuba, was a resounding victory for the Cuban independence fighters, causing demoralization among the Spanish troops and emboldening all Cubans that had not yet joined the fight.

From a military point of view, the capture of the city gave the Cuban rebels a strategic position in the Cauto River valley, halfway between the cities of Manzanillo, Yara, Jiguaní, Las Tunas and Holguín. A neuralgic point in eastern Cuba was now in the hands of the rebels.

A few months later, around December of that year, the Cuban forces were unable to prevent the Spanish counterattack on the liberated city. The Cuban attempts to stop the Spanish troops in the Battle of El Salado were in vain. In January 1869, the Cuban troops and the inhabitants of the city abandoned the square, but not before setting it on fire. ^[2]

References