Americanos - Hispanic Heritage Month

Americanos

Americanos, (US born or inmigrant people whose origins are found in Spain and the Spanish-American countries and whose ancestors or themselves were absorbed or immigrated into the United States during the expansionist period and afterwards) Here are a few illustrious Americanos through history:

Captain Jordi (Jorge or George) Farragut - Spanish (Catalan) soldier, sailor and privateer who fought under the American flag against the English during the Revolutionary War. Along with John Paul Jones, Alexander Gillon and John Barry were in fact, the American navy.

Adm. David G. Farragut , son of the above born in Spanish New Orleans in 1801, before the Louisiana Purchase. Became the first US Navy Admiral during the War Between the States, famous for the Union blockade of the South and for saying while commanding the USS Hartford "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" at Mobile Bay.

Count Bernardo de Gálvez , Governor of Spanish Louisiana, Captain General of Cuba and Viceroy of Mexico, defeated the English in the Valley of the Mississippi, in the Gulf of Mexico also in the Bahamas and Honduras, he re-acquired Florida for Spain where he defeated the English in major battles at Mobile, Pensacola and Fernandina.

Juan Manuel de Cagigal, Marshall of the Spanish army born in Cuba, Captain General of Cuba and Captain General of Venezuela. Took part in the siege and capture of Pensacola leading an army of 8,000 Spanish and Cuban soldiers including several hundred recruits from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela three Irish Regiments and a company of free black men. The surrender of the British troops was negotiated by Cagigal's assistants Francisco de Miranda & General Guillermo Vaughn.

Juan de Miralles, Spanish merchant and smuggler from Havana, Cuba appointed Royal Commissioner by Charles III of Spain to the US Continental Congress, was a close friend of George Washington and his wife Martha to whom he gave 2 Spanish burros garañones ( stud donkeys) for his farm at Mt. Vernon. de Miralles' ships transported from Cuba Spanish wines and liquors, sweets and candies, rums, cigars, chocolate and sugar in addition to military supplies. In 1779 de Miralles is credited with saving Washington's army from dying of scurvy by supplying them with limones criollos (Cuban grown Spanish limes) and with quinine over which Spain had sole monopoly at the time. He died in George Washington's encampment in Morristown, NJ on the 30th of April 1780.

Francisco de Miranda, Colonel in the Spanish army born in Venezuela and assigned to the staff of George Washington by the Captain General of Cuba. De Miranda was successful in obtaining economic financial assistance in Cuba (even the Cuban-Spanish criollo ladies donated their jewelry and silks) to help the Americans in the battle of Yorktown. Later he became a General of the French Revolution, became a favorite of Catherine the Great of Russia, commanded the Spanish-American Revolution that failed to gain independence from Spain for the South American countries, he was betrayed and died in prison in Spain.

Father Felix Varela y Morales, Born in Cuba, raised by his grand-father the Colonel commanding the garrison in San Agustin, La Florida, returned to Cuba when east Florida was ceded by Spain to England as part of swap for Spain to recover Havana at the end of the 7 Years War (French & Indian War) Attended the monastery of San Carlos and was ordained a priest. Was elected a Cuban delegate to the Spanish Cortes or parliament in Madrid. Got into trouble for his ideas of autonomy for the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico and as abolitionist. Into exile in the US, lived in New York City where he became the Vicar General, founding many churches and schools, mostly funded out his family fortune. Assisted the recent Irish immigrants at the time of the Great Irish Potato Famine and arriving Italian immigrants. Died in Saint Augustin, Florida. In 1997 a Father Varela commemorative postage stamp was issued by the US Postal Service.

Ambrosio González de Chávez, Exiled Cuban General living in Charleston, SC, who led a Confederate States artillery unit from South Carolina in the siege of Fort Sumter and throughout the War Between the States.

Julio P. Garesché, Cuba-born graduated from West Point in 1841, Served in the Mexican War under General Zachary Taylor rose to lieutenant colonel in 1862. On November 9, 1862, was appointed chief of staff to General William Starke Rosecrans, commander of the 14th Army Corps, also designated the Army of the Cumberland. In this capacity he served until his death on December 31, 1862, when he was beheaded by a cannon ball at the battle of Stone River, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Initially buried on the battlefield (on the site of which a monument was eventually erected in memory of Garesch‚ and his fallen comrades), Julius's remains were later removed by his brother Alexander and buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Aniceto Garcia-Menocal, US Navy Admiral, Cuba-born graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a civil engineer was one of the builders of the Washington Memorial obelisk in Washington DC and surveyed and directed the construction of the Panama Canal. The Garcia-Menocal family produced several generals and admirals and one president of Cuba.

Col. Federico Fernández-Cavada, Union Army, commanded a Pennsylvania (volunteers) infantry regiment, which he had recruited and equipped with his own capital, was one of the heroes of the First Battle of Bull Run. Was captured by the Confederates and interned in the infamous prisoners of war Camp Libby in Georgia along with his brother Adolfo Fernández-Cavada and his brother in law, medical doctor Charles Owen, the three of whom were Cubans.

NB - There were Americano defenders of the Alamo with Davy Crockett and David Bowie. Many thousands of Spanish North America Hispanics became US citizens or Americanos when the US acquired Florida; Alabama; Mississippi; Louisiana; Missouri; Arkansas; Kansas; Texas; New Mexico; Arizona; Nevada; Utah; Colorado; Montana; California; Puerto Rico; Guam; Samoa; Philippines, etc. Americanos have served honorably and with distinction in all of our wars to this day. Americanos and particularly those of Mexican descent constitute the largest single group of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor to date. Americanos are proud and patriotic Americans for 500 years the first Americans.

Information on Padre Felix Varela at http://www.cubagenweb.org/misc/varela.htm

Home