The Cubans who fought at Gettysburg - Hispanic Heritage Month

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The Cubans who fought at Gettysburg
By Pedro J. Saavedra, 13 August 1997

Last Saturday I visited the battle ground of Gettysburg, where (one of) the greated battles of the North American Civil War occurred. I wish to tell of two officers of Federal Armies which many Cubans who visit the site of battle do not even know.

One of the most significant sites of that battle field is the Peach Orchard near the wheat field where the most bloody part of the battle occured on the second day of the encounter. It was here where the Mississippi troops of General Barksdale attacked and overran the Federal forces, only to be defeated later in the hills a little more to the east. In that orchard, as they retreated from the Southern attack, the 114 the Pennsylvania regiment lost their colonel captured by the enemy.

Why should I be interested in just one colonel in that big battle. Well this is because that colonel was Lieutenant Colonel Federico Fernandez Cavada. Col. Fernandez Cavada was born in Cienfuegos, and would be general in the Insurgent Cuban Forces of the War of the Ten Year War (1868-1878). Not to be confused with the last Cuban War of Independence, 1895-1898 better known for its conclusion the Spanish-Cuban-American War of 1898).

Col. Fernandez Cavada's name is associated in Cuban history with those of the Cuban generals especially Roloff of Villa Clara, (Las Villas, the middle province) who were involved in the official declaration of the Ten Year Cuban War for Independence (1868-1878). (for a reference that includes data on both General Thomas Jordan and the Fernandez Cavado brothers see Jose G. Marmol. 1991 Donato Marmol. Editorial Arenas Miami ISBN 0-918454-96-4 P. 191 and others)

Much of what is know about the events in the peach orchard of Gettysburg is from the diary of Captain Adolfo Fernandez Cavado, brother of Federico. Adolfo (a good Cuban name long before a certain German corporal reached power) had had a horse killed under him that day, and despite being wounded was watching the battle as an aide to General Humphreys. Adolfo would be in charge of one of the insurgent landings in the 1868.

Cuban history tends have a global dimension (as in the recent Cuban-African experience demonstrates).

ORIGINAL TEXT

El sabado pasado visite el campo de batalla de Gettysburg, donde se celebro la mayor batalla del la Guerra Civil norteamericana. Y les quisiera contar de dos oficiales del ejercito Federal de los que muchos cubanos que visitan ese campo de batalla a veces ni estan enterados.

Uno de los lugares mas historicos de ese campo de batalla es un huerto melocotonero junto a un campo de trigo donde se celebro el segmento mas sangriento de la batalla, el segundo dia. Fue ahi donde los misisipianos del general Barksdale atacaron y arrasaron con las fuerzas federales, solo para ser derrotados mas adelante en las lomas algo mas al este. Y en ese huerto, mientras se retiraban ante el empuje de los sureños, el regimiento 114 de Pennsylvania vio a su coronel capturado por el enemigo.

Por que me intereso por un coronel mas de esa batalla? Porque se trataba del entonces Teniente Coronel Federico Fernandez Cavada, natural de Cienfuegos, quien despues fuera general del Ejercito Libertador, y cuyo nombre esta unido a los de Roloff y otros generales villaclareños en la gesta de Yara.

Resulta ademas, que mucho de lo que se sabe de la lucha en torno al huerto melocotonero se le debe al diario del entonces Capitan Adolfo Fernandez Cavada, hermano de Federico, a quien le habian matado el caballo el dia antes, pero que como ayudante del General Humphreys estaba observando la lucha a pesar de estar herido. Adolfo despues estaria al mando de una de las expediciones insurrectas en la guerra del 68.

Es bueno saber que la historia de Cuba se encuentra en todas partes, no solamente en la isla.

Pedro J. Saavedra
psaavedr@capaccess.org
psaavedr@hotmail.com
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