The Battle of El Indio Sao was a battle of the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Little War (1879–1880). The final three months ...

which took place on the 31st of August 1895 in

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a sm ...

of Cuba.

The Battle

In this site of Guantánamo, 650 mambises under the command of Generals

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

and

José Maceo José Marcelino Maceo Grajales ( 2 February 1849, La Delicia, Oriente Province, Cuba - 5 July 1896, Loma de Gato, Santiago de Cuba) was a Cuban Independence Activist and patriot of the 19th Century. Biography Early Years and Personality José ...

, fought against an enemy column of about 900 men, whose objective was to capture or kill José, because they knew that he was almost disabled and had only 50 escort men. Despite his illness, General José rode horseback. He had already warned his brother, who, without wasting a minute, undertook a terrible march, in a dark night, along terrible roads, until he reached three in the morning. At dawn, the Spanish column started the march, but in the Palmar de Ampudia they had to fight against a Cuban ambush, placed by General José. Cuban Brigadier Agustín Cebreco flanked the enemy on the left and reached the Baconao River, where José, at the top of the Loma del Trucutú, was fighting. After nine hours of fighting, the Mambises took possession of the heights of Sao del Indio and forced the Hispanics to retreat with numerous casualties. Antonio Maceo ordered Brigadier "Periquito" Pérez to let her pass free to make her fall into a trap with explosives, which destroyed the vanguard, but the Spanish leader ordered to continue advancing without dealing with the dead or wounded. At dawn on September 2, the colonial force began the march towards the nearby city and the Cubans were only able to harass the rear.Sao del indio, gran victoria de los hermanos Maceo
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Aftermath

The victory of this important battle had as a consequence the rapid consolidation of the Cuban forces in the war that was beginning, as well as the achievement of important military victories, the incorporation of a large number of combatants into the Mambi ranks and the obtaining of new weapons and ammunition. This battle, victorious for the Cubans, concluded the successful

First Eastern Campaign The First Eastern Campaign was a military campaign that took place between early May and late August 1895 in Oriente Province of Cuba, in the Cuban War of Independence. Background Neither the Ten Years' War (1868-1878), nor the Little War (1879 ...

, commanded by Lieutenant General Antonio Maceo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao del Indio Conflicts in 1895 Battles involving Spain Spanish colonial period of Cuba August 1895 events Battles involving Cuba