Fidel Alonso de Santocildes (1844 - July 13, 1895) was a Spanish Brigadier General and war hero of the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...

, the Little War and Cuban War of Independence. He was notable for his extensive service during the colonial period of Cuba and was a recipient of the Order of San Fernando. However, he was killed during the Battle of Peralejo, suffering a mortal wound during the battle.

Childhood

Fidel was born on 1844 at

Cubo de Bureba Cubo de Bureba is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a give ...

Province of Burgos The Province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladoli ...

as the son of Don Fidel Alonso de Santocildes and Doña Demetria who were a farming family that produced cereals, vegetables, wine, cheese and wool. He spent his first ten years in Spain, learning the Latin Alphabet, attending school, engaging in childhood activities and helping his parents in the farm. During his teenage years, he studied at the high school at

Medina de Pomar Medina de Pomar is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. It is situated 77 km from Bilbao, and 88 km from Burgos, the capital of the province, 8 kilometres from Villarcayo and about 20&nbs ...

and began gaining Castilian nationalism around this time.

Ten Years' War

Initially wanting to attend the San Jerónimo Seminary, he later attended the Toledo Military College where he entered at the age of 15. During which, he entered the Antequera Battalion until March 28, 1869, when he volunteered to serve in an expeditionary army that landed on Manzanillo on March 29, 1869, during the

. He would operate around the Central and Jiguaní regions as well as the Gulf of Guacanayabo but due to disease within the island, more lives would be lost from disease than from enemy bullets. In 1870, Colonel

Arsenio Martínez Campos Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, born Martínez y Campos (14 December 1831, in Segovia, Spain – 23 September 1900, in Zarauz, Spain), was a Spanish officer who rose against the First Spanish Republic in a military revolution in 1874 and res ...

and Captain Bouza Cobreiro praised Santocildes' service for his sorties at Baire and captured the camps of Cambute, Silencio, Lomas de Perucho, Fonseca and Guira during the actions of Piedra de Oro, Faldón and Las Cajitas. His service in these engagements earned him the Cross of Military Merit with the red decoration in 1871. Around this time, Santocildes was described as having indomitable energy, always seeing the first in dangerous situations and gaining compliance via military discipline. He received his second Cross of Military Merit in 1875 along with a promotion to Commander but transferred to the San Quintín Battalion. During the last 4 years of the Ten Years' War, Santocildes was recorded to engage in over 100 actions which made the Battalion a feared unit among the Mambises. For his further actions and services, he received the Order of San Fernando but after the

Pact of Zanjón The Pact of Zanjón ended the armed struggle of Cubans for independence from the Spanish Empire that lasted from 1868 to 1878, the Ten Years' War. On February 10, 1878, a group of negotiators representing the rebels gathered in Zanjón, a village ...

, he entered a more passive position, being stationed at the barracks of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. He then returned to the Oriente Province with the Cazadores de Chiclana Battalion to deal with the Little War and remained there until 1881, guarding the coasts and dealing with military and political manners at

Baracoa Baracoa, whose full original name is: ''Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa'' (“Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa”), is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province near the eastern tip of Cuba. It was visited by Admiral Christop ...

and

Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...

Interim Years

After the war, Santocildes married Doña Dolores Miyares y Hernández who belonged to a prominent Cuban family and they would have two daughters and one son with the latter attending the Toledo Military Academy as a Second Lieutenant but had to return to Spain by 1881 as he received command of the 1st Battalion of the Aragón Infantry Regiment at

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...

. He would remain in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

for three years, briefly having to go to Seo de Urgel to prevent a Republican movement there. After Ramón Fajardo Izquierdo was made the Captain General of Puerto Rico, Santocildes became the Lieutenant Colonel of the Aragón Infantry Regiment until returning to Cuba and being transferred back to the San Quintín Battalion in 1886 and promoted to Colonel in 1889.

Cuban War of Independence

Santocildes would then take command of the Reina y de Isabel la Católica Regiments as well as the Havana Public Order Battalion. During his second tenure at Cuba, he would be the military commander of

Holguín Holguín () is a municipality and city in Cuba, and the capital of Province of Holguín. After Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey, it is the fourth largest city in Cuba. History Before Columbus, the Taino people settled in huts made fro ...

and Manzanillo. He was then promoted to Brigadier General on May 22, 1895, and took command of a brigade of the 2nd Military District on July 25, 1895, upon the outbreak of the Cuban War of Independence. During the war, he personally told

Antonio Maceo Grajales Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845December 7, 1896) was second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname “The Bronze Titan" ( es, El Titán de Bronce, links=no), ...

that he was the most capable officer he had ever faced. However, Santocildes would be killed at the Battle of Peralejo as he was mortally wounded as he received two bullets in the chest. Disregarding the urges of his soldiers as one said: "You are wounded, my General!", he responded undaunted: "It's nothing my children, two scratches", "Go ahead! Fire!"

Childhood

Ten Years' War

Interim Years

Cuban War of Independence

References

Further reading