Alberto Rodríguez Acosta (June 5, 1871 – February 10, 1963) was a Cuban Brigadier General of the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), 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 Litt ...

. He was known for commanding the Second Division of the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

and would primarily operate in actions within the Invasion from East to West in Cuba.

Military career

Rodríguez Acosta was born in the town of Alacranes which was a municipality of

Unión de Reyes Unión de Reyes is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It is located in the western part of the province, south of Matanzas, Cuba, Matanzas, the provincial capital. History Unión de Reyes was founded in 1844, and it was es ...

on August 7, 1869. Enlisting at a young age, he would participate in the

, beginning on February 24, 1895. Between October 1895 and January 1896, he would participate in the Invasion from East to West in Cuba, gaining the trust of José Miró Argenter. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel four months later and given command of the 1st Infantry Regiment Battalion. After taking part in the Battle of Güira de Melena on May 8, 1896, he was promoted to Colonel and was head of the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Division of the V Corps, being a substitute of Colonel Aurelio Collazo who was killed in the battle. On the same day, he would launch an ambush at La Cunda against a numerically superior Spanish force commanded by Captain Emilio Parrondo. During the Battle of San Pedro, a counterattack commanded by Rodríguez Acosta and Juan Delgado González which forced the Spanish forces to retreat behind a stone column but would retreat after the sheer number of Spanish forces. After receiving the news of the death of

Antonio Maceo Grajales Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845December 7, 1896) was a Cuban general and second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname "The Bronze Titan" (), nickname that ...

by his doctor, Máximo Zertucha, Rodríguez Acosta wouldn't lose his morale unlike most commanders of the battle and would help with boosting morale of the remaining soldiers at the makeshift camps along with Delgado González. During the Battles of El Caimán beginning on February 27, 1897, Rodríguez Acosta commanded the Fourth Brigade of the Second Division of the

against the Pizarro Battalion. During the battle, he would besiege the battalion from the left which left the numerically superior Spanish forces disoriented and withdrew disorderly and abandoned several horses, multiple supplies, weapons and ammunition and a surgery kit. The forces of the now Brigadier General Rodríguez Acosta would be ambushed by Spanish forces during the Battle of Mortuorio. He would take the initiative and launch a cavalry charge against the numerically superior Spanish force. He would be shot in the groin and would later die from the wound, buried near the battlefield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez Acosta, Alberto 1869 births 1897 deaths Cuban generals 19th-century Cuban military personnel People of the Cuban War of Independence Cuban revolutionaries People from Matanzas Province Cuban independence activists