Jesús del Sol (1835 - November 4, 1873) was a Cuban statesman and high-ranking Cuban military figure who was executed in the

Virginius Affair The ''Virginius'' Affair was a diplomatic dispute that occurred from October 1873 to February 1875 between the United States, Great Britain, and Spain (then in control of Cuba) during the Ten Years' War. ''Virginius'' was a fast American ship h ...

during the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 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. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

Early life

Jesús del Sol was born in

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

Las Villas Las Villas is a natural region and ''comarca'' in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located in the mountainous area at the eastern end of Jaén Province. The main town is Villacarrillo. Together with the Sierra de Cazorla and Sierra de Segura ...

in Cuba in 1835. His parents were wealthy

planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gent ...

, and he had a sizable property of coffee plantations, horses and cattle before the first independence war.

Ten Years' War

When the

commenced, Jesús del Sol burned the family plantation, approximately worth $50,000. Enrolling in the ranks of the

Cuban Liberation Army The Cuban Liberation Army (), colloquially known as the Mambises, Mambí Army () was an insurgency, insurgent army which was formed in the last third of the 19th century and fought for independence from Spain and the abolitionism, abolition of ...

in 1869, he fought for Cuba's freedom as a

mambí The mambises were the guerrilla independence soldiers who fought for the independence from Spain of the Dominican Republic in the Dominican Restoration War (1863–1865), and of Cuba in the Ten Years' War (1868–1878), Little War (1879–1880), ...

captain under the general command of

Federico Fernández Cavada Federico Fernández Cavada (July 8, 1831July 1, 1871) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a diplomat, as well as commander-in-chief of all the Cuban forces during Cuba's Ten Years' War. Because of his artistic tale ...

. Jesús Del Sol commanded the Colón district. In 1870, his command of 1,400 men was reported to be encamped between Colón, Maragua, and Palmillas. In the spring of 1871, while ill and alone in a hut near

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, a man brought him coffee with the intent to claim the bounty offered by the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

for his death. He managed to shoot and kill the attacker with a revolver. Jesús del Sol was subsequently captured by Spanish authorities and sent to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to be imprisoned, on the condition that he should never return to Cuba. Escaping Spain, he fled to the United States and employed himself in furthering the interests of Cuba. While in New York, he was gradually preparing to reunite with his army in Cuba and had been anticipating an expedition.

The Virginius Expedition

Jesús del Sol was involved in the

filibustering A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

''Virginius'' expedition, that occurred during the Ten Years' War.House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session. (1874). United States: (n.p.). On October 31, 1873, the ''Virginius'', a North American

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

, was captured near the Jamaican coast by the '' Spanish corvette Tornado''. Among those captured were

Mambí The mambises were the guerrilla independence soldiers who fought for the independence from Spain of the Dominican Republic in the Dominican Restoration War (1863–1865), and of Cuba in the Ten Years' War (1868–1878), Little War (1879–1880), ...

General

Bernabé Varona Bernabé Varona (1845November 4, 1873), also known as Bembetta, was a Cuban revolutionary and mambí General who was executed during the Ten Years' War in 1873. Early life Bernabé Varona y Borrero was born in the district of Puerto Príncipe (n ...

, Jesús del Sol, William A.C. Ryan, Pedro de Céspedes (the brother of

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (18 April 1819, Bayamo, Spanish Cuba – 27 February 1874, San Lorenzo, Spanish Cuba) was a Cuban revolutionary hero and First President of Cuba in Arms in 1868. Cespedes, who was a plantation owne ...

), and Joseph Fry, who commanded the steamer. A

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

was held on the ''Tornado'' on November 2, 1873, and the men were tried as pirates.

Death

On November 4, 1873, in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, Jesús del Sol was

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...

along with three other expedition leaders. Forced to kneel with Pedro Céspedes, he was shot in the back while in the position. He was later buried in the

Santa Ifigenia Cemetery The Santa Ifigênia Cemetery, officially Santa Ifigênia Patrimonial Cemetery (), is the cemetery, necropolis and main pantheon of the Cuban Oriente and the city of Santiago de Cuba. It is located west of the city, more specifically in the Jos ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Sol, Jesús 1835 births 1873 deaths Cuban planters 19th-century planters Cuban independence activists 19th-century Cuban military personnel People of the Ten Years' War