Juan Evangelista Delgado González was a Cuban colonel who participated during 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 retrieving the bodies 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 ...

and Panchito Gómez Toro during the Battle of San Pedro where both were killed in the battle.

Personal life

He was born on a farm known as El Bosque in the Beltrán neighborhood in

Bejucal Bejucal is a municipality and town in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1713. It is well known as the terminal station of the first railroad built in Cuba and Latin America in 1837. It also hosts one of the most popular and tradit ...

which was a municipality in the former

La Habana Province La Habana Province , formerly known as Ciudad de La Habana Province, is a province of Cuba that includes the territory of the city of Havana, the Republic's capital. The province's territory is the seat of the superior organs of the state and i ...

on December 27, 1868. Being the eldest of four brothers within a family of peasants, his brothers were Donato, Ramón and Simón. He had a romantic relationship with the young widow Dolores Pastrana, with whom he promised to marry when the

ended, something that never happened due to his death in the war.

Military career

He joined 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 ...

on January 13, 1896, joining the invading contingent in the Bejucal area. The next day, Major General

Máximo Gómez Máximo Gómez y Báez (November 18, 1836 – June 17, 1905) was a general of Dominican origin in the Cuban Wars of Independence (1868-78 and 1895–98). He was known for his controversial Scorched earth tactics, which entailed dynamiting pa ...

made him captain to muster up a unit. Among his first battle are that of the Mi Rosa sugar mill and the taking of Fort Vigoa, in the town of

Wajay Wajay is a ward (''consejo popular'', "people's council") of the city of Havana, the capital of Cuba, belonging to the Municipalities of Havana, municipal borough of Boyeros. In 2011, it had a population of 47,954. History Its origins go back to ...

, on the outskirts of Havana. He was then given command of the Santiago de las Vegas Cavalry Regiment, later known as the Mayía Cavalry Regiment. He also fought in the regions of

San Antonio de los Baños San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802. History There are 39 schools in the town, e ...

, Santiago de las Vegas, El Rincón, Bejucal, La Salud,

Quivicán Quivicán is a town and municipality in Mayabeque Province of Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, ...

, San Felipe,

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

, Calabazar,

Arroyo Naranjo Arroyo Naranjo is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipios'' in Spanish) in the city of Havana, Cuba. It became part of Havana city while the capital grew. The Managua Military Airport is located in the southern part of this munic ...

and

El Calvario El Calvario is a town and municipality in the Meta Department, Colombia. It was the epicenter of the 2008 Colombia earthquake. Climate El Calvario has a borderline subtropical highland climate (Köppen ''Cfb'')/tropical rainforest climate A t ...

. Other active areas he participated were Gavilán (June 2, 1896),

Morales Morales is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfredo Morales (born 1990), American footballer * Alvaro Morales (disambiguation), several people * Amado Morales (born 1947), Puerto Rican javelin thrower * Bartolomé Mo ...

(May 29, 1896), Santa Bárbara (July 2, 1896), La Eulalia (July 27, 1896), El Volcán (May 5, 1896),

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

(August 24, 1896), Lomas de Pacheco (August 25, 1896), Galera (August 28, 1896) and El Volcán (September 3, 1896). He then led an offensive against the Calabazar guerrilla on September 22, 1896, and annihilated the Quivicán guerrilla in Toledo Viejo on September 27, 1896. Afterwards, he fought in Lealtad on October 9, 1896, La Gloria on October 10 and 15, 1896, Lago on October 12, 1896, Coca on October 13, 1896, and Esperanza on October 16, 1896. He annihilated the guerrillas of El Rincón, in La Luisa on October 25, 1896. He continued fighting in places like El Volcán on December 16, 1896, where he was wounded in the knee fighting the guerrillas of Managua and El Plátano in December 1896. Later, on May 8, 1897, he attacked Bejucal and also fought at La Pita on March 27, 1897, Barreto on March 28, 1897, Loma del Hambre on April 4, 1897, and Maurín on June 27, 1897. One of his most daring actions was the assault on the city of

Marianao Marianao is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipios'' in Spanish) in the city of Havana, Cuba. It lies 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway. In 2022 the municipality had ...

which was very close to Havana on July 28, 1897. He then participated in the battles of San Pedro and Lomas de Ramón on September 22, 1897.

Death

Estatua_de_Juan_Delgado_en_Santiago_de_las_Vegas

On April 10, 1898, the Spanish government decreed an armistice, which was not recognized by the Cuban Liberation Army. Confident about the apparent tranquility in his area of operations, Colonel Delgado met his parents and other relatives on the 22nd of that month, at his camp in Govea, Bejucal. After the reunion, he went to the farm of his fiancée Dolores Pastrana, accompanied only by his escort and his brothers, Commander Donato Delgado and Captain Ramón Delgado, no more than 20 men in total. Camping on April 23 on that farm, near El Cano, the small group was surprised by Spanish forces far superior in number. The small group beat a retreat, scattering. In the confusion of combat, the three Delgado brothers fell: Juan, Donato and Ramón. Having lost their horses, they were wounded by bullets and finished off with machetes by enemy troops, who later exhibited the mutilated corpses in nearby towns.

Promotions and legacy

He was promoted to captain on January 14, 1896, to commander on April 28, 1896, to lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1896, and to colonel on October 15, 1897 . When he died he had been proposed by Major General Mayía Rodríguez to be promoted to Brigadier General. Currently, a street in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Mayabeque Province Mayabeque Province is one of two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Artemisa Province. The new provinces came in to existence on J ...

.Juan Delgado González, patriota insigne de Mayabeque
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References

Bibliography

* Diccionario Enciclopédico de Historia Militar de Cuba. Primera parte (1510 - 1898)'' Volume I Biografías. Ediciones Verde Olivo. Havana, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Delgado González, Juan 1868 births 1898 deaths Cuban soldiers 19th-century Cuban military personnel People of the Cuban War of Independence Cuban independence activists Cuban revolutionaries