Pedro Antonio Díaz Molina was a Cuban general who was the only former slave that was a major general in 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 ...

Origins and the Ten Years' War

Pedro was born in the town of Yaguajay, in Las Villas, Cuba, on January 17, 1850. He was the son of Caesarea Regla who was a slave, he adopted the surnames of his owners, being a slave himself. On October 10, 1868, 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 ...

broke out and in February 1869, the first pro-independence rebels rose up in the Las Villas Province. Having heard the news of the arrests, Pedro fled from his hacienda in April of that same year, to join the mambises. In said war, Díaz fought under the orders of generals

Salomé Hernández Salome (c. early 1st century AD) was the daughter of Herodias, and nemesis of John the Baptist (Mark 6:17–29 and Matthew 14:3–11). Salome or Salomé may also refer to: People with the mononym * Salome Alexandra (139–67 BC), Queen regnant ...

, Francisco Villamil,

Carlos Roloff Karol Rolow-Miałowski or Carlos Roloff Mialofsky, better known simply as Carlos Roloff, (4 November 1842 – 17 May 1907) was a Polish-born Cuban general and liberation activist, who fought against Spain in the Ten Years' War and the Cuban War o ...

, Miguel Jerónimo Gutiérrez,

Honorato del Castillo Honorato del Castillo (November 30, 1838 – July 20, 1869) was a Cuban revolutionary and army general who played a key role in the Ten Years' War in Cuba. Early life Honorato Andrés del Castillo y Cancio was born in Sancti Spíritus, Las Vil ...

, and the brothers

Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick (given name), Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian. People with the given name Federico Ar ...

and

Adolfo Fernández Cavada Adolfo Fernández Cavada (May 17, 1832 – December 18, 1871) was a soldier and diplomat, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War who served as captain in the Philadelphia 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, a regiment of ...

. At the end of the war in 1878, Díaz was under the command of then Colonel

Francisco Carrillo Morales Francisco Carrillo Morales (1851–1926) was a Cuban politician and general who participated in all three wars of Cuban Independence. He commanded the 4th Army Corps during the Cuban War of Independence as a Major General. He was also known as ...

, in the Jurisdiction of Remedios. By then, Díaz was already Commander. The Zanjón Pact, which ended that war, recognized the freedom of the slaves who had fought in the Mambí Army, which benefited Commander Díaz Molina.

Little War

In August 1879, the Little War broke out. Díaz rose in November 1879 and remained in arms until August 1880, after the war had failed. Diaz ended this war with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After this, he settled in the Villa de

San Juan de los Remedios Remedios (), also known as San Juan de los Remedios, is a city and municipality located from the northern coast of Cuba, in the center of the island. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in the former Las Villas province. It is now part of the pr ...

and dedicated himself to agricultural work in various mills. He became involved in the different Cuban independence conspiracies of the time.

Cuban War of Independence

On February 24, 1895, 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 ...

broke out and Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Díaz Molina took up arms on June 5 of that year and, shortly after, was appointed Chief of the "Remedies Brigade". Sucesos de la Guerra Necesaria: Alzamiento del general Pedro Díaz Molina
/ref> Díaz Molina joined Generals

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 ...

and

Antonio Maceo 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 Liberation Army, Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname "The Bronze Tit ...

during the

Invasion from East to West in Cuba The Invasion from East to West took place on the island of Cuba, and began on October 22, 1895, in Mangos de Baraguá, in the former province of Oriente. It was organized and directed by Antonio Maceo Grajales and Máximo Gómez. The Liberation A ...

and took part in several of their combats, particularly in

Calimete Calimete is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1867 by José Antonio Castañeda. Demographics In 2022, the municipality of Calimete had a population of 27,210. With a total area of , it has a population de ...

and Coliseo. He also participated in Maceo's campaigns in Pinar del Río and was present at the Battle of San Pedro, where General Maceo lost his life, on December 7, 1896. Later, General Díaz assisted the expeditions of Colonel Francisco Leyte-Vidal and General

Juan Rius Rivera ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

in the province of Pinar del Río . In 1898, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

intervened in the war against

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 ...

and militarily occupied the island until 1902. Pedro Diaz ended the war in 1898, with the rank of Major General, along with his troops in his camp near the city of Pinar de Rio.

Later years

After the war and once the Republic was established, General Díaz was elected representative for

Artemisa Artemisa () is a municipality and city in Cuba, formerly part of La Habana Province. According to a law approved by the Cuban National Assembly in August 2010, Artemisa became the capital city of the newly formed Artemisa Province, which compri ...

, between 1902 and 1906. He then married Hilaria Bocourt and had 6 children with her. Major General Pedro Antonio Díaz Molina died of natural causes, on May 15, 1924, in Caimito at the age of 74.

References

Bibliography

* ''Diccionario Enciclopédico de Historia Militar de Cuba.'' Volume I (1510 - 1898), Tomo I Biografías, Verde Olivo Edition, Havana, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Díaz Molina, Pedro 1850 births 1924 deaths Cuban slaves Freedmen People of the Ten Years' War People of the Little War People of the Cuban War of Independence Cuban soldiers Cuban generals 19th-century Cuban military personnel Cuban independence activists Cuban revolutionaries