The Capture of Guisa was an event 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 ...

. It took place from November 28 to 29, 1897 of the war as the Cuban forces overran the Spanish forces at the town and proceeded to burn it down.

Capture and Burning

In the final days of November 1897, the forces commanded by Lieutenant General

Calixto García Calixto García y Íñiguez (August 4, 1839 – December 11, 1898) was a Cuban general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: the Ten Years' War, the Little War, and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the C ...

laid siege to

Guisa Guisa is a municipality and town in the Granma Province of Cuba. It is located south-east of Bayamo, the provincial capital. Demographics In 2022, the municipality of Guisa had a population of 44,566. With a total area of , it has a populati ...

military plaza which was an important military plaza for the Spanish. However it was almost uninhabited since most of its inhabitants had fled to the nearby jungles. After two days of bloody combat, the Cubans managed to get the Spanish forces to surrender and capture the plaza, after which they set it on fire under direct orders from García but not before seizing important caches of weapons and ammunition, as well as food and medicine. After the burning, the Spanish prisoners were released. For his service and command at the battle, García was promoted to Lieutenant General.

Aftermath

The Capture of Guisa represented a very important military victory for 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 ...

as well as a demoralizing defeat for the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

. In the media sphere, it served to discredit the disinformation campaign that Captain General

Valeriano Weyler Captain General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, 1st Duke of Rubí, 1st Marquess of Tenerife (17September 183820October 1930) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of the Philippines and the Gover ...

carried out about his supposed “pacification” of Cuba and the supposed “success” of his feared and despised Reconcentration of him. It represented one of the last Spanish military defeats, before the dismissal of Weyler as head of Cuba and the promulgation, in November of the same year, of the Autonomous Charter, which sought to placate the spirits of independence by granting autonomy, something that did not work either. Spain would end up losing Cuba,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

in 1898 after American intervention in the War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guisa 1897 in Cuba Conflicts in 1897 Battles involving Spain Spanish colonial period of Cuba November 1897 Battles involving Cuba Cuban War of Independence