Las Clavellinas Uprising

Las Clavellinas Uprising
Part of Ten Years' War
Date November 4, 1868 Location Las Clavellinas, Camagüey, Camagüey Province, Captaincy General of Cuba Result Cuban victory
Belligerents
Cuban rebels	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Gen. Gerónimo Boza Agramonte Gen. Eduardo Agramonte Piña	Unknown
Strength
70+ mambises	Unknown

The Las Clavellinas Uprising was a military engagement of the Ten Years' War. It took place on November 4, 1868, at the Las Clavellinas estate, near Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey) in Cuba. It was the initial armed uprising of the Camagüey Province against the Spanish colonial government.

History

Tínima Masonic Lodge No. 16 in Puerto Príncipe, which included distinguished individuals like Salvador Cisneros Betancourt and Ignacio Agramonte, began to engage in revolutionary activities. In the summer of 1868, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes conducted revolutionary meetings among various revolutionary groups that had been developing within the Cuban province's masonic lodges.

Following the Cry of Yara led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Eastern Cuba in October 1868, the conspirators in Camagüey, Central Cuba, backed the insurrection. Organized by Salvador Cisneros Betancourt to counter the Spanish consolidation in Eastern Cuba, Gen. Gerónimo Boza Agramonte assumed command while Gen. Eduardo Agramonte Piña mobilized the insurgents.

The Battle

With the prevailing circumstances conveyed by Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, the Camagüeyans swiftly launched the uprising. Eduardo Agramonte Piña summoned his trusted allies to gather at 7:00 AM the following morning. Around 76 patriots determined to launch into the fight, on November 4, 1868, met on the banks of the Las Clavellinas river, three miles from Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey), along Nuevitas–Camagüey Road.

From Las Clavellinas, they marched to the El Cercado sugar mill, setting up camp to arrange and stockpile weapons, horses, and equipment. The men were organized into a small but efficient force of seven squads under the command of Gerónimo Boza Agramonte.

A squad led by Napoleón Arango and Augusto Arango forced a Spanish garrison, consisting of a lieutenant and 30 cavalrymen, to surrender on November 4, 1868 at San Miguel de Bagá near Nuevitas.

The capture of the town of Guáimaro occurred by November 6, 1868.

Aftermath

Spanish General Blas Villate, Count of Balmaseda, landed in Vertientes on November 17, 1868, as directed by the Captain General Francisco de Lersundi y Hormaechea, to quell the rebellion, and reached Puerto Príncipe on the 19th.

On November 18, a meeting was held by the Camagüeyans at Las Clavellinas to address the arrest order issued against them, followed by another meeting at Las Minas on November 26, 1868. The uprising made its way to Villa Clara Province in February 1869.