Henry Reeve (General)
Henry Reeve (born April 4, 1850 in New York City , † August 4, 1876 in the province of Matanzas ) was an American- born, Cuban freedom fighter and brigadier general during the Ten Years' War (1868-1878).
Life
Reeve was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Alexander Reeve and Maddie Carroll. In his youth he served in the Union Army during the American Civil War .
When he became aware of the Cuban War of Independence, which was initiated by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in 1868 , he immediately volunteered. He landed on May 13, 1869 on board the ship Perrit as part of an expeditionary force in Cuba. The crew was ambushed by the Spanish army while unloading and Reeve was captured along with many others. A Spanish firing squad shot the group and left them unburied and supposedly dead back. Reeve was wounded but had enough strength to sneak away and was found and picked up by units of the Cuban Army.
Reeve was known as "Enrique - El Americano" and called "El Inglesito" ("the little Englishman") by General Ignacio Agramonte . He served with distinction; first under Agramonte and then under General Máximo Gómez .
Under Agramonte, he participated in numerous commando operations, including the rescue of Brigadier Julio Sanguily in 1871 when Agramonte, Reeve, and 34 comrades defeated a superior Spanish force of 120 men.
Given his wounds, Reeve found it hard to walk and ride. Reeve insisted, however, and was able to walk with the help of metal brackets, but had to be strapped to his mount in order to ride.
Under Gomez's command, Reeve participated in the failed invasion of western Cuba. The Spaniards destroyed his little escort on August 4, 1876 in the province of Matanzas . Reeve could not escape and shot himself with his pistol before he could be captured.
Others
Henry Reeve was honored by the Cuban government with a postage stamp in 1976 on the 100th anniversary of his death .
In 2005, Fidel Castro created the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors , which specializes in disasters and major epidemics, in his honor. In March 2020, health workers from this Henry Reeve Brigade were deployed by Cuba to help Italy and other countries cope with the coronavirus pandemic .
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.ecured.cu/Desembarco_del_Perrit
- ↑ http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82218235.html
- ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/26/world/cuba-coronavirus-medical-help-intl/index.html
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Reeve, Henry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American-Cuban freedom fighter and brigadier general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1850 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th August 1876 |
| Place of death | Matanzas Province , Cuba |