The New Student's Reference Work/Garcia, Calixto

Garcia (gär-thē′ä or gär-sē′ȧ), Calixto, a Cuban insurgent-general, was born at Holguin, Cuba, Oct. 14, 1836, and died at Washington, D. C., Dec. 11, 1898. When the Ten Years' War broke out in 1868 under Céspedes, he joined the insurgents and rose to the rank of major-general. In 1873 he and his command were surprised by the Spanish forces and captured. Rather than surrender, Garcia placed the muzzle of his revolver beneath his chin and fired his last shot. The bullet came out between his eyes, but, though it marked him for life, did not kill him. After a long imprisonment in Spain he was pardoned and released, returning secretly to Cuba in September, 1895, when the new revolt occurred. In Cuba he coöperated with Gomez in the department of the East, and during the siege of Santiago by the United States forces he coöperated with General Shafter. In December, 1898, he was appointed head of a commission elected by the Cuban Assembly to visit Washington and confer with the United States authorities as to the future of Cuba. While at Washington, he died of an attack of pneumonia.