Joaquín Vara de Rey y Rubio (14 August 1841 – 1 July 1898) was a Spanish military officer. He is best known for leading the tenacious defense of El Caney against a massively superior American force during the Spanish–American War.
On 1 July 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Vara de Rey, by then a brigadier general, with only 550 men and two 80mm mountain guns under his command, heroically defended the village of El Caney for ten hours against the almost seven thousand-strong United States Army 2nd Division under brigadier general Henry Ware Lawton. His well-placed defenses centered around small, well-covered blockhouses arranged so that an enemy attack on an individual blockhouse would draw supporting fire from several others. Vara de Rey lost both a brother and a nephew in the battle and was himself mortally wounded in the fighting; only 84 Spanish soldiers survived and retreated to Santiago de Cuba.
Impressed by his generalship, U.S. troops buried Vara de Rey with full military honors. American accounts of the campaign praised the "magnificent courage" of Vara de Rey's soldiers and described the man as "an incomparable leader; a heroic soul."[4] Vara de Rey's remains were repatriated to Spain in November 1898 with American cooperation. He was posthumously awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand, Spain's highest military decoration.
Notes
^Iglesias, Mavi, "What you might not know about the monument of Vara de Rey," secretibiza.co, February 19, 2019 Retrieved May 9, 2020
^"Reales y Militares Órdenes-Familia de héroes" (PDF) (in Spanish). Ministry of Defence.
joaquín, vara, rubio, august, 1841, july, 1898, spanish, military, officer, best, known, leading, tenacious, defense, caney, against, massively, superior, american, force, during, spanish, american, born, 1841, august, 1841ibiza, spaindied1, july, 1898, 1898, . Joaquin Vara de Rey y Rubio 14 August 1841 1 July 1898 was a Spanish military officer He is best known for leading the tenacious defense of El Caney against a massively superior American force during the Spanish American War Joaquin Vara de Rey y RubioBorn 1841 08 14 14 August 1841Ibiza SpainDied1 July 1898 1898 07 01 aged 56 El Caney CubaAllegiance Kingdom of SpainService wbr branchSpanish ArmyYears of service1862 1898RankBrigadier GeneralBattles warsCarlist Wars Cuban War of Independence Battle of Loma del Gato Spanish American War Battle of El Caney AwardsLaureate Cross of Saint FerdinandMilitary career EditVara de Rey was born on the Balearic island of Ibiza on 14 August 1841 1 He graduated as a second lieutenant from the Colegio General rising to the rank of first lieutenant in 1862 During the 1870s he fought the cantonalist uprisings in Cartagena and Valencia and against the Carlists in the Third Carlist War He requested a transfer to the Philippines in 1884 and remained there until 1890 serving as military political governor of the Mariana Islands and of Zamboanga 2 In 1891 he was promoted to colonel and returned to Spain where he was assigned the command of the Avila garrison In 1895 Vara de Rey volunteered for service in Cuba 3 He commanded the Spanish forces of Bayamo and led his regiment to victory at the Battle of Loma del Gato in which the Spaniards slew revolutionary general Jose Maceo Grajales brother of Antonio Maceo Grajales On 1 July 1898 during the Spanish American War Vara de Rey by then a brigadier general with only 550 men and two 80mm mountain guns under his command heroically defended the village of El Caney for ten hours against the almost seven thousand strong United States Army 2nd Division under brigadier general Henry Ware Lawton His well placed defenses centered around small well covered blockhouses arranged so that an enemy attack on an individual blockhouse would draw supporting fire from several others Vara de Rey lost both a brother and a nephew in the battle and was himself mortally wounded in the fighting only 84 Spanish soldiers survived and retreated to Santiago de Cuba Impressed by his generalship U S troops buried Vara de Rey with full military honors American accounts of the campaign praised the magnificent courage of Vara de Rey s soldiers and described the man as an incomparable leader a heroic soul 4 Vara de Rey s remains were repatriated to Spain in November 1898 with American cooperation He was posthumously awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Spain s highest military decoration Notes Edit Iglesias Mavi What you might not know about the monument of Vara de Rey secretibiza co February 19 2019 Retrieved May 9 2020 Reales y Militares ordenes Familia de heroes PDF in Spanish Ministry of Defence Vara de Rey in Spanish Revista Nuevo Mundo Albert A Nofi From Dagoes to Nervy Spaniards American Soldiers Views of their Opponents 1898 On War and Warfare References EditAlbert A Nofi 1997 The Spanish American War 1898 Combined Books ISBN 0 938289 57 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joaquin Vara de Rey y Rubio amp oldid 1115142381, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
