Pedro Díaz Molina
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Pedro Díaz Molina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 17, 1850 |
| Died | May 15, 1924 (aged 74) |
| Allegiance |  Cuba |
| Branch | Cuban Liberation Army |
| Service years | 1868 – 1880 1895 – 1906 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Conflicts | Cuban War of Independence |
Pedro Antonio Díaz Molina was a Cuban general who was the only former slave that was a major general in the Cuban Liberation Army.[1]
Pedro was born in the town of Yaguajay, in Las Villas, Cuba, on January 17, 1850.[2] He was the son of Caesarea Regla who was a slave, he adopted the surnames of his owners, being a slave himself.
On October 10, 1868, the Ten Years' War broke out and in February 1869, the first pro-independence rebels rose up in the Las Villas Province. Having heard the news of the arrests, Pedro fled from his hacienda in April of that same year, to join the mambises.
In said war, Díaz fought under the orders of generals Salomé Hernández, Francisco Villamil, Carlos Roloff, Miguel Jerónimo Gutiérrez, Honorato del Castillo, and the brothers Federico and Adolfo Fernández Cavada.
At the end of the war in 1878, Díaz was under the command of then Colonel Francisco Carrillo Morales, in the Jurisdiction of Remedios. By then, Díaz was already Commander. The Zanjón Pact, which ended that war, recognized the freedom of the slaves who had fought in the Mambí Army, which benefited Commander Díaz Molina.
Little War
In August 1879, the Little War broke out. Díaz rose in November 1879 and remained in arms until August 1880, after the war had failed. Diaz ended this war with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
After this, he settled in the Villa de San Juan de los Remedios and dedicated himself to agricultural work in various mills. He became involved in the different Cuban independence conspiracies of the time.