ral of the island, to succeed General
Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and his associates, among
them his brother Jose, also a fighter of note, landed from Costa Rica
on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th.
Meanwhile, Bartolome Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in
command of the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready
to join as soon as they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish
troops soon became a matter of daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos
realized that a formidable movement was on. Spain hurried thousands of
soldiers to the island.

For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an
almost uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In
one of these, on May 19, Jose Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow
to the patriots, but it served rather to inspire a greater activity than
to check the movement. His death came in the effort of a small band of
insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed to confine activities to
Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, Maximo Gomez
crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first
engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near
Bayamo, in Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were
Antonio Maceo and General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to
Maceo, and Martinez Campos barely eluded capture. The engagements of the
Ten Years' War were confined to the then sparsely settled eastern half of
the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 covered the greater part of the
island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to west. During my first
visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the invasion."
"What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant
the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It
covered a period of more than two years of frequent fighting and general
destruction of property. Early in the operations Gomez issued the following
proclamation:

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION

Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895.

To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES:

_In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence
of the country, and for which we are in arms_:

WHEREAS, _all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and
resources to the Gover