{{Short description|Cuban army general (1830–1869)}} {{family name hatnote|Arango|Agüero|lang=Spanish}} {{Infobox military person |name=Augusto Arango |birth_name=Augusto Arango y Agüero |birth_date=March 18, 1830 |death_date=January 26, 1869 |birth_place=Puerto Príncipe, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire |death_place=Puerto Príncipe, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire |burial_place=General Cemetery of Camagüey |image=General Augusto Arango.jpg |image_size= |caption= |nickname= |allegiance={{Flag|Cuba|1902}} |service_years= |branch = Cuban Liberation Army |rank=General |commands=Camagüey Province |unit= |battles={{Tree list}} * '''Ten Years' War''' **Las Clavellinas Uprising **Battle of Bonilla {{Tree list/end}} |awards= |relations=Napoleón Arango }} '''Augusto Arango''' (March 18, 1830 – January 26, 1869) was a Cuban revolutionary<ref>I., G. M., ARGILAGOS, F. R. (1875). La Luz de Yara. Recopilacion de poesías patioticas cubanas y otros documentos importantes de la Revolucion de Cuba hecha por el ciudadano G. M. I., publicada [by F. R. Argilagos], etc. (n.p.): (n.p.).</ref> and mambí General who was assassinated by Spanish authorities in Cuba during the Ten Years' War.

==Early life== Augusto Arango y Agüero was born in Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey Province), Spanish Cuba on March 18, 1830.

He was a physician who dedicated much of his time to revolutionary activities. He participated in the independence uprising led by his relative, Joaquín de Agüero, on July 4, 1851, in Camagüey.<ref>Islas. (1974). Cuba: Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de Las Villas..</ref>

He relocated and lived in Greenwich Village in New York in the 1860s.<ref>Pérez, L. (2021). Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution: The Making of Cuban New York. United States: NYU Press.</ref>

In 1866, he joined, along with many other notable Camagüeyans including Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Ignacio Agramonte, and Bernabé Varona, the "Tínima" Masonic lodge.<ref>Marrero, L. (1868). Cuba, economía y sociedad: Del monopolio hacia la libertad comercial (1701–1763). Puerto Rico: Editorial San Juan.</ref> As early as July 1868, the Masonic Order of Tínima deliberated on revolutionary activities in the Cuban province. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes coordinated various Revolutionary committees and groups to convene for an insurrection. In August 1868, the conspirators, including Arango, first assembled at San Miguel del Rompe, a Las Tunas farm property in Oriente.<ref name="cubagenweb">{{cite web|url=http://www.cubagenweb.org/Revista/Revista%20V05-N1.pdf|title=Revista {{Pipe}} Cuban Genealogical Society |website=cubagenweb.org|access-date=2024-07-27}}</ref>

==Ten Years' War== After Céspedes' October 1868 declaration, Arango became involved in the Ten Years' War, the first major Cuban campaign against Spanish rule.

===Las Clavellinas Uprising=== In the course of the Las Clavellinas Uprising, he led a squad with his brother Napoleón Arango that successfully captured a Spanish garrison at San Miguel de Bagá. This garrison, which included a lieutenant and 30 cavalrymen, surrendered to Augusto and Napoleón's forces on November 4, 1868.<ref name="cubagenweb">{{cite web|url=http://www.cubagenweb.org/Revista/Revista%20V05-N1.pdf|title=Revista {{Pipe}} Cuban Genealogical Society |website=cubagenweb.org|access-date=2024-07-27}}</ref>

On November 26, 1868, the Revolutionary Committee of Camagüey was created with Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Eduardo Agramonte, and Ignacio Agramonte among its members.<ref>Costa, O. R. (1994). Imagen y trayectoria del cubano en la historia. United States: Ediciones Universal.</ref> The committee's first action was to ensure military power was subordinate to civilian authority. It briefly functioned as the provincial government, directing military activities under Arango. Arango, who held the title of general, led the mambises in the province.<ref>Soulère, E. A. (1879). Historia de la insurrección de Cuba (1869–1879). Spain: J. Pons.</ref> His brother, Napoleón, was expelled from the military ranks for his attempts to interfere with the central department's efforts through counter-revolutionary actions.

===Battle of Bonilla=== At the Battle of Bonilla on November 28, 1868, the commandant and his men clashed with the San Quintin regiment of Blas Villate, Count of Valmaseda. The Spanish troops were forced to retreat to San Miguel de Bagá near Nuevitas.<ref>The War with Spain and Story of Spain and Cuba. (1898). United States: International News and Book Company.</ref> He commanded the Camagüeyan forces of the Cuban Liberation Army from November to December 1868, until he was succeeded by Manuel de Quesada, a veteran of the Reform War.

In January 1869, Céspedes tasked the military officer with negotiating with the Spanish to explore possible terms for an agreement.<ref>Angulo, F. J. P. (2022). Volunteers of the Empire: War, Identity, and Spanish Imperialism, 1855–1898. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.</ref> Although Arango favored negotiations, he encountered resistance from the Revolutionary Committee of Camagüey.<ref>Navarro García, L. (1998). Las guerras de España en Cuba. Spain: Ediciones Encuentro, S.A..</ref> Arango unadvisedly arrived alone and unarmed at the gates of Puerto Príncipe.<ref>Sedano y Cruzat, C. d., Romero Ortiz, A. (1872). Cuba: estudios políticos. Spain: cargo de M.G. Hernández.</ref> Despite holding a safe-conduct, he was murdered by Spanish Volunteers before entering the town to arrange a meeting with Gen. Dulce.<ref>The Edinburgh Review. (1873). United Kingdom: A. and C. Black.</ref><ref>Ponce de León, N. (1871). The Book of Blood: An Authentic Record of the Policy Adopted by Modern Spain to Put an End to the War of Independence of Cuba (October 1868 to December 1870).. United States: Zarzamendi.</ref> According to reports, his body was located with a decree of amnesty that detailed his pardon and the conditions of the compromise.<ref>Varnhagen, F. A. d. (1871). Historia das Lutas com os Hollandezes no Brazil, desde 1624 a 1654. Pelo autor da Historia geral do Brazil [F. A. de Varnhagen].. Austria: C. Finsterbeck.</ref> Céspedes broke off any negotiations and declined to enter into further communication with the Spanish authorities.

==Death== Augusto Arango died in Puerto Príncipe, Cuba on January 26, 1869.

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arango Agüero, Augusto}} Category:Cuban generals Category:19th-century Cuban military personnel Category:People of the Ten Years' War Category:People from Camagüey Category:People from Camagüey Province Category:1830 births Category:1869 deaths