Eduardo Agramonte y Piña was born in Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey) in 1841.[2] His first cousin was Cuban patriot Ignacio Agramonte. Aristides Agramonte, his son, was born in the summer of 1868 in Cuba.[3]
Agramonte's profession was a doctor before the independence campaigns.[4]
He was an active member of the Masonic Order of Tínima No. 16, established in Camagüey in 1866. Although some were against political matters being discussed in their sessions, the Tínima Masonic Lodge was adopted by Camagüey revolutionaries as the conspiracy's hub in Central Cuba.[5] In meetings coordinated by Oriente's Carlos Manuel de Céspedes with different revolutionary groups, it was proposed to support the cause of an insurrection in Eastern Cuba.[6]
He was instrumental in the Las Clavellinas Uprising in Camagüey in November 1868. Once Salvador Cisneros Betancourt conveyed the uprising circumstances, Eduardo Agramonte Piña summoned his loyal allies to convene at dawn the next day.[7] The Las Clavellinas river, three miles from Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey), was the meeting point for 76 Cuban patriots on November 4, 1868, who were determined to partake in the revolt.[8] Col. Eduardo Agramonte Piña proposed a military structure of the insurgents and Gen. Jerónimo Boza Agramonte assumed command as the superior chief.[9]
Established on November 26, 1868, the Revolutionary Committee of Camagüey, acting as the provisional provincial government, was chaired by Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and included Eduardo Agramonte and Ignacio Agramonte.[10] Agramonte y Peña, alongside Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Ignacio Agramonte, Francisco Sánchez y Betancourt, and Antonio Zambrana signed the Decree of Abolition of Slavery (Spanish: Abolición de la Esclavitud) on February 26, 1869, formally abolishing slavery in Camagüey.[11]
Political career
When Carlos Manuel de Céspedes became President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms in April 1869, Eduardo Agramonte was appointed to the Céspedes cabinet as the Secretary of the Interior.[12]
Agramonte and others from the second Cuban Junta were convicted of treason and rebellion in November 1870, with a death sentence by garrote awaiting them if they fell into Spanish hands.[13]
Battle of San José del Chorrillo
Col. Eduardo Agramonte Piña, met his end at the 1872 Battle of San José del Chorrillo.[14]
Death
Eduardo Agramonte y Piña was killed in action in San José del Chorrillo, Camagüey Province in Cuba on March 8, 1872.[15] Following his death, his family sought refuge in the United States.[16]
References
^Terry, T. P. (1929). Terry's Guide to Cuba, Including the Isle of Pines, with a Chapter on the Ocean Routes to the Island: A Handbook for Travelers, with 3 Specially Drawn Maps and 7 Plans. United States: Houghton Mifflin.
^Album de el Criollo: semblanzas. (1888). Cuba: Est. tip. O'Reilly número 9.
^McCallum, J. E. (2023). Epidemics and the American Military: Five Times Disease Changed the Course of War. United States: Naval Institute Press.
^Dollero, A. (1916). Cuban Culture. Cuba: Impr. "El Siglo XX" de A. Miranda.
^Cuadernos de historia de la salud pública. (1968). Cuba: Consejo Cientifico, Ministerio de Salud Pública..
