Death Mask of General Calixto García
1839-1898
Liberator of Cuba

Accession number:
1985.10

Maker:
N/A

Historical period:
1898

Miltary branch:
Army

Wars and Conflicts:
Cuban War of Independence, Spanish-American War

Type:
Plaster cast

Dimensions:
H x W x D: 12 in. / 10 in. / 9 in.

Acquisition date:
ca. 1985

Credit line:
The Army and Navy Club Library Trust Fund

Location:
Library, Third Floor

Provenance:

From ca. 1985: The Army and Navy Club, gift of Felix de Weldon (possibly)

Label:

Garcia was a general in three Cuban uprisings that were part of the Cuban War for Independence: The Ten Years’ War, Little War, and War of 1895, which segued into the Spanish-American War. He prepped landing places for the U.S. Army near Santiago, and then supported U.S. Marines at Guantanamo. He died in Washington, DC while on a diplomatic mission and was buried temporarily at Arlington National Cemetery. He is the Garcia of the essay, “A Message to Garcia,” by Elbert Hubbard, about U.S. intelligence officer Andrew Rowan’s mission to establish contact with Garcia early in the Spanish-American War. A sculptural relief by Felix de Weldon in the collection of the Army and Navy Club (1987.04) commemorates the Garcia-Rowan meeting.