José Lacret Morlot

Cuban patriot. Mambí general descended from a French family who participated in Cuba's two wars of independence, one of the most extraordinary fighters for the abolition of slavery on the Island, for Cuban independence from Spain, for true freedom and progress in Cuba. Aide-de-camp to Antonio Maceo, and protagonist alongside him in the Protest of Baraguá. As a member of the Constituent Assembly of 1901, he voted against the Platt Amendment.

He was born in Santiago de Cuba, Oriente, according to some in a family farm in Hongolosongo (El Cobre), 21 km from the city of Santiago de Cuba; in the house marked with the number 39, on Rastro street in that capital.

Son of the mulattos Pedro Alejandro Lacraite León and Micaela Mourlot Deame (also sometimes written Deadum), life was comfortable for the offspring, from the cradle to youth, since his parents were a very solvent couple, owners of three productive coffee farms, whose fruits they exported directly to France, due to the magnificent quality of the grain they harvested.

In such a way, Lacret had the opportunity to surpass the barrier of primary education (elementary and upper), and part of secondary education, in Santiago de Cuba, and continue it in France, whose modernity and beauty did not manage to seduce him enough to settle there.

His love for Cuba, in effect, returned him to his nature, where —even very young— he identified with those who already showed their discontent with the maintenance of the abominable slavery, the stifling of Cuban producers with abusive impositions, the exclusion of natives from true government of the country and the lack of freedoms. José gave to the cause of freedom —convinced of why he fought for it— every fortune that came to his hands in moments of war or truce.

He rose up at the beginning of the war, subordinating himself to major general Donato Mármol. He distinguished himself in the combat of El Cobre, on November 23, 1868, where a rifle bullet became embedded in the ankle of his right foot, which limited free movement for the rest of his life. On that occasion he was captured by the enemy and, through family efforts, was set free. He departed for Jamaica to return to Cuba clandestinely.

He was appointed prefect of Guanimao, Sierra Maestra, territory where the San Lorenzo farm was located. There he coincided with the deposed president Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.

He distinguished himself in the combat of the Llanada de Juan Mulato, near Palma Soriano, on February 4, 1878, serving as Maceo's aide. He accompanied Antonio Maceo when he embarked for Jamaica, on May 9, 1878, with the objective of seeking economic support to continue the war. A week later, Lacret returned to Cuba with a message from Maceo to the president of the provisional government, major general Manuel de Jesús Calvar, in which he reported the fruitlessness of his efforts. He participated in the organization of the Guerra Chiquita in the south of the province of Oriente, although he did not have the opportunity to intervene in combat actions.

He was detained on October 19, 1879 and served time in prison in Santiago de Cuba for four months, afterwards he was sent to the Saladero penitentiary in Madrid, Spain, where they kept him until June 9, 1880 when he was released.

He rose up on July 15, 1895, in the region of Sagua la Grande, Las Villas. Not finding constituted forces, he organized them to subsequently subordinate himself to major general Manuel Suárez, second chief of the fourth corps division. Some time later he moved to operate in the province of Matanzas. On December 16, 1895, he returned to Las Villas to meet up with the invading contingent, under the command of major general Máximo Gómez.

At Maceo's proposal, two days later, he was appointed chief of the province of Matanzas. On December 18, he crossed the Hanábana River, together with the invading column, to penetrate again into Matanzas territory.

On January 10, 1896, he carried out the Combat of Quita Pesares. He was appointed chief of the first division of the fifth corps of Matanzas, which he himself organized. In that region he conducted a total of 183 combat actions, the most important being that of Hato de Jicarita. The actions of Quita Pesares, Lagunillas, Ingenio Saratoga, Ingenio Cantabria, la Josefa, and Mendoza also stood out.

By the end of 1896 his troops had destroyed about one hundred sugar mills. Despite having maintained that level of activity, major general Máximo Gómez dismissed him from his post on January 1, 1897, pointing out weakness of character to impose discipline and organization in the province. In March he left Matanzas to join the Headquarters of the general-in-chief, where he learned of his election as delegate, for the sixth corps of Pinar del Río, to the Constituent Assembly of La Yaya, of which he was elected vice president on the first day of sessions, October 10, 1897, and later assumed the presidency, corresponding to him to administer the oath of government to major general Bartolomé Masó.

On October 30, 1897, he was designated interim chief of the Trocha Brigade, a post which he resigned on December 28. Since April 1897 he had presented a plan to invade Puerto Rico, which was approved by the government, which delegated to him the mission of preparing its execution. On October 26, 1897, the Constituent Assembly of La Yaya declared that decision by the government unconstitutional, since it violated article 21 of the constitution.

On February 23, 1898, he left for the United States, via Jamaica, with the government's commission to organize an expedition that would land on the southern coast of the province of Matanzas to strengthen the war in that region. With the support of Americans, he left Tampa on May 17, 1898, on the Steamer Florida, with more than 300 expeditionaries who disembarked on the 26th at Banes, Oriente, as a change in the selection of the landing region had been decided.

He presided over the Executive Commission of the ARRC until its dissolution on June 30, 1899. He was one of nine Cuban generals who attended, invited by American general John R. Brooks, the act of transfer of powers on January 1, 1899. He founded the newspaper La Marina Cubana, from which he fought for the development of the merchant marine in Cuba, until the end of 1902. He was elected representative to the Constituent Assembly of 1901, where he vigorously opposed the Platt Amendment.

Promotions
Captain, February 18, 1874
Colonel, July 15, 1895
Brigadier General, December 18, 1895
Major General, March 10, 1896.

He was elected delegate, for the first corps, to the Assembly of Representatives of the Cuban Revolution (ARRC), from where he was a defender of the removal of Máximo Gómez as general-in-chief of the Liberation Army.

"Everything for Cuba!" was his constant motto, and he gave full demonstration of it in the countryside, in exile, in his opposition to the designs of those who wanted to make the island one more star on the American flag, and in his projects to create the Cuban national navy, in dredging the Cauto River to make it navigable again, and in the promotion of a national industry, in whose ideas he exhausted all his own and family money, due to the indifference of many toward the future of the homeland.

Lacret died in Havana on December 24, 1904. He died as a nobleman, isolated and in poverty, fighting against hardships and defamation, he who was always willing to give to others, who made a commitment to do good for others. Brave as few; a paragon of virtue, beyond count, noble and great...