Ramón Blanco y Erenas, Marqués de Peña Plata and governor of Cuba, organized the reception to the veteran military and political Ulises S. Grant, who had been president of the United States between 1869 and 1877. He did it before marching to the eastern region of the island, where groups of insurgents directed by General Guillermón Moncada and other leaders of recognized experience fought for the independence of the Spanish domain.
On Thursday, January 22, 1880, at 11:30 in the morning, El Vapor funded in Havana Bay Admire, that he had left of Cayo Bone with Ulises S. Grant, hero of the War of Secession (1864-1865), the main strategist of Abraham Lincoln during the contest against the South Confederate states, determined to separate from the union and maintain the slavery regime.
Grant, 58, was accompanied by 25 people, including his wife Julia Boggs, his son the colonel Frederick Grant, General Philip Sheridan, journalists Jerome B. Stillson, special correspondent for The New York Herald, B. Andrews, Del Chicago Inter Ocean, Frank Hamilton Taylor Del Philadelphia Times.
Several fallabas sailed to the ship to welcome them. Those belonging to the General Captaincy, the Treasury, Carabineros and a small steam that moved to the consular body of the United States and other official commissions. The civil governor of the province of Havana, Rodríguez Arias, headed the act.
Both at the docks of the Port Captaincy and on the way to the Government Palace, a route they made in luxurious flyers, they appreciated many people who enthusiastically gave them the reception.
Grant stayed in a room decorated with a magnificent portrait of his. Dresses from Frac was expected Emilio Calleja Isasi, interim general captain; Pedro de Balboa, mayor of the City of Havana; and The Secretary of the Government, Mr. Joaquín Carbonel. Once installed he enjoyed a “splendid lunch.”
Night tremors
The night was very moved, and not precisely because Julia Boggs, according to Grant in a letter dated January 23 to her youngest son, Jesse Root. First a fire occurred, and then tremors in the city, caused by an earthquake.
In a jocular tone the newspaper Don circumstances I commented on the events:
Before ten, the alarm whistles gave us the new one of a horrible fire; A violent earth tremor occurred at eleven (…) very rare thing in this town; Already the four less fourth of it repeated the tremor, although it was no longer as long as the first. We can assure two things to the distorting travelers who today favor us with their presence in the capital of Cuba, and that is, nor here are frequent occurrences on Thursday night, nor are we to blame for what happened that night.
The next day, the press reported that the greatest ravages had been found in Pinar del Río.
On Friday Grant received Vicente Galarza, president of the Spanish casino, who invited him to visit the headquarters of the powerful instruction and recreation society. Reading the Universal Gazettenewspaper edited in Madrid, I found more details about what happened that day:
Today there was a great reception in the Palace, for being the day of the King’s saint, which was attended by the municipality, the bosses and officers of the Army and Navy, the foreign consuls and the senior civil officials. General Calleja received in the throne room, as usual, having by his side the generals Grant and Sheridan and Colonel Grant. The ladies of the accompaniment of the former president witnessed the reception from an immediate hall, because these acts do not attend ladies.
At night he attended the banquet that, in his honor, offered it in the Palace of the General Captains. In addition to senior government officials headed by General Calleja, military, diplomats and businessmen, figures of the nobility such as the counts of the Moré house, of Bayonne, of Lagunillas, the Marquises of Sandoval and of Clear Aguas participated in the Convite.
They did not skimp when preparing the menu for more than 60 people. He tells us Marina Diario What served:
Queen soup, yerbas idem (printannier), croquettes (…), Strasbourg goose liver, truffle, fish with fish Mushrooms, gratín fish, perigneux fillet, truffled partridges, painted to viley, bird galantine, roller salad, punch to the Roman, hare cake, roasted turkey, asparagus, fruits galantine, frozen cheese, wine Jerez, Sauterne, S. Stephe, Macon, Burgundy, Rhin and Champagne, Café and Champagne Liquors
At the end of dinner, Grant, his son and General Sheridan walked by car through the city.
On Saturday night, the businessmen of the Tacón Theater organized an extraordinary function for celebrating the birthday of King of Spain Alfonso XII de Bourbon and honoring Grant. The zarzuela was put on stage Lavapies Barberillo And the dance The gathering.
The next day, according to the Universal Gazette:
Today Sunday spent the day in Palacio General Grant and his delegation. This morning General Sheridan and others of the accompaniment attended Mass in the Palace Chapel. After lunch, the ladies went out to visit the churches. Tonight, after eating, they will go around the city.
On Monday, January 26, Julia Boggs, Grant’s wife, celebrated her birthday at the Palace of the General Captains, where they suspended the activities scheduled to carry out the celebration. During the evening, chaired by Calleja and his spouse, which was attended by “Ladies of High Society Habanera”, compositions to the violin and piano and in the Plaza de Armas were executed, the Army Music Band performed various pieces.
Apparently, on the night of 27 it was when Grant enjoyed a show, along with General Calleja and his family, in the Metropolitan Circus, adorned in his honor with flags and lanterns.
Pinar del Río
On Wednesday, January 28, Grant and the entourage who accompanied him left Havana at 9 in the morning on the western railway, on a special train to the famous mineral waters of San Diego de los Baños, invited by Julio Durege, concessionaire of that place.
To pass through San Cristóbal they were dismayed by the ravages that the earthquake had caused. They made a prolonged scale. A chronicler had described the panorama: many collapsed houses. Inhabitable generality, for threatening ruins. The busy are few. Destroyed the jail, the town hall and the church. ”
The delegation observed everything carefully. “General Grant demonstrated how much he regretted so many ruins and with vivid interest he wanted to know in his smallest detail what happened.”
Then they continued to Paso Real de San Diego. They arrived at one in the afternoon and were received by the municipal mayor and other authorities. That night they had dinner at the official’s residence and there passed Grant.
The next day in the morning they toured the bathrooms of San Diego, where they hoped to meet the governor of the province of Pinar del Río, the Brigadier Francisco Albear and Acosta, who could not move because he was traveling through other areas to verify the damage of the earthquake.
He also visited the sugar engineer Fortuna, invited by his owner, José García Barbón. He could appreciate the operation of the factory, as it was a harvest season. It was also in one of the most connoted tobacco farms back down, appointed La Majagua, owned by Catalan Miguel Jané, located in the Río Hondo neighborhood, South Consolation, where they had breakfast and knew details of the cultivation of the aromatic leaf.
The entrance to the Southern Consolation town was very emotional because I expected it, near the hamlet, General Francisco Acosta and Albare, under the command of a cavalry squad, members of the body of volunteers and other military.
Before returning to Havana they toured alquízar. On Saturday, January 31, at 8 p.m., they arrived in the capital. On February 3 with Colonel Rafael Cerero, Councilor Leopoldo Carvajal and Dr. Casimiro Roure, among others, toured the works of the Vento channel that would supply water to the city.
Grant who was an inveterate smoker, had to feel liked when Leopoldo Carvajal, codueño of the tobacco factory daughter of Cabañas and Carvajal, invited him to visit the industry. There the operators showed how the crooked and the host was presented by some superior quality tobacco.
On February 4, the car parade of the high Havana aristocracy in the vicinity of the palace evidenced an event. General Calleja had organized one of his legendary Saraos. The Gazetilla of the Marina Diario that “the dance began at 10 and ended at 4 in the morning.
Matanzas
It was accustomed in the official protocol of the time that illustrious visitors went to Matanzas, for their proximity to Havana, and natural and historical values.
After the agitated night in Palacio, Grant had to sleep late on February 5, before traveling by train to the Athens of Cuba. A newspaper of the newspaper Aurora de Matanzas reported about the first activities:
On Thursday, shortly after arriving in this city, General Grant went with the people of his accompaniment, the civil governor, the municipal mayor and other notable members of the city, accompanied by their families, at the heights of Simpson, where the hermitage of Our Lady of Montserrat is built, from whose point the travelers could look at the beautiful panorama that at that time offered the put of the king of the king of the stars Full of ships, and above all that beautiful painting called the Yumurí Valley, inspiration of the poets and admiration of how many have the occasion to see it.
At eight o’clock at night the banquet offered by the civil governor of the province, it was a private evening, with few attendees. In the morning of the next day he traveled in Volanta to the well -known internationally known Cuevas de Bellamar; He returned to the capital on a special train at night.
Return
On Saturday, February 7, Grant He declined to go with the delegation that accompanied him to the reception given by the ship Captain Pedro Díaz Herrera. He was dismayed, without the mood of Fiestar, with the news received by a telegram that he had died Adolph Edward Borie, Secretary of the Navy during his term.
The stay extended almost one more week. The walks in the city and their surroundings continued in cars and flying and, of course, also those memorable Saraos in the Palace of the General Captains.
General Grant had planned on Thursday 12, in steam City of Alexandriatowards Mexico, But the ship captain postponed the departure for Friday. Thus, the Cuban days of the nineteenth -a president of the White House and Civil War hero ended.
Sources:
Aurora de Matanzas
Marina Diario
Don circumstances
Commerce
Universal Gazette
Economic Magazine
