Julio Cervera Baviera - Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

During the Spanish-American War, he was in charge of defense of Guamaní, a peak that commanded the road between Cayey and Guayama. He was thus involved in the Battle of Guamaní (August 9, 1898), and was responsible for repulsing an attack by American troops there.

After the war, he gained notoriety as the author of a pamphlet called La defensa de Puerto Rico, which supported Governor General Manuel Macías y Casado, who had become head of the government of Puerto Rico under the Autonomous Charter created in February 1898 (Puerto Rico soon passed under American control). Its purpose was to support the actions of General Macias before the Spanish public but it ended up criticizing the Puerto Rican volunteers in the Spanish Army. After Spain's defeat against the United States, Spaniards looked for reasons to explain it. Cervera wrote: "I have never seen such a servile, ungrateful country ... In twenty-four hours, the people of Puerto Rico went from being fervently Spanish to enthusiastically American... They humiliated themselves, giving in to the invader as the slave bows to the powerful lord."

A group of angry young sanjuaneros agreed to challenge Cervera to a duel if the commander did not retract his pamphlet. The young men drew lots for this honor; it fell to José Janer y Soler (his “seconds” - in Spanish, padrinos- were Cayetano Coll y Toste y Leonidas Villalón). Cervera’s seconds were Colonel Pedro del Pino and Captain Emilio Barrera. The duel never took place, as Cervera explained his intentions in writing the pamphlet, and all parties were satisfied.