August 16, 1851, an immense crowd gathered to witness the execution. The prisoners were ordered to kneel, facing a stone wall, and with their backs toward the soldiers a few paces away. When the command was given to Crittenden he wheeled about, and, standing in an attitude of defiance, said:
“A Kentuckian never turns his back on an enemy, and kneels only to his God!”
Thus refusing to obey the order, he was shot dead where he stood.
Other filibustering expeditions have since been made to Cuba, and several times the people revolted against Spain, but in every instance she crushed the rebellion with a bloody and merciless hand.
The insurrection of 1895 broke out in February, and the situation became so critical that the home government authorized the Governor-General to proclaim martial law. At the same time Jose Marti and General Maximo Gomez arrived in the island. The former had been nominated by the revolutionary junta to be head of the provisional government, while Gomez was to take chief command of the insurgent forces. There were two rallying points for the insurgents, one in the province of Matanzas in the western end, and the other in the province of Santiago in the eastern end.
At the beginning there was little organization among the rebels, but as time passed, discipline came and the object of the patriots was clearly defined. They had among them a number of skilled officers, who, like many of the privates, had been active in former revolts, and were full of ardor for the liberty of their native land.
One plan of the patriots was to establish free communication among themselves, through every part of the island, and to press as near Havana, the headquarters of the loyalists, as possible. The outlook for success was more promising than ever before, and never was the enthusiasm among the Cubans and their friends at so high a point. Money was liberally gathered in New York, and from many of the leading cities of the United States, arms, ammunition, supplies, and brave men were shipped to Cuba, most of them managing to elude the vigilance of the Spanish cruisers and to join the insurgents, who, in early autumn, had an army numbering fully 30,000 in the field. This was in two divisions, the eastern commanded by General Maceo, while the western, occupying the province of Puerto Principe, was under General Gomez. The Spanish army was more than double in numbers, though the force available was about equal to that of the insurgents.