Cuban Crisis

Background
The central event of the Presidency of Edward S. Bragg would prove to be an uprising in Cuba, called the Cuban Crisis, Cuban Revolt, or Cuban Rebellion commonly, as well as the First War of Independence by supporters in an implied call for further revolts. The Cuban Crisis has led America to question its conduct in battle, the legality and morality of secession, and question the merits of later Houstonian Expansion.

The suspensions of civil liberties and forced English teaching of the Pierce and Seward Administrations had led to Cuba becoming a hotbed of secession during the 1860s despite restrictions upon secessionist literature. Cuban politics divided into the Independence Party, largely supported by planters but with some popular support, and the Unionist Party, largely supported by former slaves as well as some planters and commoners. After years of tension, the situation had largely cooled by 1877, with Bidwell's lifting of regulations throughout the early 1870s and the subsequent election of James Longstreet, wildly popular in Cuba for his support of Cuban autonomy, placing an openly pro-Cuban rights President in office. This together led to a largely Unionist Cuba despite the Long Depression.

Unrest and a Secret Letter
Cuban Governor Henry C. Warmoth had been elected in 1875 as a Unionist, defeating the aging leader of the independence movement, Carlos M. De Cespedes. Warmoth's term had begun on a note of popularity, yet the young Governor proved to be openly corrupt and was impeached yet not removed by the legislature in 1877. With the 1878 gubernatorial election incoming, Unionists nominated Ambrosio Jose Gonzales rather than Warmoth, leading the Governor to run a third party campaign. With the Unionist vote split, Independence Party candidate Maximo Gomez was able to win, or so he claimed. Two results were reported, one with 45.35% for Gonzales and 45.43% for Gomez and another with 45.47% for Gonzales and 45.39% for Gomez, with Warmoth winning the remainder. Accusations of voter fraud abounded, and an electoral commission was appointed, chaired by none other than Warmoth himself. The commission decided in favor of Gonzales, amidst accusations of bribery.

With the aid of several pro-independence militias and the funding of planters such as Fransisco Aguilera, over 10,000 Cubans flocked to the state capital of Havana in support of Gomez on December 17th, 1878. The intentions of those there varied, from simply showing support to some who planned to overthrow Gonzales; in any case, the demonstrations soon turned violent, with rocks thrown at American troops guarding the state capital. Who fired first is unknown, in any case, as night dawned on the 17th a gunshot rang out across the streets of Havana, and every party seemed to assume they were the ones being fired at. American soldiers fired into the crowd, several of whom fired back and others of whom charged with pitchforks or tossed rocks. After several minutes of bloodshed, the order was given by Major George A. Custer to open fire on the Cuban crowd with two automatic Gatling guns to stop them, mowing down dozens of civilians; with the final death toll being 189 Cubans dead and 31 troops.

Reaction
The event was widely covered in the press in the continental United States, with most denouncing the conduct of American troops yet stating their opposition to Cuban independence. Some, however, would gain notoriety for their support of Cuban independence; Maine publisher Marcellus Emery would compare the "Havana Massacre" to the Boston Massacre in his Bangor Democrat and Arkansas Congressman Thomas C. Hindman introducing a constitutional amendment granting legality to secession, thereby overturning Troup v. United States. No response was more controversial than that of President Bragg himself, who wrote to his wife in a letter leaked to the New York Tribune: "When Uncle Sam has solved the proposition of making a whistle out of a pig's tail, he can then report on his success in changing a Latin race to an Anglo-Saxon one." The racist comments inflamed Cuba, and began to cause unrest in the generally loyal Dominican Republic. President Bragg would make no attempt to deny having written the comments, and would simply maintain that it was private.

Independence Now and Forever
Against the backdrop of a massacre and a lack of care from the President, membership in Cuban independence militias skyrocketed and a secession convention was called to order on the 8th of January, 1879 even as General William T. Sherman summoned a call for 40,000 troops to Cuba to suppress a rebellion if one were to arise, harkening back to the Civil War and calling for the preservation of order and suppression of secession. The secession convention remained mired in debate until the 13th, when a final vote was taken and the convention decided in favor of Cuban independence, causing the anti-secession delegates to walk out and pledge loyalty to the US. The remaining majority drafted a declaration of independence and constitution of the newly formed Republic of Cuba, establishing a representative democracy at the urges of idealistic young delegate Jose Marti and unanimously selecting Carlos M. De Cespedes to be the first President of Cuba and Maximo Gomez as Commanding General of the Cuban Army. Controversy arose over taxation and other matters, which were finally tabled by the convention to prevent disunion within the Republic at such an early stage.

The reaction in the continental United States was one of approbation, which some calling for an immediate beginning of hostilities, while others called for negotiations, As it was, the U.S. fortified its garrisons on the island while attempting to secure what it could without beginning an open conflict between the rebel army and American troops, holding out for a final attempt at negotiations. Meanwhile, as Marcellus Emery called De Cespedes the "Washington of the Caribbean," a group of Americans in support of the Cuban cause landed on the island to declare their allegiance to the Republic, led by Arkansas Congressman Thomas C. Hindman and Colonel William W. Loring of Florida all quickly appointed deputies to General Gomez. The rebels would reject attempts at negotiation, quoting Daniel Webster's words on American independence and stating in a public letter released on February 11th of 1879 that they were committed to "independence now and independence forever."

Thus the stage was set. On the 18th, three dozen American troops attempted to burn a farm reported to house rebels, spiraling into a gun battle. Generals Sherman and Gomez would both declare this to be an act of hostility, beginning the conflict in earnest. President Bragg would declare a special session of Congress, addressing it to declare “the energies of this nation are to be focused on the fight for our constitution and to suppress the rebellion.”

A War of Independence
Despite protests from Attorney General John S. Mosby against the act, President Bragg reluctantly agreed to suspend habeas corpus on the island of Cuba "until the cessation of the rebellion and the restoration of constitutional order." American troops had secured much of the coast, but in the first major battle of the war Cuban troops were to able to drive Americans from Cabo Cruz, the closest city to the de facto Cuban capital of Manzanillo, and secure the Sierra Maestra mountains. General Philip Sheridan was appointed to work alongside Sherman, with President Bragg announcing plans to visit the island himself along with Secretary of War Hayes and personally oversee operations. The immediate goal was to secure the coastline, and Sherman was able to drive a Cuban force outnumbered 6-1 from the coast to the Rosario Range and the city of Pinar Del Rio through March, yet suffered from the guerrilla tactics of the Cubans and harsh weather, eventually opting to put Pinar Del Rio under siege and move most of his troops to the South to further secure the coast line. Sheridan was also able to secure several areas of coastline, and the initial fate of the rebels seemed bleak.

Yet as April turned to May, the jungle and its heat overwhelmed unprepared American troops. The 40,000 troops stationed on the island needed vast amounts of supplies and the navy was strained between raids on the Cuban coast and supply deployments, with the Bragg Administration ordering a vast increase in naval spending. After weeks of bombardment, Pinar Del Rio fell on May 29th, with hours of brutal person to person fighting following as American troops clashed with rebels in what Marcellus Emery would label a "the Bunker Hill of Cuba." As June rolled around, Emery would form the American League for Cuban Independence, forming from a motley coalition of Southerners sympathetic to secession, a nationwide group of self-styled anti-imperialists, small government advocates, and those with investment in Cuba. The increasingly weakened state of the national economy led to the group quickly forming hundreds of chapters.

The primary goal of the summer would be to launch an amphibious assault upon the South, aimed at capturing Manzanillo and replicating the Civil War era havoc wreaked upon the Confederacy following the capture of Confederate President George Troup by capturing President De Cespedes. With Gomez sent to patrol the jungles and launch raids into American held areas, making wide usage of Cuban infrastructure as well as telling his troops to live off the land to save resources, Hindman and Loring were placed in charge of the defense of the South. As American landings near the Sierra Maestra began in mid-June, Hindman quickly found himself outmatched by Generals Ambrose Burnside and John Pope and Admirals David Porter and Stephen Rowan, with bickering between the Cuban command allowing for several American victories in the amphibious assault culminating in the surrounding and defeat of Hindman at the Battle of Bayamo. Hindman only narrowly escaped and was subsequently demoted in favor of Loring

The Great Bombardment
Meanwhile on the continent, the pro-Cuban independence movement had snowballed into a vast movement, with dozens of members of congress signing on, nicknamed "Copperheads" for their opposition to the War. Yet, the war's cost has been astronomical and government debt and spending reached record highs they have not fallen from since. Compared to the 10,000 rebels, 44,000 active troops and slow, grueling advance struck many as ridiculous. Meanwhile, tales of what Emery would label "crimes of war, grotesque as any crime of peace" would enrage the public. General Patrick Edward Connor would authorize his men to attack a sleeping camp of Cuban rebels, not an issue in itself and an oft used tactic, yet Connor would go farther and, even after being informed that many soldiers had brought their families by a soldier who recommended the attack be called off, proceeded order his men to massacre the camp, resulting in the deaths of 140, including many innocents. Connor would be recalled from Cuba, yet not prosecuted until the public cry became too large to ignore. Major Moses McLaughlin would order his troops not to abide by requests for surrender, slaughtering all, and would similarly have his actions ignored for several weeks by the military command until Commanding General P.G.T. Beauregard, who largely maintained a hands off role in the conflict, personally intervened to seek their prosecution. In response to this, General Sherman issued an unequivocal denunciation of violence against civilians, yet the actual prosecutions of those involved generally fell flat. In any case, the 30,000 Americans on the Southern front were able to defeat the 7,000 Cuban rebels in enough key battles to surround the capital of Manzanillo, with Hindman, Loring, the Cuban National Assembly, and President De Cespedes inside by October. Thus began the "great bombardment," with dozens of cannons bombarding the city from the land and the Navy surrounding, blockading, and firing upon it from the sea, starving the city for two weeks until it capitulated. There began the greatest controversy of the war. With President De Cespedes, General Hindman, General Loring, Cuban Parliamentarians Francisco Vicente Aguilera, and Perucho Figueredo, all leading Cuban officials, captured and the Cuban Republic as a government crushed, all 5 of the leading prisoners were captured and put under the watch of Colonel John McNeil on October 24th.

McNeil had had several friends die in the conflict, including one who was executed by a rogue band of Cuban rebels. Lacking any authorization from his superiors, McNeil would have the "Big Five" prisoners taken from their cells in the dead of night and lined up on the street of Manzanillo, blindfolded, and put before a firing squad. When General Sherman learned of the execution, he was livid; Governor of American Cuba Ambrosio Jose Gonzales resigned in protest of the assassination and was arrested to prevent possible rebel sympathies, with his personal friend General Beauregard unable to secure his release, and largely sidelined in the conflict, although McNeil was arrest at his behest on the 26th. With Marcellus Emery labelling it "a crime, nothing less," the anti-war movement in the U.S. grew, yet the secession amendment went nowhere in Congress. President Bragg finally made good on his promise to personally visit the island, and after addressing a crowd of Unionists, announced that he was reinstating the writ of habeas corpus. This move proved controversial, as most of the island remained under rebel control, yet the force was only estimated to be 3-5,000 compared to the 38,000 remaining Americans. It was assumed to be an easy fight to retake the inner jungles, an assumption soon proved wrong.

Scorched Earth
Having seen the grueling condition of the Cuban jungle as well as the cries to end the war quickly, Generals Sheridan and Sherman would devise their master plan, a six month scorched-Earth campaign from November to April to crush the rebellion once and for all; labelled by Marcellus Emery in a fiery statement even some allies found detrimental as a "crime against humanity itself." Yet, Emery's days were numbered, and he died on November 21st of 1879 from cancer, which he had hidden from the public and his many followers. The strategy would consist of the destruction of infrastructure in any areas captured, and the destruction of almost every railroad in rebel controlled Cuba, coupled with the more controversial burning strategy of General Sheridan. Jungles were to be cleared with fire, any livestock was to be seized and slaughtered to feed federal troops as a means of lowering the costs of rations and denying resources to rebels, vegetables, sugar cane, and other grown foods were to be seized if the owner of the farm or plantation was suspected of rebel sympathies, and anything not fit to be harvested immediately was to be burned. No official instructions as to the treatment of homes was issued, with some sparing them and others such as Colonel Russell A. Alger having them targeted. President Bragg’s sole comment on the issue was the cryptic declaration that the rebellion would be suppressed “by any means necessary.”

The campaign, nicknamed the March Through Cuba by some, began with vigor in mid-November, with Sheridan stating “the people must be left nothing but their eyes to weep with over the war." What was expected to be an easy decimation of rebels outnumbered nearly 8 to 1 quickly became a bloody march, with crops put to the torch and infrastructure destroyed as rebel forces under Maximo Gomez dug trenches and utilized machete charges to deadly effect, ensuring the Americans outnumbered Cuban rebels in casualties even more than in soldiers. Gomez's guerrilla campaign would stymie the American advance, leading to the ostensibly stronger force being defeated numerous times by small guerrilla bands. Newly elected Governor of American Cuba Federico-Fernandez Cavada would resign in protest of the scorched-Earth campaign, yet would be overruled by Secretary of War Hayes and President Bragg. Despite this, Bragg himself stated reservations about the campaign.

The Suburbs of Hell
Another question raised by the war remained, what do with those displaced? Beginning with those who saw their livelihood destroyed in the shelling of Manzanilla, and to the many who had their farms put to the torch and homes destroyed, thousands of Cubans were left listless. As the march through the jungle continued, it became clear that something had to be done. Thus, President Bragg authorized the creation of camps for Cubans. The merits of the idea are widely debated, but almost none have praised the final product. Disease ridden and lacking food, the camps became notorious for bad conditions and authoritarian regulations, one camp commandant referred to his camp as “the suburbs of hell” and thousands of those put in the camps would not live to leave them.

Perhaps the final front page headline of the controversies at the front would be the Baker Massacre. Major Eugene Baker would order his men to massacre an entire town and burn it to the ground after the town refused to provide information on the location of rebels. Unlike in prior cases, Baker was quickly and immediately arrested and removed from the army. Despite Gomez's victories against Federal Troops, the scorched Earth campaign proved too much to overcome. By May, after six months of destructive warfare, the destruction of Cuba's agricultural sector, and the destruction of Cuban infrastructure, rebel leader Calixto Garcia and 2,000 Cubans would surrender, although Gomez remains in the jungles with an estimated 700 troops and up to 1,000 remain in control of the Sierra Maestra. Garcia's surrender terms were simple: the cessation of hostilities in return for aid in rebuilding the war torn island.

Thus, with Garcia in custody yet Gomez maintaining a small rebel army, the process of Reconstruction has begun. President Bragg began the process with a pardon of universal amnesty to those who surrender with promises of amnesty to those who surrender in the future. Despite record high debt and spending, more has been directed towards Cuba to aid in relief. Nonetheless, Bragg has called for efforts to put government debt under control once more and re-suspended habeas corpus in areas of the island rumored to contain Gomez as well as the Sierra Maestra, with many viewing his plan for Reconstruction as being "forgiveness without aid."

Responses
The Cuban Crisis came to dominate the American political debate between the midterms of 1878 and election of 1880. Three primary camps have formed: supporters of the war effort in every form, such as President Bragg or Secretary of Labor McKinley; supporters of the war effort as a necessary tool of maintaining the union, yet who oppose many of the tactics utilized, these include Senators George F. Hoar and Charles Sumner (both FR-MA), Attorney General John S. Mosby, and Senator John B. Henderson (FR-MO); finally, a group arose that fought for full Cuban independence, whether by right of secession or a constitutional amendment affirming said right for Cuba only, these included former Bragg allies Charles E. Hooker and Lucius Q.C. Lamar (both FR-MS) and newspaper editor Marcellus Emery.

Meanwhile, international responses varied. Russia, Algeria, and Ethiopia stated support for the United States and opposition to the Cuban rebels, in what many considered an extension of Emir Abdelkader’s attempt to build ties with the U.S. France under President Phillippe de Orleans has had a vested interest in intervention, yet the war with Russia and Algeria kept France pre-occupied for the time being. Amadeo I of Spain saw an opportunity to expand its influence once more with an independent Cuba, but it was considered overly costly to intervene. Despite this, Spain seemed destined to recognize Cuba, leading Bragg to organize the Adams Mission including former Secretaries of State Charles F. Adams and Pierre Soule to convince the Spanish Government to remain neutral. After hours of tense negotiations, Spain agreed to neutrality, in part due to Maximo Gomez’s insistence that he opposed Spain more than the U.S.

Bragg’s alienation of Japan in favor of China led some to fear that the Japanese might break with the U.S., but neither China nor Japan took a side in the conflict, though many Chinese immigrants served as American soldiers in exchange for citizenship. Britain would prove to be the most significant hurdle for Bragg. With the rising power of the U.S. already proving a perceived threat as seen in Canada’s refusal to federalize, many wished to aid Cuba to deal the United States a historic first defeat in War. Thus the Adams Mission, joined by Nathaniel P. Banks, Joshua Hill, and Frederick W. Seward would meet with the Foreign Secretary Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Ambassador Edward Thornton, and the rest of the British negotiators. In the end, Britain agreed not to intervene or support the Cubans, yet the House subsequently passed a tariff bill favorable to the United Kingdom many suspect was a part of a quid pro quo.

The Impeachment Report & 18th Amendment
In response to the atrocities in Cuba, the Senate authorized the 1879 creation of a special Committee to investigate, chaired by Senator John B. Henderson and thus nicknamed the Henderson Committee, to investigate massacres and the conditions within reconcentration camps; the House followed up with the Bancroft Committee for the same purpose. The committees wrote their report in tandem, and released it to the public in the summer of 1880 following the conclusion of the Scorched Earth Campaign. It detailed widespread abuses of power and horrid conditions in the camps, as well as arguing the scorched Earth campaign was unnecessary. A footnote written by aging Senator Charles Sumner recommended the impeachment of President Bragg on the grounds that he had known and thus been an indirect party to the camps.

A man not at all allied with Sumner was tasked with introducing the articles of impeachment, Alexander Long (FR-OH), who introduced the impeachment resolutions on July 4th, 1880 after a motion by William Starr (L-WI). Failing by a mere dozen votes, the resolutions nonetheless demonstrated the unpopularity of Bragg even within the overwhelmingly Federal Republican congress. Another, more successful, legislative effort was that of the near-18th Amendment, formally prohibiting secession. The Amendment won majorities in congress yet failed to attain the necessary 2/3 as many believed adding such an amendment would imply that secession was legal prior to the amendment despite Troup v. United States.