The Ship
The Virginius was constructed for the Confederate Navy at a Scottish shipyard on the Clyde in 1864 and was intended expressly for blocade running. The ship was a sidewheel steamer over 200 feet (61m) long, 10 feet (3m) from the waterline to the deck and a displacement of 491 tons (445 metric tonnes) and capable of remarkable speed due to its powerful engines. It made several trips between Havana, Cuba and Mobile, Alabama, through the blocade, before capture ladden with cotton, by Union forces at Mobile.
For the next five years, ownership passed back and forth between the United States and private shipping interests until it was sold in 1870 to one John F. Patterson, an agent of General Manuel Quesada and the Cuban Junta of New York. Patterson and his colleagues had the vessel overhauled and re-registered the ship under the name Virginius.
The Virginius sailed from New York on 4 October 1870, and during the next two years was used to transport arms and men to aid the insurgencies against Spain in Cuba and Venezuela. During this time the Spaniards became well aware of the ship and its mission. It narrowly escaped capture by the Spaniards at Aspinwall, Colombia (the present day city of Colon in Panama) and was only saved by the presence of a U.S. naval vessel which protected the ship (which was flying the U.S. flag). The ship was regarded by Spain as a pirate ship and had several other narrow escapes.
Capture
On 23 October 1873, the Virginius sailed from Kingston, Jamaica with a large number of Cuban insurgents (102 according to our count). The ship sailed to Jeremie on the island of Haiti and from there to Port-au-Prince, where 300 Remingtons and 300,000 cartridges were loaded on-board. From Port-au-Prince the Virginius went to Comito, where 800 daggers, 800 machetes, a barrel of powder and a case of shoes was loaded. The steamer, which at this time was leaking, headed for Cuba, but never reached shore. About six miles from land, with the hills of Guantanamo in sight, the Virginius was intercepted by the Spanish warship Tornado, under the command of Captain Dionisio Costilla (the Tornado, coincidentally had been built at the same Scottish shipyard for the Chilean navy and had been captured by a Spanish frigate during the Pacific War between Chile and Peru and incoporated into the Spanish Armada under the same name).
The Virginius then turned course to Jamaica and an 8-hour sea chase ensued. During this chase, guns and equipment were dumped overboard to lighten ship, but the poor physical condition of the ship and engines caused Captain Fry to stop and surrender the ship barely 6 miles from the Jamaican coast on 31 October 1873 (some reports indicate that the ship was already within British territorial waters).
The Virginius was towed by the Tornado to Santiago de Cuba harbor and arrived on 1 November 1873. On board were a total of 165 persons (154 according to our count), including the ship's crew and an expeditionary force intending to aid the Cuban revolutionary cause.
Ship's Crew
The crew of the Virginius consisted of the following individuals (mostly U.S. citizens or British subjects):
Captain: Joseph Fry (Annapolis graduate)
First Mate: William Baward [Baynard, Barnard]
Second Mate: James Flood [Floody]
Third Mate: J. C. Harris
Doctor: John Boza [Bosa]
First Machinist: B. P. Camberlain {Chamberlain]
Second Machinist: Chares [Charles A.] Knight
Third Machinist: Eduardo Bay [Edward Day]
Fourth Machinist: J. S. Trujillo [F.G. Trujillo]
Machinist Helpers: Jack Williamson, [Felipe Marti], [Nicolas Cardoso]
Machine Stockroom: [Henry Knight [King]]
Accountant: Profirio Corvison
Second Accountant: P. Alfaro
Boilermen: Thomas Grigg [Crigg], Frank Good, Paul Kumer [Khunrer], Barney Harrald [Herrald]
Shovelers: Henry Frank, Henry King [Assistant Machinist], N. J. Price [W.J. Price] (former Sailor), George Thomas, Exequiel [Ezequiel] Durham
First Majordomo: Thomas Walter William [Williams]
Second Majordomo: Simon Brown [Broyeur]
Cabin Boys: Leopoldo La Rose [Leopold Larose], Antonio Constantine, Charles La Brose [De Brosse]
Food Master: A. Arcis [Arci]
Cook's Helper: [Jose del Espiritu Santo]
Machinists' Private Servant: William Denton
Quartermaster: Alfred Parker [Parkar]
Sailors: James Samuel, James Read [Road], Samuel Card, John Brown, Alfred Halsel [Halsell], William Coss [Koso], William Wilson, Thomas Lindgy, John Freeman [Treerman], John Stewart, Henry Bond [Henry Frank], George Thompson, John Pothmouth [Pothremont] (instead of Easo Bradley) [Lights Corporal], Edward Scott [Servant], [Ignacio Duenas], [Antonio Deloyo], [Jose Manuel Telran], [Ramon Larramendi], [Eusebio Garitza], [Thomas Sindg]
Expeditionary Forces
The expeditionary passengers on board the Virginius were the following. (Note that many of the following individuals, having revolutionary antecedents, changed or altered their names. The names listed are those provided by the prisoners and are reproduced from Reference 1. Variations in names and spelling from other references are shown in square brackets):
High Ranking Officers of the Army of Liberation
General Bernabé ("Bembeta") Varona Borrero
General Pedro Céspedes Castillo (Commanding General of Cienfuegos and brother of the President of the Cuban Republic in Arms, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes)
Colonel [General] Jesús del Sol
Colonel [Brigadier General] Washington Alberto Claudio O'Ryan (or Joseph A. Smith)
Colonel José Boitel Amador
Capitan Salvador Penedo Alvarado
Other Members of the Expeditionary Force (in alphabetical order by surname)
Phillips Abecsber
Andrés Acosta
Juan Alvarado
Leonardo Alvarez
Julio Arango
Ramón R. de Armas
Enrique Ayala
Ramón Barrios
Perfecto Bello
León Bernal
George Burke
Rafael Cabrera
Alejandro Calvó
Ramón Calvo
Enrique [Henry] Canals
Enrique Castellanos
Francisco Castillo
Antonio Chacón
Justo Consuegra
Alejandro Cruz Estrada
William Curtis
Domingo Díaz
José Díaz
Félix Fernández
Emilio García
Benito Glodes
Antonio Gómez
Carlos González
Francisco González
Ramón González
G. Gray
Canuto Guerra
Samuel Hall
Andrés Hechavarría
José Hernández
Jose Ignacio Lamas
Alfredo López
Arturo Loret de Mola
José Madeo
Carlos Marín
José Marín
Juan Marrero
William Marshall
Luis Martínez
Patricio Martínez
Severo Mendive
Manuel Menéndez
Gil Montero
Félix Morejón
Sireno Otazo
José Otero
Andrés Vila
Benjamin Olazábal
Carlos Pacheco
Francisco Pacheco
Rafael Pacheco
Antonio Padilla
Manuel Padrón
Pedro Pajarín
Raimundo Pardo
José Peláez
Evan Pento
Manuel Pérez
Francisco de Porraspita
Ignacio Quintín Beltrán
Nicolas Ramírez
José Antonio Ramos
Luis Rebollo
Arturo Rivera
Santiago Rivera
Francisco Rivero
Leopoldo Rizo
Sidney Robertson
Domingo Rodríguez
Amador Roselló
Nicolas Ruiz
Pedro Sáez
Silverio Salas
Domingo Salazar
Luis Sánchez
José Santiesteban
Camilo Sanz
Pedro Sariol
Manuel Saumedo
Miguel Saya
Manuel A. Silveiro
Juan Soto
Evaristo Sunsunegui
Francisco W. Tapia
Indalecio Trujillo
Ricardo Trujillo
Ignacio Valdés
William S. Valls
Agustín Varona
Oscar Varona
George Winters
Trials and First Executions
Under pressure from the directors of the pro-Spain "Circulo Español" and "Club San Carlos" and officers of the Spanish "Volunteers" (a pro-Spain semi-official corps, somewhat like a National Guard, with a reputation for cruelty), a verbal Council of War was immediately held in the Dolores fortress on 2 November 1873 on orders from the Spanish Military Commander of Santiago, General Juan Nepomuceno Burriel. This Council sentenced the leaders of the expedition to be immediately executed.
The four ranking officers of the Army of Liberation were executed at 6 a.m. on 4 November 1873:
General Bernabe ("Bembeta") Varona Borrero
General Pedro Cespedes Castillo
Colonel [General] Jesus del Sol.
Colonel [Brigadier General] Washington Alberto Claudio O'Ryan
A court-martial was held on 7 Nov 1873 on board the warship San Francisco de Borja, under the presidency of the ship's captain, Frigate Captain Narciso Fernandez Pedruñan. This court-martial on 8 Nov 1873 by unanimous vote, condemned the Captain and 36 members of the ship's crew to be executed by being shot in the back by a firing squad.
The crew members named below were executed by firing squad at 4 p.m. of the same day:
Jose [Joseph] Fry - Captain
William Baynard [Barnard]- First Mate
James Floody [Flood] - Second Mate
J. C. Harris - Third Mate
N. John Boza - Doctor
P. Camberlain [Chamberlain] - First Machinist
Eduardo [Edward] Bay - Third Machinist
F. S. Trujillo [J.S. Trujillo] - Fourth Machinist
Jok [Jack] Williamson - Machinist Helper
Porfirio Corvison - Accountant
Pedro Alfaro - Second Accountant
Thomas Grigg [Crigg] - Boilerman
Frank Good - Boilerman
Paul Khumer [Khunrer]- Boilerman
Barney Herrald - Boilerman
James Samuel - Shoveler
Henry Frank - Shoveler
James Read - Shoveler
Samuel Bard [Card] - Shoveler
John Brown - Shoveler
Alfred Heissel [Halsell] - Shoveler
Walter F. Price [W. J. Price] - Shoveler
Ezequiel Durhan - Shoveler
Thomas Walter Williams - First Majordomo
Simon Brown [Broyeur] - Second Majordomo
Leopoldo La Rose [Leopold Larose] - Cabin Boy
Alonso Arcis - Food Master
William Rose [Koso] - Sailor
John Stewart - Sailor
Henry N. Bond - Sailor
George Thompson - Sailor
Ignacio Dueñas - Sailor
[George Thomas - Sailor]
Antonio Deloyo - Sailor
Ramon Larramendi - Sailor
Eusebio Garitza - Sailor
Jose Manuel Ferran [Telran]- Cook
The following crew members were sentenced to life imprisonment by a plurality of votes of the tribunal:
The following crew members were sentenced to 8 years in prison:
Charles De Brosse - Cabin Boy
William Denton - Private Servant
John Porthremont - Lights Corporal
The following crew members were sentenced to 4 years in prison:
Eduardo [Edward] Scott - Servant
John Treerman [Freeman] - Sailor
Felipe Marti - Machinist Helper
Nicolas Cardoso - Machinist Helper
Jose del Espiritu Santo - Cook's Helper
The following crew members were freed by unanimous vote of the tribunal:
Alfred Parckar [Parker] - Quartermaster
Henry Knight - Machine Stockroom
Antonio Constantine - Cabin Boy
More Executions
An addendum to the first order was issued by Antonio Fernandez, Naval Commander, on the same day, 7 November 1873, condemning an additional twelve Cuban revolutionaries to be executed the next day.
The following individuals were executed by firing squad at 6 a.m. on 8 November 1873:
Jose Boitel y Amador [Colonel]
Enrique Castellanos y Alfonso
Justo Consuegra Sosa
Arturo Loret de Mola
Jose Otero Valdes
Salvador Penedo y Alvarado [Captain]
Francisco Porraspita Jorge
Herminio Quesada Corvison
Agustin Santa Rosa
Agustin Varona Borrero
Oscar Varona Aguero
William Was. Wilson
On a related note, Eliseo Matinez Corder, a poet and newspaper reporter, editor of El Diario de Santiago de Cuba, was sentenced to prison for having published that Herminio Quesada and Arturo Loret de Mola were both minors, under the age of 14.
Diplomatic Efforts
The Consuls of Great Britain and the United States formulated claims over the proceedings. These were ignored by Commanding General Burriel.
Sir Lambton Loraine
News of the capture of the Virginius and the immediate executions reached Kingston via a clandestine message sent by a Cuban employee of the British Cable agency in Santiago de Cuba. These news acquired some importance since it was suspected that some members of the ship's crew and expeditionary force were British Subjects and that the capture might have taken place within British territorial waters.
At 11 a.m. [1 p.m.] on 8 November 1873 the British warship Niobe, under the command of Sir Lambton Loraine arrived in Santiago de Cuba harbor from Kingston. Commander Loraine immediately sent the following communique to Burriel:
Military Commander of Santiago - Sir: I have no orderes from my government, because they are not aware of what is happening; but I assume the responsibility and I am convinced that my conduct will be approved by Her Britannic Majesty, because my actions are pro-humanity and pro-civilization, I demand that you stop this dreadful butchery that is taking place here. I do not believe that I need to explain what my actions will be in case my demand is not heeded. (signed) Lambton Lorraine
Sir Lambton Loraine delivered the letter personally and did not leave the office of the Military Governor until he received a satisfactory reply. Burriel had decided, in order for the punishment to be more exemplary, that all individuals would not be executed on the same day, but only a few each day. The city thus was subject for several days to the sound of the discharges from the executions, followed by church bells tolling. The valiant intervention of Lorraine stopped the executions cold and thus many cubans, americans and britons were saved by his action. Once the promise from the Governor to stop executions was obtained, Loraine departed the Governor's Palace. At the door of the palace when he was leaving, he nodded his head at the Spanish Military Governor, who extended his hand in greeting. The British Commander did not touch the extended hand and told the interpreter, Isidoro P. Agostini y Cortes: " Tell him I do not shake hands with assassins". "What did he say?" asked the Governor. The interpreter replied "he speaks of unimportant matters".
Memorials
The Santiago de Cuba municipality, after Cuba obtained its freedom, designated the wide street that runs parallel to the piers as "Lambton Loraine" street. At the center of the street, in front of the cutoms house, there was a bronze bust of the unforgettable British Captain. The present government of Cuba unfortunately has changed the name of this street to memorialize a communist leader. We do not know if the bronze bust is still there.
In the Santa Efigenia cemetery of Santiago de Cuba there is a small rectangular pantheon, with a royal palm in each of its corners, where the victims of the Virginius are buried. There is a plaque in memory of the victims.
Departure of the Virginius
On 12 November [12 December] 1873, the Virginius, escolted by the spanish warships Tornado and Isabel la Catolica, left Santiago harbor. As a result of a diplomatic agreement between the governments of the United States and Spain, the Virginius was moved to the harbor at Bahia Honda, where it was delivered to the USS Despatch, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Rodgers on Tuesday 18 December 1873. Due to the poor condition of the ship, the Despatch had to tow the Virginius towards Dry Tortugas, Florida, with New York being the intended final destination. Due to increasing water leaks, failure of the boilers which stopped operation of the pumps, and rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, the Virginius foundered and sank at 4:17 p.m. on 26 December 1873 in Atlantic waters off Cape Hatteras.
Survivors
On 3 Dec 1873, a group of survivors from the Virginius were delivered to Sir Lampton Loraine, commander of the British warship Niobe (the number and identity of these survivors is not documented in any of the references).
On 18 Dec 1873, in front of the Morro fortress, the remaining survivors from the Virginius were delivered to Commander Braine of the U.S. corvette warship Juniata. All survivors, regardless of citizenship, elected to go to New York aboard the Juniata. There the men were turned over to the care of Los Amigos de Cuba until provision could be made for sending them to their various homes. Stories began to appear that the Junta has given an ungenerous welcome to the men. Among charges and countercharges, the survivors of theVirginius dropped from sight and from the pages of history.
References:
Emilio Bacardi Moreau - Cronicas de Santiago de Cuba. (pages 345-365).
Harper's Weekly - Saturday, November 29, 1873
Richard H. Bradford - The Virginius Affair, Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1980. ISBN 0-87081-080-4.
The Nation (various)
The New York Times (various)
Felipe (Felipito) Silva - Mis Memorias, 13 Dec 1967 (unpublished)
Virginius Affair - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Life of Captain Joseph Fry, the Cuban Martyr by Jeanie Mort Walker, The J.B. Burr Publishing Co, Hartford (1875) - biography of the Captain of the Virginius (complete text of book available on-line).
By the time she appeared off the Carolina coast she was a complete derelict at the mercy of the wind and waves. She finally struck on the southern end of Frying Pan Shoals, lodging briefly on a far in about three fathoms of water, then drifting clear and sinking in the deep gully beyond. The 15 remaining crewmen put off in the lone boat, but two hours later it capsized, throwing all of them into the raging surf. The captain and mate managed to regain the boat, but the others drowned. For 5 days the two survivors drifted on the open sea without food or water until they were eventually picked up by a passing vessel.
