José Toral y Velázquez
| José Toral y Velázquez | |
|---|---|
Portrait of General Toral drawn in 1899
|
|
| Born |
August 18, 1832 Mazarrón, Spain |
| Died | July 10, 1904 (aged 71) Carabanchel, Spain |
| Allegiance |
 Spain
|
| Service/branch | Spanish Army |
| Years of service | 1842-1899 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held |
Madrid garrison Division, IV Corps IV Corps (temporary) |
José Toral y Velázquez (August 18, 1832 – July 10, 1904) was a Spanish Army general who was a divisional commander of IV Corps in Cuba during the Spanish–American War. He surrendered the city of Santiago de Cuba on July 17, 1898, after the Siege of Santiago.
Toral was born August 18, 1832, in the southeastern Spanish city of Mazarrón. The region was in the midst of a mining boom, but Toral's family had a long history of military service. He entered the Academia General Militar at the age of 10, and served in the administrative branch of the Spanish Army. He saw active duty from the 1840s to the 1870s, serving domestically as well as in colonial posts during insurrections. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1889. In 1895, he was appointed commander of the garrison of Madrid, which provided security for government buildings and officials as well as ceremonial troops for various functions.
In late 1895, Toral volunteered for duty in Cuba. He was assigned to the Spanish Army garrison in Guantánamo, where he performed his duties during the Cuban War of Independence. When the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898, Lieutenant General Arsenio Linares y Pombo requested that Toral become his deputy at the garrison at Santiago de Cuba. Linares established a military commission to establish defenses for the city, and appointed Toral to this body. Afterward, Toral was assigned command one of two divisions that made up IV Corps—the unit commanded by Linares which defended Santiago de Cuba.
On July 1, 1898, Linares was wounded in the Battle of San Juan Hill. Toral was named temporary commander of IV Corps. Toral inherited a poorly executed defense: Of the more than 6,000 troops at his command, Linares had dispatched 500 to hold the heights at El Caney and more than 1,000 to hold the harbor entrance. But just 1,200 of the remaining 4,000 soldiers had been sent to hold San Juan Heights — the defensive key to the city. After the defeat at San Juan, most of the defenders pulled back within the city limits. The United States Navy had cut the telegraph cables to Guantánamo on June 7, so Toral sent a messenger to Brigadier General Félix Pareja Mesa asking for reinforcements. Mesa never received the message.
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