vision, in spite of his lack of formal military training, his troops terrified the Spanish Army. The Spaniards knew him to be formidable in battle, and nicknamed him "The Young Bolívar". Agramonte capped his impressive list of military achievements when, on October 8, 1871, he led a daring rescue. His commander, Julio Sanguily, was taken prisoner by more than 120 light cavalry while visiting a farm. Agramonte ordered 35 of his exhausted troops to mount up and track down the Spaniards. He personally led a furious charge, successfully rescuing Sanguily and routing the enemy troop, killing 11 and taking five prisoners. Ignacio Agramonte was killed at the Battle of Jimaguayú on May 11, 1873, where he was struck on the head by a stray bullet. The Spanish soldiers stole his wallet and papers. When their officers realized who they had killed, they went back and took the body with them to the provincial capital. His body was cremated by the Spanish authorities in Camagüey for fear that his troops would assault the city to recover the remnants of his body. Brigadier General Henry Reeve, an American volunteer and commander of his Cavalry Corps, nicknamed him "El Mayor", implying that Agramonte was the best of all the Cuban Major Generals. Máximo Gómez succeeded him as Chief Military Commander of the military district of the province of Camagüey. Agramonte used a Colt revolver, Navy model 1851, inlaid with ivory and gold. He used several machetes and sabres, and was carrying a sabre taken from a Spanish colonel at the time of his death. Legacy Both the airport and the central park in Camagüey are named after him, and his statue is situated in the civic plaza. The equestrian statue of Agramonte in the park that bears his name was unveiled by his widow Amalia Simoni in 1912; it was the work of an Italian sculptor. The Cuban village of Agramonte, located in Matanzas Province and part of the municipality of Jagüey Grande, was renamed after him. Its original name was Cuevitas. His death in battle is the subject of the 1975 song "El Mayor" by Cuban nueva trova singer Silvio Rodríguez. References Bibliography Carlos Márquez Sterling (1899). Agramonte. El Bayardo de la Revolución Cubana. Introducción de Ignacio Rasco. Miami, Florida: Editorial Cubana (1995 reprint). Fermín Peraza y Sarausa La Habana (1943). Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz, (23/12/1841, 11/5/ 1873). Departamento de Cultura, Colección: