1878. García travelled to Paris and New York between imprisonments. In keeping to his quest, García joined with Antonio Maceo Grajales in the Little War from 1879 to 1880 as well as the 1895 War for Independence. He, and at least three sons, separately escaped from Spain and arrived with a well-supplied expedition in 1896. In that last conflict he succeeded Maceo, once his subordinate in the Ten Years' War, as the second in command in the Cuban Army. Garcia had a long string of victories in this war, which included the taking of Tunas and Guisa, and the emotionally significant re-occupation of Bayamo. García made liberal use of spies to prepare for his attacks. These include Dominador de la Guardia father of Ángel de la Guardia and María Machado, illegitimate daughter of Spanish General Emilio March who helped prepare the taking of Tunas; Frederick Funston later US Major General and José Martí y Zayas Bazán son of José Martí the major Cuban National Hero directed artillery; Mario García Menocal a to-be president of Cuba who was wounded in a principal assault. Angel de la Guardia, also a major Cuban national hero, died in this battle on August 30, 1897. At the time of the U.S. landings, García, with skilled use of mobile artillery, controlled the interior of old Oriente Province, and prepared the landing places for the U.S. Army near Santiago. His troops effectively supported the Marine forces at Guantanamo who, once out of range of the guns of the , had difficulty dealing with Spanish guerrilla tactics. He was the general who dealt with the American troops and joined them in military actions, only to be denied entrance into Santiago de Cuba when the Spanish surrendered. Death García died of pneumonia at the age of 59 on December 11, 1898 while on a diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C. He was buried temporarily in Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S., then transported on the heavily armed seagoing warship to Cuba. His final burial in Cuba was preceded by a number of emotional incidents, and his statues and busts are found throughout Cuba. A major statue is found on the Malecón near the US Interests Section in Havana. After his death, a large bronze tablet prominently inscribed with the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" was erected by the Freemasons at the place of his demise—the Raleigh Hotel