“Maceo”, “Céspedes”, “Agramonte” – ex Spanish Gunboats in the Cuban Fleet

The history of the ships of the Spanish fleet remaining in Cuba after 1898 is currently under development.The works of Spanish historians practically do not raise this topic, limiting their descriptions of biographies to the date of exclusion of ships from the lists of the fleet.The works of Cuban historians are extremely superficial.In this regard, the task of this work was to reconstruct the biographies of three former Spanish gunboats that found themselves under the Cuban flag: "Maceo", "Céspedes" and "Agramonte".The main source was the newspaper "Diario de la Marina", the official periodical of the Havana naval base, published from 1844 to 1960.The newspaper's reports make it possible to clarify and explain a number of facts from the service of these ships.According to Jane's guide-book, "Céspedes" and "Agramonte" were in service until the mid-1920s, while "Maceo" was in service until the mid-1930s.As is clear from the "Diario de Marina", this was due to the major overhaul of the "Maceo" in the summer of 1911, during which the ship received a new hull.The paradox of the presence of "Céspedes" in Jane's lists, despite its death during a hurricane in October 1910, is due to the fact that it was subsequently repaired and recommissioned.Finally, the information of M. Gálvez Aguilera that the ships in the Cuban fleet were named "Antonio Maceo" and "Ignacio Agramonte" should be classified as unreliable.Throughout their service life, these vessels are referred to exclusively as "Maceo" and "Agramonte".In turn, the "Ignacio Agramonte" (Havana port tug) and "Antonio Maceo" (merchant ship) are completely different vessels that have nothing in common with the former Spanish gunboats.