On June 24, 1872, Major General Julio Grave de Peralta y Zayas Bazán of the Liberation Army died in combat, one of the first who abandoned everything, fortune and family, and at the call of the Homeland hurriedly ran to the insurgent camp to fight against the Spanish colonialism.
The distinguished patriot came to the world in the city of Holguin on April 24, 1834, and reached the highest military rank of the Cuban Liberation Army, in fair recognition to a brilliant service record in the fight to conquer the freedom and independence of Cuba.
A close friendship existed between Grave de Peralta and the president of the Republic of Cuba in Arms, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, which began to be forged since the leader from Holguín joined the call of the Father of the Homeland when he led the uprising of La Demajagua, on October 10, 1868.
At the head of about 120 revolutionaries Julio Grave de Peralta led the Uprising in Guayacan del Naranjo, and after a brief rest in his farm he went with his improvised troop to Holguin, with the manifest objective of attacking it and time later he traveled abroad where he carried out important missions of the Revolution.
In a letter sent by Céspedes to Grave de Peralta in 1869, he expressed to him «when separating from you, I cannot but tell you that it causes me feelings, because accustomed as I was to the fatigues of the campaign that I have shared with you, I had contracted certain intimate pleasure in commanding and being reunited with the soldiers that compose our army and, above all, the generals and chiefs that like you are so meritorious and worthy of never being forgotten».
Grave de Peralta reciprocated that feeling of friendship when he answered Céspedes «You can, with all certainty, have your most devoted subordinate and friend who wishes you happiness and is willing to follow you more in adversity than in prosperity».
On his return to Cuba, after three missions abroad, he arrives in the expedition of the ship Fanny in the current municipality of Frank País, in the province of Holguín, and shortly after the disembarkation he falls in combat during an encounter with enemy forces.
