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| Two Cubans, one armed with a U.S. M1873 Trapdoor Springfield, the other with a machete. |
| Weapons of the Mambises |
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| Cuban Infantry at right shoulder shift, their formation suggests that they may have adopted a US drill manuel. They are armed with M1873 springfield rifles. |
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| M1873 Springfield and a percusion double barrel shot gun. Weapons like these were utilized by the Mambises. |
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| Cuba had already seen several rebellions to Spanish rule by the 1890s. Among them two American filibuster incursions and a lengthy cuban rebellion in 1868. The later rebellion was named the ten years war and it is here that the Cuban revolutionaries were given the name "mambises." They were named after the Dominican freedom fighter John Mamby. This Rebellion ended in failure, but it was the begining of the end for Spanish rule in Cuba. In 1895, rebellion began anew. The mambises were organized into a formidable force. They raided Spanish possesions and out posts. They only fought when they had the upper hand and evoided general engagements. They were armed with many different weapons. A staple in their arsenals was the Machete. For longarms they carried a host of different firearms. Within their ranks could be seen a healthy amount of M1873 trapdoor springfields from the US, shotguns, lever action Winchesters and captured Spanish Remington rolling blocks and 1893 Mausers. The trapdoor springfield was the staple firearm of post civil war America and was still being used by US volunteers when the US invaded Cuba. The rifles were of 45/70 caliber and generally very reliable. They were single shot rifles, being loaded through a "trapdoor" in the breech. They fired a black powder round that was becoming quickly outdated. Smokeless powder was then coming into general use and the smoke belching trapdoors tended to give away positions and obscure targets. A large number of Winchesters were used by the rebels, these were repeaters and capable of quick bursts of rifle fire. They utilized a tubular magazine which resided under the barrel of the rifle. They were not as accurate as the trapdoors or Mausers at long ranges, but their |
| firepower at close quarters made them an excellent weapon for any jungle fighter. The Revolutionaries had to use what was on hand, so many aging shotguns were also pressed into service. The Mimbises also captured stocks of Spanish Rolling Blocks, single shot weapons of .43 caliber that prooved themselves reliable and rugged if not a little outdated. They also managed to secure a number of state of the art(for 1895) 1893 7MM Mauser bolt action rifles. These were excellent weapons which carrried five round integral box magazines that were capable of quick reloads from stripper clips. These rifles fired the new smokeless powder cartridge which did not discharge smoke when fired, thus keeping troop positions concealed. The mimbises even established small armories in the countryside where they repaired rifles and even cannon. It is |
| interesting to note that some of the firearms repaired there bore the stock marking P.y.L, representing Patria y Libertad (Fatherland and Liberty). While well armed, the mambises suffered greatly from a lack of ammunition. Often they had only what they could remove from the bodies of spanish soldiers. They also had a heavy reliance on gun runners who smuggled in supplies from the US. In 1898 the US intervened in Cuba. Joined by American troops, the Cubans finally expelled the Spanish from thier island. |