THE CUBA REVIEW And Bulletin. 



THE GUARDIA RURAL OF CUBA. 



Its Beginning During the First Intervention — Its Steady Development 

 Under American Instruction to its Present Perfection. 



to be known as the Rural Guard, acting 

 under immediate orders of the separate De- 

 partment Commanders, and being paid from 

 the Cuban Treasury. The total strength of 

 this separate Rural Guard force was 1,208 

 men. 



This condition existed until January i, 

 1901, when, by direction of the Military 

 Governor (Gen. Wood), a board of selected 

 Rural Guard officers from the separate 

 provinces, with Major (then Captain) H. J. 

 Slocum, chairman of the Board, and rep- 

 resenting the Military Governor, was con- 

 vened for a reorganization. 



The force as reorganized by this board 

 and approved by the Military Governor, was 

 as follows : 



I Brigadier General, Commander, 



I Lieutenant Colonel, Inspector, 



I Lieutenant Colonel, Adjutant General, 



Gen. Rodriguez, Commanding the Rural Guard 

 of Cuba. 



THE following is a brief official history 

 of the Rural Guard establishment 

 from January i, 1899, the day the 

 American Government first took possession 

 of the island of Cuba : 



The island was at this time divided into 

 six United States military departments : 

 Santiago, under General Wood ; Puerto 

 Principe, under Gen. Bates ; ^Nlatanzas and 

 Santa Clara, under Gen. Wilson, and Ha- 

 vana and Pinar del Rio^ under Gen. Lee ; 

 Gen. Ludlow being in command of the 

 city of Havana and Gen. Brook command- 

 ing the division, with headquarters at 

 Havana. 



The Spanish Government had on the 

 island an irregular military force known 

 as Guardia Civil, whose duty was to sup- 

 port the civil authorities throughout the 

 rural districts, preserving peace and pro- 

 tecting property. It was a semi-military 

 organization under the Spanish Governor- 

 General. It was this force that the Rural 

 Guard was intended to' relieve of its duties ; 

 the American forces merely supporting it 

 by the moral effect of their presence 

 throughout the island. 



Each of the United States Department 

 Commanders was authorized and directed 

 by General Brook to' organize in their prov- 

 inces an independent force of native troops. 



Rural Guards and ilunieipal Police Officer — the 

 latter in the center. 



