A Message to Garcia IV

Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1913)

The article "A Message To Garcia" has the distinction of having been the most reproduced during the lifetime of the author, of any article in the history of the United States. There were 40 million copies printed and it was translated into all written languages.

Many more copies have been made since the death of the author. Herbert Hubbard and his wife were passengers in the ill-fated transatlantic Lusitania, sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915. Both died. Hubbard was a devout individualist, with strong beliefs on the ability and the responsibility of each person to forge his or her own destiny. Hubbard had many qualities, wrote several books and his achievements were many, but none reached the messianic proportions of "A Message To Garcia."

Andrew S. Rowan

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew S. Rowan was a graduate of the US Military Academy at WestPoint, class of 1881. At the time of A Message To Garcia, he was a lieutenant stationed in Washington, D.C. When he was commissioned by President William McKinley to take a letter to Major General Calixto Garcia, somewhere in the eastern part of Cuba, he did not ask questions, but prepare to carry out his orders at once, to the best of his ability. This "consider-it-done" attitude is what prompted Elbert Hubbard to write his famous article "A Message to Garcia."

After his service in Cuba and a subsequent promotion, Captain Rowan was assigned to command Company I of the 19th Infantry and sent to The Philippines. In an excellent article about his grandfather's diary, Norman Cameron mentions him while relating the role of the US Army in the Philippines:

http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/scriven/bohol-history.html

Colonel Rowan wrote an article in 1923, after retiring from the Army, where he relates the many obstacles that he had to overcome and vicissitudes that he had to endure to deliver the Message To Garcia.
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In his article, Rowan reveals the content of the message he delivered. Among other things, he states that the message was oral, that the letter was a presentation letter from the State Department to the Cuban Junta in Jamaica. But...I am getting ahead of myself! The article of Col. Rowan will be the subject of the next three parts of this series.

Calixto García Iñíguez (1839 - 1898)

Calixto Ramón García Iñíguez was born at Holgüín, Cuba on August 4, 1839 and died of pneumonia at the Raleigh Hotel, in Washington, D.C. on December 11, 1898. His grandfather, Calixto García de Luna Izquierdo had been in the military service of Spain and was one of the few survivors of the Battle of Carabobo, in Venezuela in 1821, where he lost a hand. Retired to Cuba, he was a strong advocate of abolition and of fair treatment for citizens of Ultramar (overseas or Spaniards born in America). He chose to drop the aristocratic "de Luna" part of his name. Legend has it that they were descendants from a IX Century Pamplona king.

Thanks to the Hubbard article, Calixto Garcia gained world fame. His name was known in the remotest corners of the globe, no small achievement for a citizen of a small and new country like Cuba. The name of this Cuban lawyer and general resounded everywhere.

Calixto Garcia wrote a detailed summary of the Spanish-American War or the American involvement in the Cuban War of Independence, following Lt. Rowan's visit and his subsequent commissioning of several of his top officers to accompany him back to the US to help the American effort. His official report, dated July 15, 1898 and sent to his superior officer, Commander in Chief of the Cuban forces, the Dominican Republic national General Máximo Gómez Báz, is available online at:

http://www.spanamwar.com/Garcia.htm

As the years have gone by, the name of this Cuban patriot is still mentioned often in the United States, because the article became a motivational classic and is still used in many self-improvement courses. Perhaps most people no longer remember the man that the message was addressed to, but they still remember his name and that a message existed.

President William McKinley (1843 - 1901)

President McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was shot by an gunman at Buffalo NY, on September 6, 1901 and died as a result, on September 14th, 1901. His Vice President, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, thus became the 26th President of the United States.

The Spanish-American War had much to do with his having been chosen as Vice Presidential candidate for the elections of 1900 and therefore, made it possible for him to become President upon McKinley's death.

Next issue: How I carried A Message to Garcia Part 5 of 8


Humberto Rodriguez, CLU is a writer, author, programmer, marketer, insurance and financial consultant. Webmaster of several sites, he teaches you how to develop, publish and market your own website. Subscribe to his free newsletter:
http://HRFinancial.com/

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