Federico Fernández Cavada

Federico Fernández Cavada (July 8, 1831 – July 1, 1871) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a diplomat, as well as commander-in-chief of all the Cuban forces during Cuba's Ten Years' War. Because of his artistic talents, he was assigned to the Hot Air Balloon Unit of the Union Army. From the air he sketched what he observed of enemy positions and movements. On April 19, 1862, Fernández Cavada sketched enemy positions from Thaddeus Lowe's Constitution balloon during the Peninsular Campaign in Virginia. At the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was captured during the Battle of Gettysburg and sent to Libby Prison for Union officers in Richmond, Virginia. Released in 1864, that year he published a book that told of the cruel treatment that he had received in the Confederate prison. His brother Adolfo Fernández Cavada also served as an officer in the Union Army. After the war, Fernández Cavada was appointed by the United States government as consul to Cuba. When the insurrection began against Spanish rule, he resigned his commission and joined the insurgents. His brother was also serving there and resigned his commission, joining the war. Federico was commissioned as a general. Cuban authorities eventually commissioned him as the commander-in-chief of all the Cuban forces during what became the island's Ten Years' War for independence.