An Extraordinary Banilejo

M ximo G mez was born in the town of Ban , province of Peravia, 84 kilometers west of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, son of Andr s G mez Guerrero and Clemencia B ez P rez. He spent his childhood and adolescence in his native land. At the age of 16, G mez joined the Dominican army in the fight against the Haitian invasions of Faustine Soulouque, achieving the rank of ensign. He fought for the annexationist troops in the Dominican Restoration War. He participated in the combat of the Santom savannah. General Modesto Diaz commanded the cavalry forces, an outstanding combatant in the subsequent Ten Years' War in Cuba and in the 1895 War in Cuba.