.General Nelson Appleton Miles ' Indian Fighter'  and General at Wounded Knee Massacre

General Nelson Appleton Miles (1839-1925)  born in Westminster, Mass. He was called "the indian fighter". T.  Roosevelt called him "the brave peacock." Within the army he was known as a trouble maker and promoter of his own interests. He did not have a formal military education.  He went into the Army as a volunteer during the Civil War.  He was supposed to be good looking and married a general's daughter.  From 1865 when he joined the regular army until 1880 he directed the campaignes against the Native Americans in the West.  He fought against Sioux, Apache and other tribes. He was the overall commander in charge when Wounded Knee happened.

In 1894 he commanded the Army troops sent to Chicago following the Pullman Strike disorders.  The following year he was made commanding general of the US Army.  Because he was a difficult person to deal with he had many problems in the War Department. That is why they did not give him the invasion of Cuba.

He was supposed to have waited in Cuba for more reinforcements before he went to Puerto Rico.  He did not.  He was suppose to invade Puerto Rico by the eastern port city of Fajardo.  He invaded through the southern port city of Guanica.  Same place where the Spaniards had invaded almost 400 years before.

He invaded Puerto Rico on July 25 the day of the Spanish patron saint Santiago Apostol.  It was also the patron saint of the town of Guanica.  So when the north americans say that they were greeted with joy and a party by the Puerto Ricans it is because they came precisely on the day of the town's biggest festival.

When Miles got to the central plaza of Guanica he read a proclamation that the US was bringing democracy to the islands. This was the same proclamation that had been read 50 years before by the US general that invaded the town of Santa Fe New Mexico during the Mexican War.  It took Puerto Rico more than 50 years to reach the level of democracy  comprable to what we had under Spain. Our representative in the US Congress still does not vote.  In the early 1800s one of the Puerto Rican representatives had been elected vice president of the Spanish Cortes (Parliament).