Calixto García e Iñiguez (August 4, 1839 – December 11, 1898) was a general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: Ten Years' War, the Little War and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the Cuban War for Independence, which bled into the Spanish-American War, ultimately resulting in national independence for Cuba.

In 1898, Garcia died of pneumonia, at the age of 59, while on a diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C. He was buried temporarily in Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S., then transported on the heavily armed seagoing war ship USS Nashville (PG-7) [5] [6] [7] to Cuba. His final burial in Cuba was preceded by a number of emotional incidents, and his statues and busts are found throughout Cuba. A major statue is found on the Malecon near the US Interests Section in Havana [8]. After his death, a large bronze tablet prominently inscribed with the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" was erected by the Masons at the place of his demise—the Raleigh Hotel in Washington, D.C. Today, this tablet resides at the private residence of one of Gen. García's direct descendants.