Cervera Y Topete

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

PASCUAL (ther-vārā ē to-pā'tā), a Spanish naval officer; born in the province of Jerez, in mother being a 1833, of noble birth, his his daughter of Count Topete y Valle, of Spain's royal family. He was a nephew of Admiral Topete, one of the most illustrious of Spain's naval officers and a man of great influence in the early part of the 19th century. Cervera was graduated at the Naval Academy of San Fernando; entered on active service in 1851; and was made first lieutenant in 1859; captain in 1868; and admiral subsequently. He was a prominent factor in the 10-years' war in Cuba, when he succeeded in blockading the ports and preventing the landing of filibusters; was sent to London, as a representative of Spain, to take part with other nations in a conference bearing on naval questions of international importance; and commanded the fleet sent against the American squadron operating in Cuban waters after the declaration of war in 1898. He took refuge in the inner harbor of Santiago de Cuba, and when, on July 3, he attempted to escape, under imperative orders from his superiors, his entire fleet was destroyed by the squadron under Rear-Admiral Sampson. Admiral Cervera and his surviving officers were sent to Annapolis, Md., as prisoners of war, and soon afterward were released and allowed to return to Spain. Cervera was a man of cultured and genial manners, of a kindly disposition and a gallant officer, for whom his captors felt the greatest admiration and sympathy. He died April 3, 1909.