The Second Intervention 105On September 29, the Revolutionary Committee had agreed
that the Constitutional Army would disband, surrender its
arms and horses, and return home. Taft appointed a Dis
armament Commission of Cuban veterans and American offi
cers to co-operate with the Liberal generals to this end.^73
The Commission members joined the rebel columns and began
the trying task of sending the celebrating insurgents home.^74
Aided by the pull of work in the sugar and tobacco fields,
the commissioners were able to disperse the insurgents.
Guerra's troops were bought off with ham sandwiches and
were allowed to carry their weapons home with them before
they were confiscated. In Ernesto Asbert's camp, disarming
was slowed by many violent arguments and posing for photo
graphs; there Funston found only 693 rusty rifles from seven
thousand men, no ammunition, no pistols, and no machetes.^75
Major Ladd had much the same experience with Loynaz del
Castillo's men; he estimated that about 12 per cent of the
arms were surrendered. Loynaz del Castillo, in fact, told his
men that "the Constitutional Army is not dissolved but in an
apparent way" and that they should hold their weapons, for
"we know that the American government is willing to grant
almost anything before having to fire a gun in Cuba."^76 In
an interview Pino Guerra analyzed the rebel position in a
more positive fashion: "The revolution is ended and we have
won, so we are supremely content."^77
Working to get the insurgents back to their homes in time
for the harvest, the Disarmament Commission did not quibble
over the number of arms it received. As Major Ladd reported,
it was concerned that it collected only 3,153 weapons from
twenty-five thousand men, but more arms could easily be
obtained anyway, and the prime consideration was to disband
the Constitutional Army. By October 8, the insurgents had
returned to their homes and the militia was mustered out of
the service. In the latter's case, the government's rifles were
largely recovered. The number of arms that remained in the
peoples' hands, however, was a continuing source of concern
to the Provisional Government.
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