page_title: List of Puerto Ricans
section_title: Military
hierarchical_section_title: List of Puerto Ricans / Military
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of Colonel José Semidei Rodríguez taken in 1920. This image is pre-1923, therefore copyright laws do not apply
context_page_description: This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican descent. The Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico since 2007. Also included in the list are some long-term continental American and other residents and/or immigrants of other ethnic heritages who have made Puerto Rico their home and consider themselves to be Puerto Ricans.
  The list is divided into categories and, in some cases, sub-categories, which best describe the field for which the subject is most noted. Some categories such as "Actors, actresses, comedians and directors" are relative since a subject who is a comedian may also be an actor or director. In some cases a subject may be notable in more than one field, such as Luis A. Ferré, who is notable both as a former governor and as an industrialist. However, the custom is to place the subject's name under the category for which he/she is most noted.
context_section_description: 16th century
  Agüeybaná II, Cacique of "Borikén" (Puerto Rico); led the Taínos in the fight against Juan Ponce de León and the conquistadores in the Taíno Rebellion of 1511.
  17th century
  Juan de Amézqueta, Captain, Puerto Rican Militia; defeated Captain Balduino Enrico (Boudewijn Hendricksz), who in 1625 was ordered by the Dutch to capture Puerto Rico
  18th century
  Rafael Conti, Colonel, Spanish Army; in 1790, captured 11 enemy ships involved in smuggling stolen goods. In 1797, he helped defeat Sir Ralph Abercromby and defend Puerto Rico from a British invasion in his hometown, Aguadilla. In 1809, he organized a military expedition fight with the aim of returning Hispaniola, which now comprise the nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, back to Spanish rule.
  Antonio de los Reyes Correa, Captain, Spanish Army; Puerto Rican hero who defended the town Arecibo in 1702 from an invasion by defeating the British; was awarded La Medalla de Oro de la Real Efigie (The Gold Medal of the Royal Image), by King Philip V of Spain and given the title "Captain of Infantry"
  José and Francisco Díaz, Sergeants, Puerto Rican militia;  cousins in the Toa Baja Militia who helped defeat Sir Ralph Abercromby and defend Puerto Rico from a British invasion in 1797
  Miguel Henríquez, Captain, Spanish Navy; in 1713, defeated the British in Vieques and was awarded the La Medalla de Oro de la Real Efigie (The Gold Medal of the Royal Effigy)
  19th century
  Ramón Acha Caamaño, Brigadier General, Spanish Army; defended the city of San Juan against the U.S. attack of Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War; awarded the Cruz de la Orden de Merito Naval 1ra clase (The Cross of the Order of the Naval Merit 1st class) by the Spanish government for his role in the rescue of the cargo of the Spanish transoceanic steamer SS Antonio López
  Juan Alonso Zayas, 2nd Lieutenant, Spanish Army; commander of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion of the Spanish Army stationed in Baler which fought in the Siege of Baler in the Philippines
  Francisco Gonzalo Marín, Lieutenant, Cuban Liberation Army; considered by many as the designer of the Puerto Rican flag; a poet and journalist; fought alongside José Martí for Cuba's independence
  Demetrio O'Daly, first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of Field Marshal in the Spanish Army; first Puerto Rican to be awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand – Spain's version of the Medal of Honor); elected as delegate to the Spanish Courts in representation of Puerto Rico
  Luis Padial, Brigadier General, Spanish Army; in 1863, his battalion was deployed with the intention of "squashing" a pro-independence rebellion in the Dominican Republic, in which he was wounded; played an essential role in the abolishment of slavery in Puerto Rico
  Ramón Power y Giralt, Captain, Spanish Navy; distinguished naval officer who from 1808–1809 led the defense of the Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) against an invasion from Napoleon's French forces by enforcing a blockade in support of the Spanish ground troops
  Ángel Rivero Méndez, Captain, Spanish Army; fired the first shot against the United States in the Spanish–American War in Puerto Rico; later invented Kola Champagne, a soft drink
  Juan Ríus Rivera, Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Liberation Army; fought in El Grito de Lares under the command of Mathias Brugman; fought in Cuba's Ten Years' War (1868–1878) against Spain under the command of General Máximo Gómez and became the General of the Cuban Liberation Army of the West upon the death of General Antonio Maceo Grajales
  Augusto Rodríguez, Lieutenant, United States Union Army; member of the 15th Connecticut Regiment (a.k.a. Lyon Regiment); served in the defenses of Washington, D.C.; led his men in the Battles of Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork in the American Civil War
  Manuel Rojas, Commander in Chief of the Puerto Rican Liberation Army; on September 28, 1868, he led 800 men and women in a revolt against Spanish rule and took the town of Lares in the Grito de Lares
  José Semidei Rodríguez, Brigadier General, Cub
caption: José Semidei Rodríguez
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