|In 1836 he became Brigadier and in 1839
Major General and appointed governor of Valencia. In 1841
General Valdés was appointed Governor of Cuba and
he took López, who was trained for several important
tasks, but when in 1843, Gebneral O'Donnell took charge,
López was deprieved of all his commands and decided
to retire to civil live.
In 1848 the Revolutionary Party of the island won him
to its cause. He took part in a conspiracy against the
government, which was discovered and then had to ran
away to New York in 1849. There he organized a military
expedition to invade Cuba in 1849, but it was frustrated
by the p´roclamation of the President of the United
States, Zachary Taylor as a consecuence of his change
of policy regarding the annexation of Cuba.
Next year he organized another expedition, and landed
in the city of Cárdenas, Matanzas, in May 19th,
1850. This failed invasion, by South East United States
voluntary troops and with General Ambrosio José
González as Second in Charge, only lasted a day,
but has forever named Cárdenas as "Ciudad
Bandera" (Flag City), for being there the
place whe the Cuban flag was raised for the first time.
After the failurre Narciso López came back to
New Orleans to arrange a new expedition.
In August 12th, 1851 he arrived for the place known
as El Morrillo, near Bahía Honda,
Pinar del Río province, in the northern coast
of the island, West of Havana, but next day he was attacked
by Spanish troops, and he retreated to the inner part
of the zone.
His forces were soon divided and exterminated. Spanish
attacked him and López was captured by the enemy.
He was taken prisoner to the capital and put to trial
by high treason and executed by garrote (strangled by
an iron collar) in September 1st, while many of his
men were sentenced to hard labour. López was
the leader of the party in favour to annex Cuba to the
United States of America.