His grandfather (who had dropped the aristocratic "de Luna" upon taking refuge in Cuba) had been jailed on March 18, 1837, for demanding emancipation of slaves, constitutional freedom for all, and allegedly trying to hang a priest who opposed him.

As befitted a man of importance of that time, Calixto had a wife, Isabel Velez Cabrera, and a good number of mistresses; these women gave birth to many children both legitimate (about 7) and illegitimate (at least six, each to a different woman).

Far from most of his troops, protected only by a small group who soon lay dead or dying around him, Garcia, in an attempt to avoid giving the Spanish the satisfaction of seizing him, shot himself under the chin with a .45 caliber pistol.

These included Dominador de la Guardia father of Ángel de la Guardia and María Machado, illegitimate daughter of Spanish General Emilio March who helped prepare the taking of Tunas; Frederick Funston later US Major General and José Martí y Zayas Bazán son of José Martí the major Cuban National Hero directed artillery; Mario García Menocal a to-be president of Cuba who was wounded in a principal assault.

His troops effectively supported the Marine forces at Guantanamo who, once out of range of the guns of the USS Marblehead, had difficulty dealing with Spanish guerrilla tactics.

The essay "A Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard was written in reference by U.S. intelligence officer Andrew Summers Rowan to establish contact with García early in the Spanish–American War.

[8] According to language expert Charles Earle Funk, "to take a message to García", meaning to accept an extremely difficult challenge, was a popular U.S. slang expression for years.