Juan Manuel Cagigal was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1738, the city where his father Francisco Antonio Cagigal de la Vega , brother of the 1st Marquis of Casa Cagigal , was stationed; his mother was Vicenta A. Monserrat Adanez. He enlisted and served in the army in Havana before his transfer to Spain in 1762. He served under the Marquis of Sarria against England and Portugal. Upon his return in 1778 he was promoted to Field Marshal in the blockade of Gibraltar and then marched with an army sent to the aid of the Overseas Provinces which landed in Havana . He participated in the siege of Pensacola , where he was first to enter the breach in the decisive assault, which, along with other outstanding actions, earned him promotion to Lieutenant General and appointment as Captain General in Cuba in 1782. After the campaign was concluded with the Peace of Basel (1795-07-22), he requested retirement and moved to Valencia where he remained until his death in 1811.