The action of 25 April 1898 was a minor

single ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...

of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

fought near

Cárdenas, Cuba San Juan de Dios de Cárdenas, or simply Cárdenas (), is a municipality and city in the Matanzas Province of Cuba, about by air by roadeast of Havana. Cárdenas is the 15th most-populated Cuban city and the second most populated one not being ...

, between the American torpedo boat USS ''Foote'' under Lieutenant

William Ledyard Rodgers William Ledyard Rodgers (February 4, 1860 – May 7, 1944) was a vice admiral of the United States Navy. His career included service in the Spanish–American War and World War I, and a tour as President of the Naval War College. Rodgers was al ...

and the Spanish gunboat ''Ligera'' under Lieutenant Antonio Pérez Rendón. After a fierce exchange of fire, ''Foote'', seriously damaged, was forced to withdraw. The engagement was the first battle of the war, as well as the first naval Spanish success.

Background

At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the

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detached a force of two

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

s, 16

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

s, 12 torpedo boats and many other units including armed

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

s and colliers to blockade the Cuban coasts with the aim of cutting off the supplies of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

. It proved to be a difficult task due to the large number of inlets, keys and natural ports of that coasts that allowed the much inferior Spanish vessels to break the blockade many times. One of that ports was Cárdenas. The naval units based there were the gunboats ''Alerta'', ''Ligera'' and ''Antonio López'', the last a former

operated by the Spanish Line, which had ceded it to the navy. The port was supposedly defended by two shore-batteries, but the Spanish accounts didn't mention their presence prior to their installation on 12 May. The entrances to the bay were covered by 20 Bustamante mines, most of them defective, and a 70-men company of

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

had been detached to garrison the town. The gunboats belonged to the Spanish Caribbean squadron under Admiral Vicente Manterola, and most of its units had been described as "unhelpful even to the coastal police". ''Antonio López'', nevertheless, had captured the

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ship ''Genoveva'' and the schooner ''William Todd'' few years before.

Battle

On 25 April, the ''Ligera'' patrolled the entrance of Cárdenas' port. Her commander was Lieutenant Antonio Pérez Rendón y Sánchez, an experienced

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

-born officer who had seen action against the Cuban insurgents many times during the war. The American torpedo boat ''Foote'', a 142-ton warship armed with three 1-pounder guns and three 457 mm

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, was sighted off Cayo Diana. Both ships soon opened fire on each other. The American fired more rapidly, but less accurately. ''Foote'' fired about 70 shots, of which only one hit ''Ligera'', while ''Ligera'' only managed 10. The damage and casualties aboard the Spanish ship were minimal. ''Foote'', meanwhile, took several hits that caused heavy damage. ''Foote'' left the combat enveloped in smoke with its boilers badly damaged. At the time the Spanish believed that the U.S. torpedo boat was the USS ''Cushing''.

Aftermath

Antonio Rendón was awarded with the Naval Cross of Maria Cristina for his success, which was met with public acclaim. Subsequently, the American and Spanish navies fought several more engagements near Cárdenas. On 8 May, the three Spanish gunboats under Rendón surprised the American torpedo boat USS ''Winslow'', which was part of a small flotilla led by the gunboat USS ''Machias''. The most important of the battles around Cárdenas, the Battle of Cárdenas, took place on 11 May, when Rendón and his ships repulsed an attack against the port. Spanish naval successes of the war were mainly due to the actions of their small coastguard vessels. Besides the actions off Cárdenas they faced the American ''Mosquito Squadron'' with some success in Manzanillo, Cienfuegos and even in Philippine waters. There the gunboat ''Elcano'' captured the American bark ''Saranac'' on 26 April 1898. ''Saranac'', under Captain Bartaby, was carrying 1,640 tons of coal from Newcastle, New South Wales, to

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, for Admiral Dewey's fleet.

Order of battle

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

''Gunboat'' * ''Ligera''

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

''Torpedo boat'' * USS ''Foote''

Notes

References

* Donald H. Dyal, Brian B. Carpenter, Mark A. Thomas, ''Historical Dictionary of the Spanish American War''. Greenwood Publishing Group (1996). * Agustín Ramón Rodríguez González, ''Buques de la armada española a través de la fotografía, 1849–1900''. Agualarga (2001). * Agustín Ramón Rodríguez González, ''Operaciones de la Guerra de 1898: una revisión crítica''. Actas Editorial (1998). * Agustín Ramón Rodríguez González, ''Victorias por Mar de los Españoles''. Grafite Ediciones (2006). * David Solar, ''Una guerra por encima de las posibilidades españolas'', in ''Historia y Comunicación Social, nº 3: La guerra del 98 y los medios de comunicación''. Departamento de Historia de la Comunicación Social, Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1998). ISSN 1137-0734 {{DEFAULTSORT:Action of 1989 04 25 Cardenas Battles and conflicts without fatalities April 1898 events Conflicts in 1898 1898 in Cuba Maritime incidents in 1898