Sinking of Spanish Sloop Jorge Juan by USS Leyden

The Battle of Nipe Bay on July 21, 1898, was an engagement 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 = (cloc ...

. The battle was fought in

Nipe Bay Nipe Bay ( es, Bahía de Nipe) is a bay on the northern coast of Cuba in Holguín Province, part of the former Oriente Province.''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', Third Edition, p. 830. It is part of the municipalities of Mayarí and ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, by four

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 territori ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

warships against the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

sloop-of-war ''Jorge Juan'' and three

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

s which were supported by forts guarding the harbor.

Battle

Nipe Bay had been designated as a rendezvous point for American naval forces delegated to attack

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. Upon finding the harbor still occupied by Spanish forces, the American squadron, consisting of the gunboats USS ''Annapolis'' and USS ''Topeka'', the armed tug USS ''Leyden'' and the armed

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 ...

, maneuvered through a minefield to engage the Spanish forces. ''Jorge Juan'' opened fire on ''Wasp'' and ''Leyden'', but they quickly sank her with help from ''Annapolis''. While the other three ships were engaging ''Jorge Juan'', ''Topeka'' silenced the harbor forts and fired on other Spanish works in the harbor.

Aftermath

Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, the Spanish sailed the small gunboat ''Baracoa'' upriver and scuttled her to prevent her capture by the superior American force. Just as the fighting came to an end, U.S. Navy personnel boarded ''Jorge Juan''s sinking hulk, stripping several items from it as trophies. One such trophy was the ''Jorge Juan''s battle-flag, which was taken by one of the sailors from ''Annapolis'' and now resides in the United States Navy Trophy Flag Collection. The Americans suffered few, if any, casualties and a few days after the battle the small squadron received orders to depart. The United States later decided that the bay was not necessary for operations U.S. operations in Puerto Rico, but the battle did cause significant damage to the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

and denied the Spanish the use of the port for the remainder of the war.

Sources

''New York Times''
July 24, 1898

''The Downfall of Spain: Naval History of the Spanish–American War'' at Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nipe Bay Naval battles of the Spanish–American War Battles involving Cuba Battle of Nipe Bay Battle of Nipe Bay Conflicts in 1898 Battle of Nipe Bay