List of battles of the Spanish–American War
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

During the Spanish–American War, the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy fought 30 significant battles against 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 ...
and Spanish Navy. Of these, 27 occurred in the Caribbean theater and three in the Pacific theater. The Caribbean theater consisted of two campaigns — the Puerto Rico campaign, which had ten battles, and the Cuba campaign, with 17 battles — while the Pacific theater had one campaign — the Philippine campaign, with two battles — and the capture of Guam.


Overview

The United States Navy battleship was mysteriously sunk in Havana harbor on 15 February 1898; political pressures from the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war that he had wished to avoid. Spain promised multiple times that it would reform the government of Cuba, but never delivered. The United States sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it surrender control of Cuba on 20 April. After the ultimatum was sent, Madrid declared war on 23 April and Washington responded with its own declaration two days later. The main issue was Cuban independence; the ten-week war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. After the declaration of war, the U.S. Navy blockaded ports such as Havana and Cardenas. The Spanish attempted to lift the blockades on Cardenas and Matanzas, finally succeeding after failing once at Cardenas. Commodore Dewey successfully destroyed the Spanish Pacific Fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, but failed to land troops. The Navy also blockaded Puerto Rico and bombarded
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
, but the Spanish attempted to lift this blockade, succeeding on the second attempt in June. The U.S. Marines also cut telegraph lines under the bay of Cienfuegos, but suffered heavy losses from Spanish fire. The U.S. also captured the port of
Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay ( es, Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off ...
after a four-day battle, which ended on June 10. U.S. expeditionary forces landed in Cuba on 22 June and skirmished successfully at Las Guasimas two days later. Meanwhile, the island of Guam was " captured" by the Americans, which consisted of raising of the American flag. The U.S. also attempted to land forces near Trinidad, but were repulsed by Spanish forces. The U.S. forces captured San Juan Heights, which overlooked Santiago de Cuba, after two battles at San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill, which was preceded by a smaller battle on the San Juan Hill's right flank at
El Caney El Caney (also Caney) is a small village six kilometers (four miles) to the northeast of Santiago, Cuba. "Caney" means longhouse in Taíno. Overview It was known in centuries past as the site where Hernán Cortés received a vision supposedly orde ...
. The Spanish also attempted to lift the blockade on the port of Manzanillo twice, but failed both times. The Spanish fleet also attempted to escape
Santiago harbor Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
, but was destroyed by U.S. gunboats and armored cruisers. After this victory, U.S. forces laid siege to Santiago de Cuba for 14 days, until the Spanish forces surrendered, but there were several skirmishes afterwards. The Spanish managed to cut the United States blockade at Manzanillo, but the Americans sunk two Spanish ships at
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 An ...
. The Americans also tried to land at Mani-Mani, which was west of Havana, but were repulsed by the Spanish. On 23 July, Americans landed close to the port of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Two days later, there was a small skirmish at Yauco, which was won by the Americans. The Spanish retreated and attempted to destroy rail lines to Ponce, but failed to. On 5 August, American forces marched into the town of
Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the c ...
, but the Spanish deserted the town several hours earlier. From 8 to 9 August, an American battalion captured the mountain at Coamo, Puerto Rico, on the road to the port of Ponce. At the same time, there was an inconclusive battle at
Fajardo Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...
, which led to the capture and desertion of a lighthouse. One day later, the Americans captured Silva Heights. The Americans also landed near Mayaguez, and captured the town with no resistance. At the Battle of Asomante, the US forces took Asomante and captured many Spanish prisoners. At the same time, American forces also captured Manila. These two battles led to an armistice agreement, which quickly led to the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. The 1898 Treaty of Paris, which was the result of the American victory in the war, was negotiated on terms favorable to the U.S. which allowed it temporary direct control of Cuba and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine islands. The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $20 million ($ today) to Spain in order to cover the Spanish infrastructure. The U.S. installed a military government in Cuba immediately after the Treaty of Paris, and eventually let it become an independent republic in 1902.Edelstein (2010), p. 178. The Philippines also rebelled against U.S. control, which led to the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
lasting from 1899 to 1902.Tucker (2009), p. 479. The Spanish also sold the rest of their Pacific islands to Germany under the German–Spanish Treaty.Schmidt-Brucken & Schuster & Wienburg (2016), p. 204.


Pacific Theater


Philippine campaign


Capture of Guam


Caribbean Theater


Cuba campaign


Puerto Rico campaign


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Spanamwar.com: Spanish–American War Centennial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battles of the Spanish-American War * Conflicts in 1898 Spanish-American War 1898 in Cuba 1898 in Puerto Rico 1898 in the Philippines 1898 in the Spanish Empire 1898 in the Spanish East Indies 1898 in Guam 1898 in the Spanish West Indies 1898 in the United States