The Second Battle of San Juan occurred on 22 June 1898 when two Spanish vessels tried to break the American
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
off San Juan.
Background
San Juan had been under blockade by American forces since April 1898. Most of the time, the blockade consisted of a single auxiliary cruiser which patrolled and pursued blockade runners that were attempting to reach San Juan. By June, the task of blockading
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), ...
was delegated to the auxiliary cruiser , a former ocean liner commanded by Captain
Charles Sigsbee
Charles Dwight Sigsbee (January 16, 1845 – July 13, 1923) was a rear admiral in the US Navy. In his earlier career, he was a pioneering oceanographer and hydrographer. He is best remembered as the captain of , which exploded in Havana Harbor, ...
who had formerly commanded the . The Spanish destroyer , originally part of
Admiral Cervera
Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete (18 February 1839, Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz, Spain – 3 April 1909, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain) was a prominent Spanish naval officer with the rank of '' Almirante'' ( admiral) who served in a number of high posit ...
's squadron, had mechanical trouble and left the main Spanish fleet eventually reaching San Juan. With ''Terror'' and several other naval vessels at their disposal, the Spanish decided to make an attempt at breaking the blockade. ''Terror'' and the old cruiser set off from San Juan to engage ''St. Paul'' while a crowd of jubilant locals at the harbor cheered them on.
Battle
Almost as soon as the Spanish ships engaged the American vessel, they realized that ''Isabel II'' would have to retire, as she was much slower than the American ship. ''Terror'' attempted to cover the cruiser's escape with a
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
attack but was thwarted when fire from ''St. Paul'' put her rudder out of action. The ship then turned, which allowed ''St. Paul'' to score direct hits near ''Terror''s waterline. These hits disabled one of ''Terror''s engines and caused her to list. ''Terror'' then fled the engagement and beached herself on a nearby bank to keep from sinking.
Aftermath
The Spanish
sortie
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
had failed. The Americans had inflicted several casualties on the Spanish, put ''Terror'' out of action for the rest of the war, and maintained their blockade. The small Spanish squadron was not finished however and would sortie once more later in the war.
References
External links
Spanish-American War
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Juan
Battles involving Spain
Naval battles of the Spanish–American War
Military history of Puerto Rico
History of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Conflicts in 1898
June 1898 events
19th century in San Juan, Puerto Rico