Battles of the Spanish–American War

The following are known Battles of the Spanish-American War...

This list includes all major engagements and most reported skirmishes of the Spanish American War. Some items, such as the claim by Puerto Ricans that Spanish guns in San Juan fired the first shots of the war, cannot be confirmed by official records. Therefore, the list includes only those battles and skirmishes that can officially be "documented" after the "official declarations of war" on April 23 (Spain) and April 25 (United States).

List of Battles

"Key: (A) - US Victory; (S) - Spanish Victory; (I) - Inconclusive"

*April, 1898
** April 25 - Bombardment of Matanzas, Cuba by US Navy (I)

*May, 1898
** May 1 - Battle of Manila Bay; US forces destroy Spanish Pacific Squadron (A)
** May 11- Battle of Cárdenas; Spanish gunboats defeat American gunboats (S)
**May 11 - Battle of Cienfuegos; US cuts telegraph cable at Cienfuegos after two failed attempts (I)
**May 12 - Admiral William T. Sampson bombards San Juan, Puerto Rico (I)
**May 31 - US Fleet skirmishes with "Cristóbal Colón" and the fortifications of Santiago, Cuba (I)

*June, 1898
**June 3 - Failed effort to block harbor mouth at Santiago with scuttling of collier "Merrimack"
**June 10 - US Marines land at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (A)
**June 21 - Guam captured by US forces; Wake Island soon follows
**June 21 - Cuban guerillas land at Sigua, Cuba
**June 22 - Second San Juan USS Saint Paul maintains a blockade by defeating a Spanish sortie.
**June 22 - US troops land at Daiquiri, Cuba; they find Spanish positions abandoned
**June 23 - Skirmish at Las Guasimas, Cuba, Cuban rebels driven back
**June 24 - Battle of Las Guasimas; US troops encounter Spanish resistance (A)
**June 30 - Battle of Tayacoba; US landing effort repulsed by Spaniards (S)

*July, 1898
**July 1 - Battles of the Santiago Heights: El Caney (I) and San Juan Hill (A); fierce fighting for capital of Santiago Province in Cuba
**July 3 - Siege of Santiago begins; Battle of Santiago de Cuba; Cervera's squadron destroyed (A)
**July 10- Santiago, Cuba bombarded by US Navy
**July 17- Spanish garrison of Santiago surrenders after weeks of siege
**July 21- Battle of Nipe Bay American gunboats defeat Spanish gunboats and clear the bay (A)
**July 23- Battle of Mani-Mani; Spanish prevent landing of Cuban reinforcements (S)
**July 25- Puerto Rican Campaign; US troops begin invasion of Puerto Rico (I)
**July 28- US troops defeated at Battle of Fajardo (S)
**July 31- Night attack by Spanish on US lines outside Manila, Philippines

*August, 1898
**August 11- US Troops enter Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; Spanish troops encircle the city to fight a battle that never occurs
**August 13- Battle of Manila; US Troops capture Manila, Philippines in battle now believed to have been staged(A)

*1899-1913
**Continued struggles in the Philippine-American War involving Filipinos and Spanish soldiers who refuse to give up fighting. The struggle is called "America's first Vietnam" by late twentieth-century historians.

References

* Bagosy, A. "The Dirty Little War"
* Nofi, Albert A., "The Spanish-American War, 1898", 1997.

External links

* [http://www.spanamwar.com Spanish-American War Centennial Website]