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 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 included ten battles, and the Cuba campaign, consisting of 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 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, 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. The Philippines also rebelled against U.S. control, which led to the Philippine–American War lasting from 1899 to 1902. The Spanish also sold the rest of their Pacific islands to Germany under the German–Spanish Treaty.
Caribbean Theater
left|thumb|U.S. forces charging at Spanish positions during the Battle of Las Guasimas.
Cuba campaign
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
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! scope="col" | Battles
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Conclusion
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| Battle of Matanzas
| April 25, 1898
| US victory, blockades of the Spanish port of Matanzas.
|-
| Second Battle of Cardenas
| May 11, 1898
| Spanish victory, loosening of the blockade on Cuba.
|-
| Battle of Guantánamo Bay
| June 6–10, 1898
| American victory, capture of Guantánamo Bay.
|-
| Battle of Las Guasimas
| June 24, 1898
| American victory, town of Sevilla captured.
|-
| Battle of Tayacoba
| June 30, 1898
| Spanish victory, Americans fail to land troops.
|-
| First Battle of Manzanillo
| June 30, 1898
| Spanish victory, American gunboats fail to capture Manzanillo harbor.
|-
| Battle of El Caney
| July 1, 1898
| Inconclusive. American forces succeeded on capturing El Caney fort and protecting the right flank at San Juan Hill, but suffered delays and heavy casualties.
|-
| Second Battle of Manzanillo
| July 1, 1898
| Spanish victory, a second attempt to capture Manzanillo harbor fails.
|-
| Battle of Aguacate
| July 1, 1898
| Cuban victory, many Spanish forces continue retreat to Santiago.
|-
| Battle of Santiago de Cuba
| July 3, 1898
| American victory, destruction of six Spanish ships escaping from Santiago harbor.
|-
| Siege of Santiago de Cuba
| July 3–17, 1898
| American/Cuban victory, surrender of the city of Santiago de Cuba.
|-
| Third Battle of Manzanillo
| July 18, 1898
| American victory, destruction of Spanish squadron in Manzanillo harbor.
|-
| Battle of Mani-Mani
| July 23, 1898
| Spanish victory, American landing fails.
|-
|}
Puerto Rico campaign
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! scope="col" | Battle
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Conclusion
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| Bombardment of San Juan
| May 12, 1898
| Spanish defenses damaged.
|-
| Second Battle of San Juan
| June 22, 1898
| US victory, Spanish attempts to break U.S. blockade fails.
|-
| Battle of Guayama
| August 5, 1898
| US victory, capture of Guayama
|-
| Battle of Coamo
| August 8–9, 1898
| US victory, capture of Coamo.
|-
| Battle of Fajardo
| August 8–9, 1898
| Inconclusive.
|-
| Battle of Silva Heights
| August 10, 1898
| US victory, capture of Silva Heights.
|-
| Battle of Mayaguez
| August 11, 1898
| US victory, Spanish forces retreated before the US forces arrived.
|-
|}
Pacific Theater
Philippine campaign
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! scope="col" | Battle
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Conclusion
|-
| Battle of Manila Bay
| May 1, 1898
| Decisive American victory, destruction of Spanish Navy′s Pacific squadron.
|-
| Battle of Manila
| August 13, 1898
| American-Filipino victory, capture of Manila. This led to the end of the war in the Philippines and the end of the Spanish–American War.
|}
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
- Spanamwar.com: Spanish–American War Centennial website