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Spanish-American War: Santiago

The battle lasted approximately three hours and 45 minutes. In that time, Spain lost its entire fleet. The Spanish fortress, built in 1643, Castillo del Morro has a depiction of the battle covering an entire wall in one of its rooms.

It stands as a lonely sentinel, a reminder of a grim past, a symbol of triumph over tyranny. This wellpreserved "monument” is all that remains of the Spanish warship Vizcaya, severely damaged on 3 July 1898 during the Spanish- American War. This date marks the beginning of the overthrow of Spanish rule in Cuba; but equally as important, it marks the birth of the modern United States Navy as a global force. The Vizcaya’s remains lie several hundred yards offshore at Aserradero, 20 miles west of Santiago de Cuba, about halfway between Santiago and the village of Chivirico, on the southeastern Caribbean coast of Cuba. The encounter that resulted in the destruction of this ship (and five others) was the last "great” sea battle in North American waters.

For years, during the 1890s, the American press had been inciting the public to be sympathetic toward the plight of the Cuban people, but the catalyst that sparked this battle occurred on 15 February 1898 with the explosion and sinking of the second-class battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor, resulting in the loss of 260 men. There is still conjecture as to the exact cause of the explosion — an underwater mine, a torpedo or an internal coal-dust/magazine explosion. Even after the Maine was raised from Havana Harbor, inspected, towed out to sea and scuttled in March of 1912, it still could not be determined with certainty, who or what, had initiated the original blast. Both the Spanish forces and Cuban insurgents fighting for their independence from Spain had motives. Spain wanted to dissuade the US from becoming involved in Cuba, while the Cuban rebels reasoned that an attack on a US ship would draw America into the conflict; whoever or whatever was responsible, this incident ultimately prompted US Congress to declare war on Spain two months later.

USS Maine had been sent to Havana to protect American citizens in Cuba, and as part of a reciprocal arrangement between Spain and the US, to show that there was no enmity between the two countries. For her part, Spain had agreed to send Vizcaya to New York. Unfortunately, Maine was sunk while Vizcaya was in the mid- Atlantic, so when she arrived at New York Harbor, feelings were running high against Spain. Consequently, there was no publicity concerning this visit, and after recoaling, Vizcaya left New York and was not sighted again by US Navy personnel until three months later in the Caribbean Sea, with the rest of the Spanish fleet.

The Spanish Fleet Sets Sail

On 8 April 1898, seven Spanish ships — under the command of Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete — left Cadiz, Spain, allegedly with orders to destroy the American naval base at Key West, Florida. This fleet consisted of four armored cruisers: Infanta Maria Teresa (Cervera’s flagship), Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon and Almirante Oquendo, and three torpedo-boat destroyers: Pluton, Furor and Terror.

Knowing that his ships were in no condition to execute this order, Cervera sailed to the Cape Verde Islands (a Portuguese possession 400 miles off the coast of western Africa) to await further events. On April 29, they left Cape Verde and headed in the direction of North America. Without today’s sophisticated communications equipment, only Cervera would have known the location and destination of the Spanish fleet. Rumor had it that they were planning to shell east coast American cities. Panicked citizens exerted so much pressure on the US Navy that half of the US east coast fleet was stationed just inside the Virginia Capes — under the command of Commodore Winfield Scott Schley — to defend against this possibility. This flotilla was known as the "Flying Squadron”, although it was no faster than the rest of the fleet. The remainder — under Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson — steamed for Cuba to blockade Havana and the north coast. As soon as the Spanish fleet was sighted in the Caribbean on May 12, the Flying Squadron sailed for Cuba as well, to patrol the south coast. At this time, for some unknown reason, there existed a degree of animosity between Sampson and Schley; this played out later, during and after the final sea battle.

Cervera didn’t sail directly to Cuba, because he knew that a large American fleet had been assembled in the region. As Spain had no well-established base in the West Indies, the Spanish fleet sailed southwest to the Lesser Antilles, hoping to reach Cuba from the south. They tried to re-coal in Martinique (a French colony) but were refused permission. The USS Harvard, a converted navy ship, spotted them leaving Martinique on May 12. By this time, the Spanish fleet had been reduced to six ships, as Terror was left behind in Martinique for much-needed repairs. The Spanish fleet then proceeded to Curacao (a Dutch colony just off South America), where they recoaled. Toward the end of May, Cervera’s fleet evaded the US blockade and slipped into Santiago Harbor.

Preparations for War

For two months, after the Maine incident, US Congress debated what action should be taken, and finally, on April 22, initiated a naval blockade of Cuba. Three days later, the US declared war on Spain, retroactive to April 21. Their plan was to prevent Spain from getting supplies to her 200,000 troops in Cuba. As soon as war was declared, the US went about raising an army to liberate Cuba. Because of the "missing” Spanish fleet, this mission had to be a combined Army-Navy effort. During that era, the Navy received the lion’s share of appropriations from Congress, and possessed modern ships. In contrast, the army was illequipped in every department, having progressed little since the US Civil War. President McKinley appealed for 125,000 (later 267,000) volunteers. Among them was a regiment of 1,000 soldiers recruited in San Antonio, Texas — the First United States Volunteer Cavalry (known as the Rough Riders), raised by Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. The problem was not in attracting enough men to fill the allotment, but in finding sufficient equipment and supplies to outfit them. Roosevelt’s Colonel, Dr. Leonard Wood, was an Army regular who knew the ropes; he procured the state-of-the-art rifles used by the regular army (the Krag-Jorgensen carbine), ammunition and tents for the entire force. Many other regiments were stuck with the old Springfield rifle. Roosevelt’s own sidearm was a pistol that had been salvaged from USS Maine.

Even after the army corps was recruited, they had a difficult time securing a base in Florida from which to embark for Cuba. The Navy occupied the prime base at Key West, so the Army had to settle for Tampa. They also had a problem finding enough ships to transport the troops to Cuba, because the Navy had commandeered all the superior craft. Nevertheless, the Army managed to find 32 old civilian ships and boats to transport the 17,000 men of the Fifth Corps to Cuba; but there was room for only a few cavalry horses. After waiting a week in the sweltering heat — and in wool uniforms — the troops boarded their ships. After a delay of six days, on June 13 they finally received orders to depart. It was not an easy voyage, because many of the civilian ships’ captains didn’t take well to discipline and being commanded by Army personnel. As well, many of the ships couldn’t travel faster than five or six knots, so they had to wait for stragglers. When the ships finally arrived off Cuba, the captains didn’t want to bring their ships too close to shore, so most of the soldiers and supplies had to be brought ashore from five miles out. For five days, the Fifth Corps disembarked at Daiquiri and Siboney, two villages approximately 10-15 miles east of Santiago.

Lessons Learned

Almost immediately, the Army, under Major-General William R. Shafter, started marching toward Santiago, fighting battles at Las Guasimas and El Caney. The American Army learned many modern tactical warfare lessons in those battles. One lesson was that every time the US soldiers fired, they revealed their positions, because they still used smoke-producing black powder; whereas the Spanish were already using smokeless powder for their rifles and artillery. The US soldiers also encountered barbed wire for the first time in battle, and no one had thought to supply wire cutters. The final land battle was the "charge” up San Juan Hill (approximately one mile north of Santiago) on 1 July 1898. It was rather ironic that the cavalry charge was made on foot, as only a few officers had horses.

The Fleet Takes Flight

Once San Juan Hill was taken, the Spanish realized that defeat was inevitable. To prevent Cervera’s ships in Santiago Harbor being included in any surrender agreement, the fleet was ordered to escape to a harbor further west — perhaps Cienfuegos. Cervera knew that a vastly superior force of US warships was patrolling just off Santiago, but his loyalty and military honor (pundonor) compelled him to attempt this hopeless escape on the morning of Sunday, July 3. This principle had been indoctrinated into Spanish naval officers since the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Although Santiago Harbor is large, its entrance is The US soldiers also encountered barbed wire for the first time in battle, and no one had thought to supply wire cutters. only 180 yards wide, and could accommodate only one ship at a time. Infanta Maria Teresa weighed anchor at 9:30AM and entered the channel. The Vizcaya, Cristobal Colon, Almirante Oquendo, Pluton and Furor followed at sevenminute intervals. As the Spanish ships emerged, they could utilize only their forward gun turrets. Teresa, Oquendo and Vizcaya each had two 11-inch guns in their arsenals, but in their haste to despatch Cervera’s fleet, the Spanish didn’t have time to install the two planned 10-inch guns on Colon — thus her largest weapons were 10 six-inch guns.

Whether this had any bearing on the final outcome of the ensuing battle will never be known. As the ships cleared the channel, Castillo del Morro, the 17th-century fortress at the entrance to the harbor, 235 feet above the Caribbean, opened fire on the American ships as well.

The Battle Begins

More than eight US warships, wielding a total of 52 guns of eightinch or greater caliber, awaited Cervera. The American ships formed a semi-circle approximately four-and-one-half miles in radius around the harbor entrance. From west to east they were: the armed yacht USS Vixen, the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn (Commodore Schley’s flagship), the battleships USS Texas, Iowa, Oregon and Indiana, and the armed yacht USS Gloucester. The battleship USS Massachusetts, the cruiser USS Suwanee and the protected cruisers USS New Orleans and Newark were 45 miles east down the coast at Guantanamo, re-coaling. Admiral Sampson’s flagship, the armored cruiser USS New York, had left at about 8:50AM to take Sampson ashore to confer with General Shafter. Because Admiral Sampson was out of the immediate area when the Spanish fleet made its run, Commodore Schley took command of the battle, adding to the friction that existed between the two admirals. To economize on coal, most of the US fleet (except for Iowa) had let half of their boilers go cold, so they were not totally prepared for pursuit. Their gun crews, however, were ready for instant action, and the shells flew hot and heavy. In the first few minutes, the American fleet concentrated its fire on Maria Teresa, scoring many direct hits and setting it on fire, due mainly to its wooden decks.

Between the guns firing and the boilers firing up, the smoke was so thick — with no breeze to disperse it — that it hugged the sea like a thick fog. This reduced visibility drastically, allowing all four Spanish cruisers to break through the line between USS Vixen and USS Brooklyn.

However, shortly after evading the American line, Maria Teresa, listing heavily, headed for shore. She grounded about five miles west of Santiago. Cervera was captured, but treated with great respect, because of his daring exploit. Vizcaya and Cristobal Colon, although riddled by shells, escaped to the west. Almirante Oquendo suffered severe damage, and within five minutes, it too headed for shore. It grounded about one mile west of Maria Teresa.

Meanwhile, USS New York — which had come about sharply when the sound of battle reached Rear-Admiral Sampson — tried, in vain, to catch USS Oregon, Brooklyn and Texas, pursuing Vizcaya and Colon. Vizcaya was overtaken and forced ashore about 20 miles west of Santiago. As her crew was trying to escape the burning ship, they faced further peril, as Cuban insurgents on shore fired on them and sharks attacked them from the sea. As soon as Captain Evans of USS Iowa realized this, he warned the rebels to cease firing, or the battleship would turn its big guns on them. USS Iowa rescued 300 officers and crew from Vizcaya.

Although Cristobal Colon was considered to be faster than any of the American ships — and had a six-mile head start — two events conspired to slow her down. She had been in southern waters for some time, and barnacles had formed on her hull, robbing her of some speed; even more important, while in Santiago Harbor, the fleet had loaded local coal (the only fuel available), which was inferior in quality to that which they normally used. Colon had utilized the last of its "good” coal to escape the blockade, but as soon as it was consumed, the ship slowed perceptibly. USS Oregon, the closest pursuer, started firing its 13-inch guns at Colon at a distance of six miles. The first five shells, each weighing 1100 pounds, fell short. The sixth shell, fired from a distance of five (land) miles, splashed ahead of Colon. The seventh shell exploded on the stern and her fate was sealed. Instead of waiting for the next hit, Colon veered to starboard and beached herself. This wreckage is also still visible from the coast road (about 40 miles west of Santiago, at Rio Torquino), although it appears only as a small, black speck about a half-mile offshore.

Colon might have escaped had it not been for the presence of Oregon. As her name implies, Oregon was stationed on the west coast. She left San Francisco on March 19 and arrived at Key West on May 26, covering 14,700 nautical miles around Cape Horn in 67 days. She averaged 12 knots, including coaling time, a considerable feat at that time. Oregon’s Captain was so intent upon joining the Atlantic fleet that he didn’t even stop the ship while fighting a coalbunker fire next to a munitions magazine. This voyage reiterated to the American administration the need for a cross-isthmus canal through Central America.

While the main battle raged to the west of Santiago, the two Spanish torpedo boat destroyers didn’t stand a chance when they emerged from Santiago Harbor. Even though their top speed was listed as 26 knots, they didn’t have time to utilize this speed. As soon as they left the narrows, shells from USS Indiana, Texas and Iowa almost blew them out of the water.

USS Gloucester, which was commanded by Lieutenant Richard Wainwright, took on Furor at a range of 600 yards, pummeling her mercilessly and damaging her steering gear, causing her to run in circles, eventually crashing onto the rocks and sinking with all hands. Pluton, in flames, managed to make it to shore. The importance of these two Spanish ships cannot be over emphasized. They were under the personal command of the inventor of this type of ship, the Spanish Capitan de Navio Fernando Villaamil. Aside from their speed, each had two torpedo launchers and carried the extremely effective Whitehead Torpedo. These torpedoes were so feared that, if necessary, USS Gloucester was required to "intercept” the torpedoes herself, if any were launched against the US fleet. It should be pointed out that these Spanish ships were the predecessors of the modern destroyer, and not the PT boats of WWII fame.

Aftermath of Battle

The sea battle lasted approximately three hours and 45 minutes. In that time, Spain lost its entire fleet of six ships and suffered casualties of 323 killed and 151 wounded; as well, 1,700 sailors were captured. Although the US did not lose any ships and suffered only one dead and about 100 wounded, several of her ships did sustain damage. USS Iowa took two six-inch shells from Colon and USS Brooklyn was struck about 25 times.

After the battle, when Commodore Schley signalled to Admiral Sampson, "This is a great day for our country”, Sampson was so annoyed at missing the showdown, that all he could reply was, "Report your casualties.” In less than four hours, the remnants of a fleet from the country that once commanded the largest navy in the world, and had controlled much of the western hemisphere for more than 300 years, were destroyed. This sea battle — and that at Manila Bay in the Philippines two months earlier — marked the "coming of age” of the US Navy.

This battle is revered by Cubans as a turning point in their history. The remains of both Vizcaya and Cristobal Colon are historical monuments and are pointed out as tour buses pass them on the coast road. As well, Castillo del Morro, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, has a depiction of this battle covering an entire wall of one of its rooms. The reverence that Cubans show toward this battle is further demonstrated by how well they have preserved the wreckage of Vizcaya, a once-feared symbol of war and domination, now converted into a symbol of pride and freedom for the Cuban people.

Einer Christiensen. The Naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba. . February/March 2006.

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