The+Spanish+American+War

MAY 1898 Before dawn on 1 May 1898, Commodore George Dewey's flagship //Olympia// led seven U.S. Navy battle sjips into Manila Bay. By 8 AM that morning Dewey's fleet surprised the spanish fleet and destroyed it suffering no fatalities.

This battle showed the utter power of the american fleet and destroyed spanish moral and confidence in their naval power. With the spanish naval threat eleminated the US chould move in to aquire the spanish island in the pacfic.


 * Battle of Cienfuegos: a force of 52 US mariens landed in the port of Cienfuegos to cut vital telegram communication lines used by the spanish**

May 31 US Fleet skirmishes with Christobal Colon and the fortifications of Santiago Cuba

JUNE 1898

June 3rd failed effort by US navy to block harbor of Santiago

June 10th US marreins land in Guantanamo bay, Cuba Americans capture the bay

June 21 Guam captured by US forces hours later Wake islands are captured as well US makes naval bases at islands

June 22 USS Paul deffends blockade around San Juan and defeats spanish attacks also US forces land at Daiquiri Cuba they find Spanish posts abandoned

June 24 **Battle of Las Guasimas Carlos Gonzalez Clavel commander of spanish forces deffended his position against american forces including the rough riders. American charge into spanish lines and suffer many wounded 16 dead spanish lose verry few men and then spanish commander is ordered to fall back to Santiago.**

Battle of Las Guaismas

The **Battle of Tayacoba** american scouts land in the bay of Tayacoba they were discovered by spanish scouts and then trapped on the beach spanish cannons sunk the boats they came on. American rescue attempts were dispersed untill nightfall when under cover of darkness the americans were rescued.

First Battle of Manzanillo three american ships the USS Hist the USS Hornet and the USS Wompatuck were sent to patrol the blockade lines. Spanish ships fired on them damaging all three ships the lightly armed gunboats were forced to pull back.


 * July, 1898**

The **Second Battle of Manzanillo the USS Scorpion and the USS Osceola move into the bay and find a much larger spanish force that opens fire on the Scorpion and hits it 12 times the american ships are forced to flee.**



The **Battle of San Juan Hill** (July 1, 1898) battle was for the **San Juan Heights.** The heights were a north-south running elevation the names San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill were names given by the Americans. This fight for the heights was the bloodiest and most famous battle of the spanish american war. It was also the location of the greatest victory for the rough riders as claimed by the press and its new commander, the future Vice-President and later President TR who was awarded the medel of honor for his actions here. Spanish were entrenched on top of the height. The americans higly outnumbered them so the american brutal tactic was to charge up the hill and over run the spanish deffence and indeed thats exactly what happened. The spanish fought hard and lost 1/3 of their force but the americans lost almost three times that blindly charging the deffences. After the battle the american force seiged santigo and the city garrison surrendered on july 17th.

Charge of Rough Riders

Charge into hells pocket the most heavily deffended spanish garrison on the heights

July 21 Battle of Nipe Bay Spanish gunboats occupy the bay and three small harbor forts were at the ready. This bay was the meeting point for the next american campain. Seeing that the bay was still held by the spanish a large american force moved in and sunk a spanish ship and silenced the other ships near instanly and damaged all three forts in the bay taking the bay.

July 22 The Puerto Rican Campaign was an American military sea and land operation. The spanish where quickly overwhelmed and the campian was over by August 13th The war was over pretty much done but a constant struggle was still going on in the Philipeans.