SOCIAL STUDIES 20 2nd Quarter Class Presentation THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 1898 By David Nidever Dec. 6, 1992 CAUSES: The first thing that caused U.S. concern for Cuba was the fact that the Cubans were burning sugar crops that American business firms had invested more than $50 million in. After that Spain took control of the situation and brought everybody in Cuba into the cities, even the Americans. The next factor was when the New York Journal printed a stolen letter written by the Spanish ambassador, Dupuy de Lome, that President McKinley was "weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd, betides being a would-be politician who tries to leave a door open behind himself while keeping on good terms with the jingoes of his party." Because Americans were being treated wrongfully by the Spanish the U.S.S. Maine was sent to Cuba to protect American lives. More anger arose when the Maine exploded at Havana Harbor. The "Yellow" papers blamed it on the Spanish and called for arms. Even though Spain finally agreed to all American demands President McKinley on April 11 asked Congress to declare war on Cuba. The Spanish-American War was mainly a naval war. There was fighting on land but the decisive factors were made at sea. Therefore this report will be mainly about the two battles at sea. The Battle at Manila Bay and the Battle at Santiago. I. The Battle at Manila Bay On April 25, 1898, the day that war was formally declared, the Secretary of the Navy cabled Commodore George Dewey, in command of the Asiatic fleet which was in Hong Kong at the time. The message read that war had begun between the United States and Spain, and he was to proceed to the Philippine Islands and to capture or destroy the Spanish fleet there. Dewey with his squadron, which consisted of five cruisers, two gunboats and two supply ships, lost no time in getting under way. At midnight on April 30 they arrived off the entrance of Manila Bay, lights extinguished. Nothing broke the silence of the night as they slowly moved ahead into the harbor. There had been reports of mines in the harbor, but none were stumbled on. Even the "terrible forts bristling with Krupp guns" after firing on the fleet were left behind. At dawn the Americans were in the harbor. In front of them they saw the Spanish ships, seven in all, in a line anticipating their arrival. The Spanish flagship Reina Cristina opened fire and was immediately followed by the others. The Spaniards, determined to wipe out the American fleet, were rapidly firing their guns, but their shots fell short. Dewey, proceeding straight towards the enemy and the great geysers of water that loomed in front of him, waited until a shot went over his flagship, the Olympia, before giving the signal to commence firing. Almost instantly the guns of the American ships returned fire. Both fleets fired with equal intensity although the Spaniards, unsteadied by the accuracy of American broadsides, were now blazing away excitedly and with little attention to their aiming. Contrary to their enemies the American's deadly gunfire bombarded the Spanish fleet. Soon the terrible hail of shells became more than the Spaniards could endure. A mad attempt by the Don Juan de Austrian and the Reina Cristina of ramming the Olympia was put down and since both ships were riddled so badly they had to run aground. Before the Reina Cristina reached the shore it was hit by a shell in its engine room and half exploded. At this point Dewey gave the order to cease firing and had breakfast. The American fleet had not lost a life or ship. At 11:16 a.m. Dewey returned to the attack. This time the Baltimore headed the line and her first goal was to silence the two grounded ships. They soon blew up from shells striking their magazines. Another ship, the Castilla, was set on fire by the Baltimore and Concord. The rest of the Spanish fleet had been disposed of or had run away, except for the Don Antonio de Ulloa. The Olympia and the Boston were her executioners. Under their shells the Ulloa was soon burning in half a dozen places, but her fighting crew gave no sign of surrender. The Don Antonio de Ulloa went down, not only with her colors flying, but also with her lower guns still roaring defiance. The facts show that fleets were evenly matched. It was the superior American gunnery that won the day. "The rapidity, brilliancy and completeness of the American victory at Manila riveted the attention of the world", wrote Henry Cabot Lodge. After the battle Commodore Dewey was promoted to Rear Admiral. II. The Battle at Santiago On the morning of April 22, 1898 Rear Admiral Sampson had led the North Atlantic fleet out of Key West harbor to undertake a blockade of the Cuban coast. Commander Schley, with his four cruisers, waited at Newport News, ready to sail at a moments notice. The battleship Oregon was on its way around Cape Horn to join the Atlantic fleet. Admiral Cervera of Spain had four supposedly very fast and powerful first-class armored cruisers, accompanied by three torpedo boats and was somewhere in the Atlantic. Sampson's problem was to locate the Spanish fleet. He searched the Cuban coast, San Juan, until finally on May 15 it was discovered that Cervera had stopped at the island of Curacoa for fuel and supplies. His fleet left soon and vanished once again, but it was certain that he would have to make for a port in either Cuba or Puerto Rico. Admiral Schley with his "Flying Squadron searched the southern coast of Cuba, while Sampson patrolled the northern coast. Schley in Cienfuegos learned that the Spaniards were at Santiago. He arrived off the harbor on the night of May 27 and was joined by Sampson on June 1. The entire American force now numbered fifteen vessels, including the battleship Oregon, which had just completed her historic dash around Cape Horn. Sampson, who was in command, feared that the Spanish fleet would slip out under the cover of darkness. He tried to block the narrow channel by scuttling a small ship, but it failed. Admiral Cervera was now in a difficult position because an American army was closing in on the city and if it would be captured, he would have to surrender. He wanted to damage the American fleet as much as possible at a dash for freedom and had a chance to as he was ordered by Madrid to leave Santiago and go to the Philippines. Cervera wanted to leave at midnight on July 2, but their start was delayed until morning and so lost the protection of darkness. At about half past nine the Spanish column, headed by Cervera's flagship, the Infanta Maria Teresa, came into view and, as they reached the open sea, turned and raced westward along the cuban coast. Led by the Iowa the Americans followed, soon at full steam, and subjected the enemy to a merciless fire. So quickly and accurately did the leading American ships get on the range that less than an hour from the time she cleared the harbor mouth she had to run ashore. A few minutes later, the Almirante Oquendo, the last ship in the Spanish line, burst into flames and was also run ashore to escape the galling fire of the Americans. The Viscaya and Cristobal Colon were now the only enemy cruisers left. The Viscaya tried to ram the Brooklyn in the hope that this would give the Cristobal Colon a chance to make her escape. But the Brooklyn turned away and continued pouring one salvo after another into the Spaniard. The Oregon now came up and the combined fire of the two American ships set her on fire fore and aft. At eleven o'clock the captain saw that he was doomed and gave the order to beach the ship. There now remained only the Cristobal Colon, the fastest vessel of the squadron, and at the time the Viscaya was beached, had gained a lead of eight or ten miles over the leading American ships, the Brooklyn and Oregon. These vessels now gave chase and the Texas and New York soon caught up. Great billowing columns of black smoke poured from the funnels of the four American Ships as they races after their prey at full speed. So great was their speed that the forward part of each vessel was lifted a foot or two higher than its normal level. Little by little the American ships crept up on the fleeing Spanish cruiser and, after the chase had continued for two hours, the Brooklyn and Oregon opened fire with their forward turret guns. The missiles were dropping very near the Colon and the Oregon was getting closer and closer. Shortly after one o'clock, the Colon's commander followed the example of the rest of the Spanish squadron and ran his ship ashore. That was the end of the Battle and as at Manila Bay, it was exceptionally one-sided, the American gunnery being far superior to that of the Spaniards. About 350 Spaniards were killed and 160 wounded, while the American loss was one man killed and two wounded. The destruction of Cervera's squadron let to the surrender of Santiago by the Spanish land forces, and this, combined with further American successes in Puerto Rico and Manila, brought about a speedy ending of the war on August 12, 1898. BIBLIOGRAPHY Leeming, Joseph. The Book of American Fighting Ships. New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1939. Boorstin, Daniel J. and Brooks Mather Kelley. A History of The United States Since 1861. Needham, Massachusetts: Prentice Hall, 1990 Compton, F.E. "Spanish-Amercian War". Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-Index. 1951 Compton, F.E. "Dewey". Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-Index. 1951