Living in Puerto Rico, I was aware that the Spanish-American War had played a large part in the history of Puerto Rico.
In 1898, Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain and poised to receive independence from Spain in the latter part of 1898.
Unfortunately, the incident with the USS Maine in Havana changed those plans.
Puerto Rico was invaded by the American Army during the final weeks of the short war and ceded to America as part of the treaty with Spain, along with Cuba, Guam and the Philippines.
In my research, I discovered that some of the military actions had taken place very near to where I live. I was keen to discover if I could locate any relics from the war. As I dug deeper into the research, it became clear that there was a lot more to it than I had originally thought. I decided I would commit some time and energy into learning more.
I discovered a book written in Spanish by a Puertorican Artillery Officer named Angel Rivero. He had served as a battery commander in one of the Spanish forts in San Juan and had intimate knowledge of everything that had happened during the war.
After the United States took over the island, Rivero went into the private sector and did quite well for himself, inventing a soda beverage called Kola-Champagne that is sold here and to this day and remains very popular.
About 15 years after the war, he began to compose a chronicle dealing with the Spanish-American war and published it about 1921. He was given full access to the Spanish Archives in Madrid and interviewed many participants, both from Spain and America. His account is one of the most detailed that I have read and offers many personal stories from the veterans of that war.
While my initial goal was to learn more about the war in Puerto Rico, I went beyond the island and studied the conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, as well.
I was inspired by other TreasureQuest bloggers to write a series of articles and post them in the TQ blog section. What good is all this knowledge if it cannot be shared? Greg was kind enough to let me post it and what you see below is the result of my research.
It is not in chronological order. The closest thing to an order would be to work your way backwards through the categorie listings. They are more or less in the right order but, again, my feeble knowledge of posting made them come out in reverse!
I did find that there are a number of versions of the "truth" out there with some accounts completely opposed to others. What I concluded was that the truth lay somewhere in between and this is the view that I have attempted to reveal.
At this point in time I do not anticipate adding any more articles to the blog. I will be occasionally enhancing them with more information as I continue to learn more.
I simply hope that they will serve to enhance the knowledge of this short but significant war where America lost more soldiers to disease than to combat. It was the first time (I believe) America had taken land by conquest and it marked the emergence of America as a global power.
In 1898, Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain and poised to receive independence from Spain in the latter part of 1898.
Unfortunately, the incident with the USS Maine in Havana changed those plans.
Puerto Rico was invaded by the American Army during the final weeks of the short war and ceded to America as part of the treaty with Spain, along with Cuba, Guam and the Philippines.
In my research, I discovered that some of the military actions had taken place very near to where I live. I was keen to discover if I could locate any relics from the war. As I dug deeper into the research, it became clear that there was a lot more to it than I had originally thought. I decided I would commit some time and energy into learning more.
I discovered a book written in Spanish by a Puertorican Artillery Officer named Angel Rivero. He had served as a battery commander in one of the Spanish forts in San Juan and had intimate knowledge of everything that had happened during the war.
After the United States took over the island, Rivero went into the private sector and did quite well for himself, inventing a soda beverage called Kola-Champagne that is sold here and to this day and remains very popular.
About 15 years after the war, he began to compose a chronicle dealing with the Spanish-American war and published it about 1921. He was given full access to the Spanish Archives in Madrid and interviewed many participants, both from Spain and America. His account is one of the most detailed that I have read and offers many personal stories from the veterans of that war.
While my initial goal was to learn more about the war in Puerto Rico, I went beyond the island and studied the conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, as well.
I was inspired by other TreasureQuest bloggers to write a series of articles and post them in the TQ blog section. What good is all this knowledge if it cannot be shared? Greg was kind enough to let me post it and what you see below is the result of my research.
It is not in chronological order. The closest thing to an order would be to work your way backwards through the categorie listings. They are more or less in the right order but, again, my feeble knowledge of posting made them come out in reverse!
I did find that there are a number of versions of the "truth" out there with some accounts completely opposed to others. What I concluded was that the truth lay somewhere in between and this is the view that I have attempted to reveal.
At this point in time I do not anticipate adding any more articles to the blog. I will be occasionally enhancing them with more information as I continue to learn more.
I simply hope that they will serve to enhance the knowledge of this short but significant war where America lost more soldiers to disease than to combat. It was the first time (I believe) America had taken land by conquest and it marked the emergence of America as a global power.
The USS St Paul Versus the Terror
Here is an Account of the naval action outside San Juan harbor on June 22nd, 1898 between the USS St Paul and the Spanish destroyer Terror.
Map Legend
1. At 0800 the St Paul is on blockade duty from west to east off of the port of San Juan.
2. At 0900 the St Paul stops just North of Fort San Cristobal, some 7500 yards out. During tis time, the Spanish are preparing their vessels for an attack on the St Paul.
3. 1200 the Isabel II leaves the port and heads East.
4. 12:30 to 1400: The Isabel II stays near the forts and circles, firing on the St Paul. The St Paul returns fire. About 30 shots are exchanged.
5. 1330 the Terror leaves the harbor on a Easterly heading so as not to disturb the firing of the Isabael II.
6. 1350: the Terror opens fire on the St. Paul at 5400 yards. A few minutes later the Terror turns North and begins a 20 knot torpedo run against the St Paul while still firing its guns.
7. 1350 the St Paul moves a quarter mile North in order to force the Terror to take waves broadside. At this point the St Paul stops and fires on the Terror. The St Paul then returns to its original position.
8. 1400 The Terror is preparing to launch its Whitehead torpedoes when it receives a 6” shell from the St Paul which explodes on the bridge and knocks out the steering control. The Terror begins to turn to the right. A second shell hits the Terror along the waterline, entering into the engine room and causing flooding to the same.
9. 1420: the Terror regains steering control at the auxiliary steering position and heads back towards the port entrance.
10. 1430 the Isabel II comes out to escort the Terror back to port. After the Terror enters the harbor, the Isabel II remains situated under the cover of the fort until nightfall.
11. 1420 A tugboat comes out of the harbor and retrieves the wounded from the Terror
12. 1450 A floating crane is dispatch to support the Teror as it begins to sink and pulls it into the harbor.
General Notes:
The attack of the Terror was ordered by General Vallarino and consider to be irresponsible in that it was done in daylight, making it almost suicidal. The theory was that the Isabel would try to lure the St Paul closer to land and the Terror would then be able to join the attack while still under the cover of the land guns.
There were a large number of civilians watching the combat from the shore. The defeat deflated the hopes of any loyal Spanish citizens of being able to win the conflict.
Casualties on the Terror were: 2 dead and 5 wounded. There were no casualties on the St Paul.
According to Captain Sigsbee’s (Captain Sigsbee was the commanding Officer of the Maine the day she exploded in Havana) report there was no damage. The captain of the Terror claimed to have hit the St Paul several times, one of the shells landing on the St. Paul’s rudder.
Captain Sigsbee
The USS St. Paul. A converted cruise ship, she had no armor. She was 554 feet long and mounted 6-6" guns and 6-5" guns plus smaller guns.
Deck view of the St Paul's guns
The Terror was 220 feet long, her 75mm guns had been removed. She had 2 Nordfield 57mm rapid-fire guns and 2-37mm canon, She was armor-plated and carried 2 Whitehead 6" torpedo tubes.
Another view of the Terror
Isabel II Class Cruiser
Recent Blog Entries by Steve in PR
- The thrust to the West and the first engagement (10-06-2007)
- The Naval Disaster at Santiago Cuba (03-28-2007)
- A Few Celebrities of the Times. (03-10-2007)
- The First Attempt Against the Spanish Fleet (02-22-2007)
- The Spanish Fleet goes to Cuba (02-16-2007)
