SpanishAmerican War Essay Research Paper In the

Spanish-American War Essay, Research Paper

In the late 1890s, the US was just beginning to establish themselves as a world power. In April of 1898 the congress had begun to demand for Cuban independence from Spain. The Americans had begun to become upset with Spain after the Battleship Maine was sunk in the Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. Although unclear whether or not the Spaniards actually sunk the ship, the yellow journalists of the time used propaganda to make it look as if the Spanish sunk the ship, and caused the general American public to want a war. The Spaniards had murdered and tortured thousands of Cubans in order to maintain power and control on the island. On April 11, President William McKinley asked Congress if they could use force to intervene in Cuba with their desire for independence and Spain s reluctance in the issue.1 On April 19, Congress declared Cuba free and independent, and insisted on Spain s removing of their forces from Cuba. Two days later, Spain ended all diplomatic relations with the United States, which resulted in Congress declaring a state of war four days following that event on April 25. The Spanish-American War had started, which would cause the United States to emerge as a world power.

The first part of the war took place in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines, in America s campaign to annex Philippines. The Americans utilized their powerful navy of four 1st class battleships and one 2nd class battleship, along with many cruisers and other warships which amassed to become three times as large as the Spanish Navy.2 The Spanish on the other hand, only had one 1st class battleship, which was never even active in the war due to necessary repairs, leaving seven flagships to defend against the American Navy, all the while being less equipped than their American enemies. This situation was not very good for the Spanish and allowed for the Americans to achieve a rather easy victory in obtaining Philippines. Admiral Commodore George Dewey led the American navy, and the Spanish Navy was led by Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron in Manila Bay.3 Although the Spanish put up a fight, they were no match for the Americans, and were completely destroyed with the US Navy suffering only a few wounded and none dead, and no damage to any ships.4

The American citizens were ecstatic over the victory in the Pacific, and many people went to volunteer in the army. The way in which the government handled these excess volunteers nearly cost the country in the war overall. They grouped the new troops into regiments of their own, without the leadership of established soldiers to lead them, and so there were nearly 223,000 volunteers thinking that they were already veterans. These troops were not well enough trained to fight against the 155,000 highly trained Spanish soldiers in Cuba. The Americans also did a poor job of feeding, sheltering, and keeping the soldiers healthy during the war, as 2,565 men died of disease.5 Even though the American army appeared disorganized, the leaders had a plan to win the war with. Their objective was to capture Havana, which was the center of all Spanish authority in Cuba. The Americans stationed the regulars (soldiers who were in the army before the declaration of war) in New Orleans, Mobile, and Tampa during the time period when new volunteers were training. A group of these regulars were placed under the command of Major General William Shafter and their goal was to go from Tampa to Cuba and bring supplies to Cuban rebels. The Americans also were planning on utilizing their Navy in the Atlantic to blockade Cuba and prevent the Spanish from receiving supplies from Spain. This plan would later change though as situations occurred during the war, as all war plans will be modified during a war do to minor setbacks or advances as a result of movements by the enemy.

Even though the Americans destroyed the Spanish fleet in the Pacific Ocean, they had a much stronger Navy in the Atlantic, with the majority located in the Cape Verde Islands. This fleet set sail for Cuba once the Americans set up their blockade, and the Spanish wanted to break up this blockade by sending Admiral Cervera with an armada of four cruisers and three torpedo boats. Rear Admiral William Sampson was the American Naval Blockade commander with three battleships, two cruisers, and many smaller ships. A fourth battleship would arrive later on in the war.6

While the Spanish were on their way to Cuba, a rumor broke out that the Spanish were going to attack the East coast, which caused Sampson to send a powerful fleet to Virginia as a precaution. While Sampson was chasing Cervera s fleet, the Spanish ships were in search of fuel, and so Cervera led them to Santiago de Cuba, where the American Navy in turn trapped them. The United States could not send in the Navy into the port of Santiago for fear of the ground guns operated by Spanish, which could do heavy damage to the American fleet. The Americans than decided to attack Santiago from the land, as they determined that it was imperative to capture Santiago and destroy the Spanish fleet without losing a single Naval ship because of their strained relations with other foreign powers in the world.7

On May 30, 1898, General Shafter was stationed in Tampa with some regulars, and he received a letter from Washington DC instructing him to go towards the area of Santiago with