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The United States Invades
Puerto Rico: 1898
On the morning of July 25,
1898, under the command of "Indian fighter" Major General Nelson A. Miles, the
U.S. military, with an expeditionary force of 8,000 troops and several naval ships,
invaded Puerto Rico. The first indication that Guánica, a harbor village on the southern
coast with about 1,000 inhabitants, was the target of invasion, occurred when the USS
Gloucester, under the command of Lt. Commander Wainwright (formerly of the USS Maine),
fired a three-pounder at a Spanish flag.
The U.S. War Department
thought the first attack would have taken place in Fajardo, in the north. However,
militarily speaking, the harbor at Guánica was determined to be the best spot to begin
the invasion. Not only was Guánica protected by very high cliffs, but the town was not
nearly as heavily fortified, nor defended with as many Spanish troops, as was San Juan.
This military campaign,
historically known as the Porto Rican Campaign, did not last very long. The American flag
was raised within a day of the landing of U.S. troops in Guánica. On July 27, a New York
Times headline read as follows: "Our Flag Raised in Puerto Rico. Four Spaniards Fall
in the First Fight of the Invasion. Guánica, on the Southern Coast, the Scene of the
Landing. Excellent Military Road Leads to San Juan, 85 Miles Distant—Good Work Done
by the Gloucester."
Three days after the
invasion of Guánica, General Guy Henry and his men captured Yauco while General Miles
went down the coast to the nearby town of Ponce. The goal of the United States was to
subdue Ponce, and ultimately, San Juan. Ponce was captured without gunfire. The ultimate
objective was to build up the army of occupation for Puerto Rico.
Albert Nofi’s book,
The Spanish-American War, 1898, (1996), identifies the four different landings on the
island, as well as the various towns which the U.S. military entered, or had military
battles or skirmishes in (Guánica, Ponce, Yauco, Guayamo, Cape San Juan, Guayamo-Cayey,
Coamo, Hormigüeras, Aibonito Pass, and Las Marias). Dr. Nofi contends that "The
Puerto Rican Campaign included some of the best tactical maneuvering of the
[Spanish-American War]...."
On July 29, 1898 the
U.S. issued a general proclamation to the people of Puerto Rico assuring them that the
Americans had come to the island to bring them freedom from Spanish rule and not to make
war on its inhabitants. This was the first official public statement from the U.S.
Government regarding its plans for Puerto Rico.
On July 31, 1898 more
troops arrived in Guánica. They headed toward Arroyo with plans to advance on Cayey.
Mayagüez, Lares, Utuado, Coamo, and Guayana were also targeted.
The book, The Puerto
Ricans, A Documentary History (Edited by Karl and Olga Jiménez Wagenheim, Markus Weiner
Publishers, N.J., 1994), contains several accounts of events that occurred during this
military campaign. Among them is a reprint (pages 96-98) from the work of famed American
poet, Carl Sandburg, who saw active service in Puerto Rico, beginning with the invasion in
Guánica. Sandburg wrote about these experiences in his book entitled, Always the Young
Strangers (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1953 ).
Editor’s Note: A contemporaneous
description (with photos) on the U.S. military excursions which occurred mostly in the
southern part of the island can be found in Richard Harding Davis’ book, The Cuban
and Porto Rican Campaigns, 1898, pages 264-360.
For more information
please contact:
La Casa de Puerto Rico
P.O. Box 81982
San Diego, CA 92138
(619) 685-2847
lacasa@inetworld.net
Email
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