June 10, 1898 · Cuba Theater
June 10, 1898
The Battle of Guantánamo Bay was the first significant land engagement of the war, fought between June 6 and 17, 1898, as U.S. Marines under Lieutenant Colonel Robert Huntington seized and held a coaling station to support the naval blockade of Cuba. The Marines landed at Guantánamo Bay and fought off several Spanish counterattacks over multiple days in dense jungle terrain. War correspondent Stephen Crane, covering the battle, wrote vividly of the fighting. Cuban guerrillas allied with the Americans played a crucial role in the final assault that silenced the Spanish wells and broke the enemy's will to hold the area.
Commanders