July 3, 1898 · Cuba Theater
July 3, 1898
With Santiago's landward defenses crumbling after the fall of the San Juan Heights, Spanish Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete received orders to attempt a breakout from Santiago Harbor rather than surrender his fleet intact. On the morning of July 3, 1898, the Spanish fleet of four armored cruisers and two destroyers steamed out of the harbor entrance in line ahead. The waiting American fleet pounced. In a running battle lasting less than four hours along the Cuban coast, all six Spanish warships were sunk or beached. Admiral Cervera himself was rescued from the sea by American sailors and treated with great honor as a prisoner. American losses were one killed and one wounded.
Commanders