Puerto Rico campaign

Puerto Rican Campaign
	Part of the Spanish-American War
	U.S. 1st Kentucky Volunteers in Puerto Rico, 1898.
Date	July 25 – August 13, 1898
Location	Puerto Rico
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
Kingdom of Spain	United States
Commanders and leaders
Manuel Macías y Casado	Nelson A. Miles
Strength
8,000	16,253
Casualties and losses
34 dead,; 90 wounded	7 dead,; 50 wounded

The Puerto Rican Campaign (also: San Juan Campaign) refers to American operations on the island of Puerto Rico in the final stages of the Spanish-American War.

Left unfinished by the announcement of the armistice on August 13, the conquest of Puerto Rico was generally regarded as an easy American victory by the press and neutral observers, although Spanish opposition along the island's fortified northwest had stiffened considerably and may indeed have proven fierce would the campaign have gone on.

Spanish preparations

With the outbreak of war, the Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, Manuel Macías y Casado, declared martial law, resolving to resist the American forces.^[1] He declared: “Providence will not permit that in these countries which were discovered by the Spanish nation the echo of our language should ever cease to be heard, nor that our flag should disappear before the eyes... Long live Puerto Rico, always Spanish. Long live Spain.”^[2] Macías y Casado hoped that a grant of autonomy would ensure that Puerto Ricans would remain loyal to the Spanish crown.^[3] However, he had few military resources with which to resist an American invasion: 8,000 regulars (which were scattered across various cities) and 700-900 volunteers (Puerto Rican militia).^[4] Ponce and Mayagüez had no defense forces, and the naval forces consisted only of 368 men.^[5]

Landings

Nelson Miles shocked both American and Spanish military authorities when, in defiance of orders from President McKinley, who had approved a highly publicized amphibious siege of the heavily fortified capital of San Juan, he opted instead to land his forces on the opposite corner of the island, at the southwestern port of Guánica. The United States War Department was no less surprised than the Spanish and learned of the landing by an Associate Press report on July 26.

Criticism of this daring move was quickly silenced by its strategic brilliance. Western Puerto Rico, with its largely pro-American populace, had been only lightly garrisoned by the Spaniards, who had concentrated their defenses around San Juan. General Miles feared small gun boats based in San Juan harbor could disrupt a landing there. Faced with a massive and unexpected invasion from the rear, Spanish forces lost coherence, mounting disjointed and uncoordinated resistance or withdrawing to the northeast without giving battle.

Moreover, many cities welcomed the prospect of a change in government and openly aided American forces.

Battles

Aftermath

Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States as a self-governing commonwealth.

References

^ David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898 (University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 338.
^ Quoted in David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898 (University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 338.
^ David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898 (University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 338.
^ Ibid.
^ Ibid.

[1] David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898 (University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 338.

[2] Quoted in David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898 (University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 338.

[3] David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898 (University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 338.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

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