Chapter 7 Section 2, page

A Splendid Little War

The wreck of the U.S.S. Maine

In the wake of the Maine incident, Congress hurriedly appropriated $50 million to prepare the nation for war. "Big navy" supporters, including the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, appropriated the lion's share of the money. Next, President McKinley insisted that Spain agree to a cease-fire with the Cuban rebels and negotiate a permanent settlement with them. After a slight delay, Spain agreed to the American demands. Two days later, McKinley asked Congress for authority to use military force to end the Cuban conflict. Essentially, this was a declaration of war.

The United States Army was not prepared for war. After the Civil War, the country had drastically reduced its army. Most army units had been scattered throughout the west, where they had fought and confined Native Americans. Volunteer and National Guard units quickly assembled in Tennessee. Regular-army divisions, filled with new recruits, rushed to Florida to await the invasion of Cuba.

Back to the Pacific The navy, however, needed little preparation. The Pacific fleet was visiting Hong Kong when the news of war arrived. Commodore George Dewey quickly provisioned his ships and set off to attack the Spanish colony in the Philippine Islands.

Once at sea, Commodore Dewey had his men paint all the ships. Once a bright white, the ships were soon covered with a dull gray to make them less visible to the enemy. Next, Dewey ordered that everything made of wood, including the piano on his flagship Olympia, be tossed over the side.

Chronology of the war (from the NYPL's Online Exhibition of the Spanish-American War)

Splintered wood presented a greater danger to his crews than enemy shells. Then with chests, chairs, and tables bobbing in the water behind them, the ships went after the Spanish fleet.

World map showing location of the Philippine Islands

Map of the Philippine Islands

Another Philippines map

Philippine History

Chronology of Events Leading to the Philippine-American War

Photo of the U.S.S. Olympia

Photo and biography of Captain Gridley

Photos of the U.S.S. Boston

Photo of Commodore George Dewey.

Commodore George Dewey is depicted here commanding the battle of Manila Bay. He does so from his flagship Olympia.

After searching throughout an oppressive tropical night, Dewey found the Spaniards in the shallows of Manila Bay. At dawn on the first of May, the Olympia led the fleet in single file toward its enemy. The Spanish opened fire long before the Americans were within range. The Olympia moved still closer. When it reached effective range, it turned sharply to the west, bringing all its guns to bear upon the Spanish fleet.

"You may fire when ready, Gridley," Dewey told his executive officer. With a deafening roar, the huge cruiser's guns erupted. The flagship swung around in a wide circle, and each ship followed, guns blasting as it passed. "We made five trips past the fleet," a gunner on the Boston wrote.

Just two hours after the beginning of the battle we hauled out and, withdrawing a few miles, the order was given for breakfast. I was exhausted from the heat, loss of sleep, and lack of proper food. I went up on deck. Below the thermometer was at 116°, and the fresh air was a great relief. From this vantage point, I could see the destruction we had wrought.

When the thick, black smoke that had obscured the battle cleared, he saw the Spanish fleet, battered and afire. The battle had been won. Eight seamen suffered wounds aboard the Boston (the same ship that had helped "liberate" Hawaii). One man died from the heat before the battle began. They represented the total casualties for the fleet.

When the news of the stunning victory reached home, Americans cheered ecstatically. Dewey, "the conqueror of the Philippines," became an instant national hero. Stores soon filled with merchandise

World front page announcing the victory

The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures. This presentation features 68 motion pictures produced between 1898 and 1901 of the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine Revolution.

bearing his image. Few Americans knew what and where the Philippines were, but the press assured them that the islands were a welcome possession.

Photobiography of Teddy Roosevelt

A brief biography of TR

Rough Riders Despite Dewey's early victory, the war in the Caribbean was getting off to a slow start. More than 250,000 soldiers rushed enthusiastically into the service. The army's quartermaster corps, however, had only fifty-seven men to supply the army with equipment. Soldiers gathered in Florida and waited impatiently for supplies and transportation. Some individuals organized and outfitted their own regiments. One such individual, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, resigned his post and formed a volunteer regiment of cavalry. Teddy Roosevelt did not intend to miss his chance at glory.

Roosevelt had been born forty years earlier to a wealthy New York family. He described himself as "a sickly, delicate boy" who "suffered much from asthma, and frequently had to be taken away on trips to find a place where [he] could breathe." Determined to overcome his physical limitations, Roosevelt embarked on a grueling program of body building. He practiced boxing, hunting, and riding, and after college he spent three years as a working cowboy in the wild Badlands of Dakota. "It was still the Wild West in those days," he wrote. "The West of the Indian and the buffalo hunter, the soldier and the cow-puncher." There he "led a free and hardy life with horse and rifle."

Roosevelt's political career began in the New York legislature. Next, after running unsuccessfully for mayor of New York, he served as that city's police commissioner. A loyal Republican, he campaigned tirelessly for McKinley in the 1896 election, and the president rewarded him with an appointment to the Department of the Navy.

TR and his Rocky Mountain Riders, or "Rough Riders"

Now, seeking again the "hardy life with horse and rifle," Roosevelt waited in Tampa with his men. His regiment, which called itself the Rocky Mountain Riders, consisted mostly of cowboys from the West, although it contained a few Indians and wealthy polo players from the East as well. The papers called the regiment "Teddy's Terrors," but its commander was Leonard Wood, a physician who was also a colonel in the regular army. Roosevelt served as lieutenant colonel.

"Tampa was a scene of the wildest confusion," Teddy remembered. "There was no semblance of order." Thousands of men, horses, mules, and supply wagons were scattered about haphazardly in the tropical heat. Somehow the expedition reached Cuba. Still, "different parts of different outfits were jumbled together. . . . For instance, one transport had guns, and another had the locks for the guns. Soldiers went here, provisions went there, and who got ashore depended upon individual activity."

Roosevelt, always active, got his regiment ashore quickly. "We disembarked with our rifles, our ammunition belts, and not much else," he remembered. "I carried some food in my pocket, and a light coat which was my sole camp equipment for the next three days."

Cuban Soldiers Read more about the role of Cuban soldiers, who had nearly won their island's independence from Spain by the time Teddy Roosevelt arrived

With the July temperature climbing above 100°, the soldiers plodded off through the thick jungle toward the city of Santiago. Wearing uniforms made of wool, the men struggled against the heat. Those who managed to obtain rations often discovered that their food had spoiled. Soon the ranks were riddled with malaria, fever, and dysentery. (Before the war ended, 5,200 Americans would perish from disease.) General Shafter, the army's commander, realized that if he didn't capture Santiago soon, he might not have an army left.

After a few brief skirmishes, the armies confronted each other. The Spanish defended the San Juan hills, a long ridge east of Santiago. The Americans, arrayed in the valley below, sent up an observation balloon to study the city's defenses.

San Juan Hill

Print depicting an African American soldier during the march toward San Juan Hill

Roosevelt, who had managed to obtain a horse, rode up and down the lines anxiously. "I had come to the conclusion," he said, "that it was silly to stay in the valley firing up at the hills. . . . The thing to do was to try to rush the entrenchments." Never a man to stand on ceremony, Teddy took it upon himself to order the charge.

With a pistol in one hand an a saber in the other, Teddy spurred his mount forward. His face grew flushed; his glasses clouded with steam; a wide grin covered his face. The rough riders followed on foot, and the Ninth Cavalry, an African American regiment, rushed forth beside them. As he reached the crest of Kettle Hill, Teddy saw its defenders fleeing before him. He fired at one of them, and later remarked that the man fell "as neatly as a jackrabbit."

Atop Kettle Hill, the soldiers dined on captured Spanish provisions. Later Teddy left his men and rode to the top of San Juan Hill, but the Tenth Cavalry, another African American regiment, had already stormed and captured it. That night the Americans repelled a Spanish counterattack. In the morning, General Shafter demanded that the Spanish commander surrender.

Captain-General Ramon Blanco

Photos of Spanish wrecks after the battle

A Big Turkey Shoot Ramon Blanco y Erenas, governor general of Cuba, received Shafter's demand. He responded by ordering his fleet to attack the American ships blockading Santiago harbor. If the Spanish could destroy the Americans' supply line, he thought, they could force the enemy to withdraw. His fleet commander, Admiral Cervera, disagreed. Attacking a force four times the size of his own seemed like suicide. Nevertheless, Cervera obeyed his orders, and in the hazy dawn the Spanish, led by the magnificent Maria Teresa, bravely steamed into battle.

The Americans were ready. Four first-class battleships (any one of them might have been a match for the whole Spanish fleet), two cruisers, and several smaller ships enclosed the mouth of the harbor in a half-circle. Tugboats filled with reporters scurried in their wake. The Oregon fired the first shot of the battle, and soon black smoke blurred the bay.

Painting of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba

"It was a big turkey shoot," Seaman Cross of the Oregon said. "The Fleet came out and went to Davy Jones' locker."

By one o'clock the battle was over. The Spanish fleet was destroyed, and with it sank all hope of victory in Cuba. General Nelson Miles, the old Indian fighter, led a force to Puerto Rico. He conquered the island and its few Spanish defenders easily. In effect, the war was over.

Commemorative poster from the Spanish-American War

Spain agreed to an armistice. In the four months of fighting, Americans had lost a total of 460 soldiers in battle. Compared to the Civil War, in which tens of thousands were often killed in a single day, these casualties seemed insignificant. "It's been a splendid little war," the ambassador to England wrote to his friend, Teddy Roosevelt.

Roosevelt returned, the hero of the war. Because of his heroism on Kettle Hill, he'd been nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor. His popularity swept him to the governorship of New York. Like Dewey before him, Roosevelt memorabilia filled shop windows. One of the more popular items was a cuddly stuffed animal wearing a bandana and glasses. People called it the "Teddy Bear."

A Gift from the Gods

American troops on the ramparts at Manila, c. 1898-1901

More about Mark Twain's views on the Philippines

Excerpts from an anti-imperialist essay by Andrew Carnegie

A list of links to additional anti-imperialist essays, speeches, and pamphlets

In the months following the Spanish-American War, the winds of expansionism blew strongly across the United States. There was a lot of talk about "Manifest Destiny," and many people suggested that America should assume its role as a world power. In Congress, legislators called for the annexation of all Spanish territories. Some newspapers even suggested the annexation of Spain itself. Expansionists such as Roosevelt, former President Harrison, and Captain Mahan argued for creating an American empire. Others, including Grover Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, and Mark Twain, opposed these ideas.

In October, representatives from Spain and the United States sat down in Paris to work out a treaty. President McKinley appointed a "peace commission" to represent the United States. A majority of the

commission's members believed in expansionism. No representatives from the colonies whose fates were being decided attended the Paris conference.

Map of the Caribbean region(to locate Puerto Rico)

Large map of Guam (includes locator map)

The Spanish delegates assumed that the United States would annex Cuba. They suggested that the United States also take over Cuba's $400 million debt. The Americans declined. After all, the war had been fought in support of Cuban independence. However, they were glad to accept Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

The American army already controlled the city of Manila, but it had not ventured into any other areas of the Philippine Islands. After signing the treaty, President McKinley ordered the War Department to bring all the islands under military control. The people of the Philippines, he decided, were too "uncivilized" to govern themselves. The Filipinos were shocked. For two years they'd been fighting for their independence from Spain. Since the United States had supported rebels in Cuba and Hawaii, they expected support for their independence as well.

Photo and short bio of Emilio Aguinaldo

Filipino-American history timeline

Commodore Dewey wrote to his superiors and pointed out that the Filipinos seemed better prepared for self-government than the Cubans did. The War Department responded by sending more men and equipment to Manila. Emilio Aguinaldo, the wiry leader of the Filipino independence movement, felt betrayed. Aguinaldo admired the United States. He liked to be called "the George Washington of the Philippines." He had helped the Americans fight the Spanish. Now the Americans and the Spanish residents of the islands were fighting him.

Biography and photo of William Howard Taft

Aguinaldo led his bitter troops into the jungles, and for three years they fought a brutal war against the military government. In the end the overwhelming power of the American forces defeated them. The Americans confined many Filipinos in concentration camps like the ones the Spanish had used in Cuba. William Howard Taft was appointed head of the Philippine Commission, charged with replacing the military government with a civilian legislature. Despite the plan to prepare the Philippines for independence, however, Americans continued to rule the islands until after World War II.

The war in the Philippines claimed four times as many American lives as the war with Spain did. Few Americans, however, rejoiced at the victory. There were no heroes. No parades greeted the returning troops. For many, this war seemed to contradict some basic American values.

"I have been criticized a good deal about the Philippines," McKinley said, "but I don't deserve it. The truth is . . . they came to us as a gift from the gods."

Cartoon: "Civilization Begins at Home" (1898)

"Congratulations," Andrew Carnegie wrote to a leading expansionist. "You seem to have about finished your work of civilizing the Filipinos. It is thought that about eight-thousand of them have been completely civilized and sent to heaven. I hope you like it."