Hampton Roads Naval Museum

41. Spanish-American War

Norfolk, VA

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The United States fought a short, decisive war with Spain in 1898. The ongoing bloody Cuban insurrection against Spain had many American sympathizers. The immediate cause was the destruction of USS Maine in Havana harbor, which was blamed on Spain. Nearly three-quarters of the battleship's crew died as a result of the explosion. While the cause of this great tragedy is still unsettled, contemporary American popular opinion blamed Spain. After war was declared, the Navy established a "flying squadron" for the protection of the east coast when the Spanish fleet was on the move at the beginning of the war. The Spanish Squadron crossed the Atlantic to Cuban waters, and was quickly trapped at Santiago, Cuba. On July 3, 1898, four cruisers and two destroyers emerged from the channel, heading west in a spectacular run for freedom. The Spanish force was no match for the American blockading force. Led by USS Brooklyn and USS Oregon, the US ships destroyed or grounded the Spanish warships. The Navy did not only rely on battleships during this period. Small and effective ships like the Winslow used a new weapon - the torpedo - to threaten more powerful ships. Torpedos were, in effect, underwater rockets filled with combustible chemicals, materials, and compressed air. When the torpedos were aimed and propelled forward, the combined contents exploded upon impact with an enemy ship. Torpedos were among the most intimidating of advanced war weaponry. The subsequent victory of the US fleet in the Caribbean and at Manila Bay in the Pacific gave the country a new chain of possessions stretching from Puerto Rico to the Philippines.