Bombardment of San Juan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bombardment of San Juan |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish–American War | |||||||
 American warships engaging the forts at San Juan. |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spain |
 United States |
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Manuel Macías y Casado |
 William T. Sampson |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Land: 2,500 infantry 29 artillery pieces 1 castle 2 forts 1 shore battery Sea: 2 gunboats |
2 battleships 1 armoured cruiser 2 unprotected cruisers 1 auxiliary cruiser 2 monitors 1 torpedo boat 1 collier 2 yachts |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 killed 38 wounded 1 castle damaged 2 forts damaged 1 shore battery damaged |
2 killed 7 wounded 1 battleship damaged 1 cruiser damaged |
||||||
| 5 civilians killed 18 civilians wounded |
|||||||
|
|||||||
The Bombardment of San Juan, also called the First Battle of San Juan, happened on May 12, 1898. It was a fight between ships of the United States Navy and the Spanish forts in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This event was the first big battle of the Puerto Rican Campaign during the Spanish–American War.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
Looking for the Spanish Fleet
In 1898, the United States and Spain were at war. A U.S. Navy fleet, led by Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, was looking for a Spanish fleet. This Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete, was sailing from the Cape Verde Islands. American leaders thought the Spanish ships were headed for Puerto Rico.
Admiral Sampson's fleet left Key West, Florida, on May 2. Their main goal was to find and destroy the Spanish ships. After that, they planned to attack the forts and defenses of San Juan.
Early Skirmishes
On May 8, a U.S. ship named USS Yale captured a Spanish cargo ship called Rita in San Juan Bay. The Americans sent the captured ship to South Carolina. The next day, Yale had a small fight with a Spanish auxiliary cruiser near San Juan. The Spanish ship was stronger, so Yale had to leave. On May 10, Yale returned and fired briefly at Fort San Cristobal, but it didn't do much damage.
Sampson's Orders
By May 11, Admiral Sampson still had no new information about the Spanish fleet. He decided to move forward with the attack on San Juan. He gave orders for the Detroit to lead the American ships into San Juan's bay. Their orders were to start firing if the Spanish forts shot at them first. Sampson also moved his flag to the USS Iowa.
The Bombardment Begins
Approaching San Juan
On the morning of May 12, at 5:00 AM, the Detroit led the American ships into the bay. At first, the Spanish forts did not fire. This allowed the U.S. ships to get very close to San Juan's harbor. Admiral Sampson thought his ships were too close to the city and ordered them to stop. However, Detroit kept going forward, and the other U.S. ships followed.
First Shots Fired
Since his ships didn't stop, Sampson ordered the USS Iowa to aim its guns at the closest Spanish fort, the Morro Castle. This was a trick. Iowa fired one shot into the water. The Spanish thought they had been fired upon and shot back from their fort. Their shot missed. Then, Iowa fired a huge volley of shots, which reportedly destroyed a large part of the castle.
Challenging Conditions
The weather was bad, with rough seas and strong winds. This made it hard for both American and Spanish gunners to aim their shots. Many shots missed their targets and hit houses and other buildings in San Juan. The rough seas also made the U.S. ships rock back and forth, making it difficult for the sailors to fire steadily. One shell even hit the old 16th-century San José Church.
Buildings near Morro Castle were hit by accident. The U.S. warships moved in circles, firing from both sides of their ships. Once Morro Castle seemed badly damaged, Sampson ordered his fleet to start firing at Fort San Cristóbal. They also targeted the Spanish Ballaja Barracks, a small sea fort called El Cañuelo, and a battery known as San Carlos.
.jpg)
Other Ships in the Harbor
The American ships were so close that Spanish soldiers on land could fire their small guns at them. However, these small guns could not seriously damage the modern steel warships. A French ship, the Amiral Rigault de Genouilly, was in San Juan's harbor. Three small Spanish gunboats were also there, likely the General Concha and Ponce de Leon. To avoid problems with France, the Americans did not directly attack the Spanish gunboats because they were very close to the French ship.
Still, a few stray shots did hit the French cruiser, damaging its smoke stack and ropes. Neither the French nor the Spanish ships fired back at the Americans. From 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM, Sampson's fleet fired their guns. Only two U.S. ships, New York and Iowa, received minor damage.
End of the Bombardment
At 8:00 AM, Sampson told his ships to stop firing because the Spanish were not shooting back much. However, the crew of the monitor Terror didn't get the message and kept firing alone until 8:30 AM.
Who Was Hurt?
Only one U.S. sailor was killed on the New York, and four others were injured. Three more sailors on the Iowa were slightly hurt. One gunner on the USS Amphitrite died from heat exhaustion.
After the battle, the Spanish Military Governor, Manuel Macías y Casado, said that two of his soldiers were killed and 34 were injured. Sadly, five civilians were killed and 18 were wounded. Most of the people living in San Juan had left the city when the first shots were fired. The streets were almost empty, except for the Spanish soldiers.
Weapons Used
The U.S. Navy had more and bigger guns than the Spanish. Their battleships, cruisers, and monitors carried many large guns, including 13-inch, 12-inch, 10-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch guns, plus many smaller ones.
The Spanish forts also had cannons. Fort San Cristobal had two 150mm (5.9-inch) guns and two 240mm (9.45-inch) howitzers. Morro Castle had five 150mm guns and two 240mm howitzers. Other batteries had different types of guns, some of them older. The U.S. Navy fired 1,362 shells, while the Spanish fired only 441 rounds.
What Happened Next?
After the battle, the U.S. fleet sailed back to the Cuban blockade near Havana. On May 18, Admiral Sampson learned that Admiral Cervera's Spanish fleet had sailed to Santiago de Cuba.
See also
In Spanish: Bombardeo de San Juan para niños
