Combat· Spanish-American War
Battle of Cuzco Well
By mid-June 1898, the Marines holding Camp McCalla at Guantánamo were under near-constant attack from Spanish forces hiding in the brush.
Their commander decided to strike the source of the problem: a well at Cuzco, several miles away, that was the only water supply for the enemy in the area. Two companies of Marines, with a group of Cuban allies, marched through rough, hot country and attacked a much larger Spanish force. They climbed a ridge under fire they could not yet return, then picked their targets carefully and drove the enemy off. During the fight the Navy gunboat Dolphin began firing toward the Marines by mistake. Sergeant John Quick stood up in the open, in plain view of the enemy, and waved an improvised signal flag to correct the ship's fire, an act that earned him the Medal of Honor. The Marines destroyed the well and ended the threat to their camp.
Podcast episodes on Spanish-American War
Record no. 521