Combat· Spanish-American War
Manzanillo Bombardment
Manzanillo was a Spanish port on the south coast of Cuba, west of Santiago.
Late in the war, an American naval force moved against the town to attack the Spanish gunboats and shore defenses sheltering there. A Marine battalion was aboard the transport traveling with the squadron, and Marine guards on the warships manned the secondary batteries during the attack. The American ships demanded the town's surrender under a flag of truce, but the Spanish commander refused, so the ships opened fire on the harbor batteries and gunboats. The bombardment continued on and off through the day and night. The next morning white flags appeared over the town, but word then arrived that a peace agreement had been signed, halting the fight. Manzanillo turned out to be the last combat operation of the Spanish-American War.
Podcast episodes on Spanish-American War
Record no. 523