Combat
Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War broke out in 1898 after years of tension between the United States and Spain over Spain's harsh rule in Cuba.
The fighting was short but spread across both the Caribbean and the Pacific. Marines played a role far larger than their small numbers. A Marine battalion was quickly formed, trained, and sent to Cuba, where it seized and defended an advance base at Guantánamo Bay. Marine detachments served aboard nearly every warship in the fleet, manning the smaller rapid-fire guns and acting as sharpshooters during the great naval battles. Other Marines occupied the Spanish naval station at Cavite in the Philippines. By the war's end the Corps had shown it could form a force fast, land it on hostile shores, and fight well both on ship and ashore. The war's success led to a rapid expansion of the Marine Corps.
Engagements in this conflict (11) Podcast episodes on Spanish-American War
Record no. 516