A town on the
Bay of Guantanamo, in the district of the same name, and the province of
Santiago,
Cuba; about 35 miles east of the entrance of the harbor of
Santiago.
At the beginning of the war with
Spain in 1898, the town and vicinity were the scene of important military and naval operations.
On June 10 the bay was seized for a base of supplies by
Captain McCalla, with the
Marblehead,
Yankee, and
St. Louis, and the last vessel, supported by the others, cut the cable at
Caimanera, which was connected with
Santiago.
The town was garrisoned by 3,000 Spanish soldiers, and protected by several gunboats and a fort.
When the American vessels opened fire at 800 yards, forcing the Spaniards to withdraw from the block-house and the town, the
Alfonso Pinzon appeared at the entrance of the bay, and at a range of 4,000 yards fired on the American vessels.
The latter soon found the range; but the Spanish vessel refused to withdraw until the
Marblehead gave chase, when she retired behind the fort, still keeping up her firing.
On June
11, a battalion of 600 marines, the first United States troops to set foot upon Cuban soil, were landed under
Lieutenant-Colonel Huntington from the troop-ship
Panther and the men-of-war.
They established themselves at the entrance of the bay, little expecting that the
Spanish soldiers, who had been driven in panic to the mountains, would return during the night.
Consequently, when their pickets were fired upon there was considerable surprise.
On the night of June 12, the Spaniards appeared in greater numbers,
[
21]
and charging up to the camp killed
Surgeon John B. Gibbs and two marines.
The attack lasted until morning, when the assailants were forced to retire under the fire of the
American field-guns.
During the night of June 13, the Spaniards again attacked the camp, and kept up such a continuous fire that the
Americans had no rest.
The next night, however, the same plan did not work, as a force of Cubans under
Colonel La Borda, who had hastened to the camp, were sent out on skirmish duty.
On the following day a company of marines with the Cubans advanced against the
Spanish camp, and by a well-directed attack drove them away.
In this action the
American losses were six killed and three wounded, while more than forty of the
Spanish were killed.
See
Guantanamo Bay.
