Guanica,
A seaport in the southwestern corner of the province of
Ponce, about 15 miles from the city of
Ponce, Porto Rico.
In the early part of the war between the
United States and
Spain (1898), when it became known that a military expedition under
Gen. Nelson A. Miles (q. v.) was to be sent to
Porto Rico, it was reported with apparent official sanction that the objective point was
San Juan, which
Admiral Sampson would cover with the guns of his fleet while a landing was being made by the troops.
This, however, was a ruse to mislead the
Spanish spies in New York and
Washington, and while the Spaniards in
San Juan were completing preparations to resist invasion,
General Miles quietly debarked his army at
Guanica on July 25, opposed only by a small force of Spaniards in a block-house.
On the following day the
Americans advanced to Yamo, and captured the railroad leading into
Ponce.
By July 29 all of the
Americans, numbering 16,973 officers and men, had landed and concentrated in the neighborhood of
Ponce for a forward movement against
San Juan(q. v.).