50 Fun Facts About Spanish-American War

In which year was the Spanish-American War fought?

It lasted from 21 April to 13 August, just 16 weeks.

The sinking of which US warship in Havana Harbor triggered the war?

The armored cruiser exploded on 15 February 1898, killing more than three-quarters of her crew of 355.

Which three territories did the US acquire from Spain as a result of the war?

Cuba became a US protectorate on the road to independence in 1902.

Who was US president during the war?

He had resisted demands for intervention until public pressure after the Maine became overwhelming.

Which Spanish general, nicknamed 'The Butcher', introduced the reconcentration policy in Cuba?

His camps slowed the rebellion but became a gift to anti-Spanish propaganda in the US.

Which exiled Cuban revolutionary launched the 1895 uprising with a three-pronged invasion?

The call to revolt was known as the grito de Baire.

What was the earlier Cuban revolt of 1868 to 1878 called?

It ended with the Pact of Zanjón, which failed to satisfy revolutionaries who wanted full independence.

Spanish prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was assassinated in 1897 by an anarchist of which nationality?

Michele Angiolillo's act left Spain's political system unstable on the eve of war.

Which two New York publishers' sensational coverage of Cuba became known as yellow journalism?

Historians no longer consider their papers the main force shaping national opinion, since they had little reach outside New York.

How many servicemen died in the initial explosion of the Maine?

Six more died later of injuries; of 94 survivors, only 16 were unhurt.

What did the US Navy's March 1898 investigation conclude about the Maine?

Spain's inquiry concluded the opposite; Admiral Rickover's 1974 study also found an internal cause.

Complete the newspaper slogan: 'Remember the Maine...'

The story that Hearst told Remington 'you furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war' is a myth.

Whose 17 March 1898 Senate speech convinced many in business and religious circles that war was the only answer?

The Vermont Republican's analysis left McKinley and Speaker Reed almost alone in resisting war.

Which congressional measure promised the US would not annex Cuba after the war?

Senator Henry Teller of Colorado proposed the Teller Amendment; it passed the Senate 42-35 and the House 311-6.

How large was the US Regular Army in spring 1898?

It wanted 50,000 new men and got over 220,000 volunteers and National Guardsmen.

Which assistant secretary of the navy ordered Dewey's squadron to Hong Kong ahead of the war?

He soon resigned to raise the Rough Riders.

Commodore George Dewey destroyed a Spanish squadron on 1 May 1898 in the harbour of which city?

His flagship was USS Olympia and he lost no men, with only nine wounded.

Which European power's squadron behaved provocatively in the Philippine harbour after Dewey's victory?

Its eight ships cut in front of American vessels and landed supplies for the Spanish until the Americans called their bluff.

Which Filipino leader did Dewey bring back from exile in Hong Kong to rally rebels against Spain?

He proclaimed Philippine independence on 12 June 1898.

On what date did Aguinaldo proclaim Philippine independence?

By then his forces controlled several provinces and had laid siege to Manila.

Americans captured the Philippine capital on 13 August 1898, unaware that what had happened the day before?

Barring Filipino forces from the captured city led directly to the Philippine-American War.

Two Spanish officials rowed out to USS Charleston at Guam to apologise for what?

They did not know war had been declared and were out of gunpowder.

Where did the first American forces, a Marine battalion, come ashore in Cuba?

The First Marine Battalion came ashore at Fisherman's Point.

Which former Confederate cavalry general led the US advance guard at Las Guasimas?

At San Juan Hill he supposedly shouted 'We've got the damn Yankees on the run again!'

What nickname did Americans give the supersonic 7mm Mauser round fired by Spain's regulars?

Spanish regulars used smokeless powder; US volunteers were stuck with black-powder Springfields.

Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry regiment was popularly known as what?

They fought at San Juan Hill alongside all four of the army's Black 'Buffalo Soldier' regiments.

On what date were the battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill fought?

About 15,000 Americans attacked 1,270 entrenched Spaniards in costly frontal assaults.

What weapon's supporting fire was described as critical to the success of the assault on San Juan Hill?

More than 200 Americans were killed and nearly 1,200 wounded in the day's fighting.

Which future WWI commander, nicknamed 'Black Jack', led the 10th Cavalry outside Santiago?

He was then a first lieutenant.

Lieutenant Richmond Hobson became a national hero for trying to sink which collier to bottle up the Spanish fleet?

The mission failed and he was captured, but he received the Medal of Honor.

Which Spanish admiral's squadron was destroyed trying to escape Santiago two days after San Juan Hill?

Five of his six ships were destroyed or grounded; the Cristóbal Colón was scuttled when caught.

Where were the 1,612 captured Spanish sailors held as prisoners of war?

They were kept at Camp Long on Seavey's Island and later returned home with their 'honors of war'.

US troops under Nelson Miles landed in Puerto Rico on 25 July at which town?

The first organised opposition came at the Battle of Yauco.

Which French ambassador signed the 12 August armistice in Washington on Spain's behalf?

Spain relinquished sovereignty over Puerto Rico under its terms.

The war was formally ended by a treaty signed on 10 December 1898 in which city?

Cubans took part only as observers.

How much did the US pay Spain for the Philippines under the treaty?

The payment covered Spanish-owned infrastructure.

On what date did Cuba formally gain independence from US military government?

The Platt Amendment nonetheless let the US intervene and keep a naval base at Guantánamo Bay.

Which measure gave the US the right to intervene in Cuba and provided for a permanent naval base?

The Platt Amendment underpinned Guantánamo Bay, established under the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty of Relations.

Which disease killed the most American soldiers in the war, mostly in home assembly camps?

21,738 soldiers caught it and 1,590 died, far more than were killed in combat.

Which US diplomat famously called it 'a splendid little war'?

He was ambassador in London at the time and later Secretary of State.

How many former Confederate generals served as US Army generals in the war?

Butler, Fitzhugh Lee, Rosser and Wheeler, though only Wheeler saw action.

Spain's defeat prompted a cultural reckoning known by what name?

Writers and philosophers reevaluated Spanish society after the loss of the last colonies.

Which three future Marine Corps Commandants served with the First Battalion in Cuba?

Smedley Butler, later a double Medal of Honor winner, was also there as a lieutenant.

Which senator wrote to Roosevelt in May 1898, 'Porto Rico is not forgotten and we mean to have it'?

The blockade of San Juan had begun on 12 May.

Roughly how many of the 230,000 Spanish troops in Cuba were incapacitated by illness?

Yellow fever, malaria and dysentery also ravaged the Americans.

A 1999 National Geographic computer study concluded the Maine's damage 'could have been caused by' what?

The debate over internal versus external cause has never been settled.

The 1896 'Kimball Plan' for war with Spain was drawn up by an officer of which institution?

Lt. William Kimball's plan already included operations in the Philippines.

Which Spanish admiral commanded the squadron Dewey defeated in the Philippines?

Dewey's ships had no local base and were short of coal and ammunition.

The first US-Spanish clash in the Caribbean, on 11 May 1898, was a cable-cutting raid at which port?

Boats from USS Marblehead and USS Nashville severed two of the three undersea cables, leaving the Spanish commander able to wire out only from Santiago.

How did US agents try to stop Admiral Cámara's squadron from steaming on to the Philippines?

The squadron, which included the battleship Pelayo, had sailed from Cádiz on 16 June and still passed through the canal on 5-6 July.