Action of 13 June 1898 decided to withdraw. At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War Cienfuegos was a strategically important port due to its facilities and good communications with Havana. Some prewar plans recommended its prompt capture, but instead it was blockaded, along with some other important ports of the southern coast of Cuba such as Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo. The most powerful Spanish naval units of the island, meanwhile, had been gathered in Santiago, and submarine defenses consisting mainly of torpedoes had been installed in the major ports of Havana, Cienfuegos, Santiago and San Juan de Puerto Rico. The naval units based in
Raid on Santiago de Cuba (1603) Raid on Santiago de Cuba (1603) The Capture of Santigao De Cuba was a minor military event that took place towards the end of the Anglo–Spanish War in May 1603. Santiago de Cuba was attacked and sacked by English privateers led by Christopher Cleeve. In late February 1603 Christopher Cleeve, in the large armed merchant galleon "Elizabeth and Cleeve" along with a pinnace left England on a privateering expedition to raid the Spanish Main; funded largely by a number of London Merchants. Cleeve arrived in the Caribbean in April; Cleeve's main target was Santiago de Cuba which had escaped attacks