Santiago Surrender Tree Santiago Surrender Tree The site of the Santiago Surrender Tree (also known as the "Tree of Peace" or ), located in Santiago, Cuba, marks where Spanish forces surrendered to U.S. forces on July 17, 1898, at the end of the Spanish–American War. The ceiba tree had been the site of previous prisoner exchanges. On July 1, 1898, U.S. and Cuban troops had taken Fort El Viso, El Caney and San Juan Hill. These victories led to the U.S. victory at Santiago de Cuba. Per United States law, the site is to be maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission since
Battle of Santiago de Cuba prisoners were returned to Spain with their “honors of war” on American ships. The battle was the end of any noteworthy Spanish naval presence in the New World. It forced Spain to re-assess its strategy in Cuba and resulted in an ever-tightening blockade of the island. While fighting continued until August, when the Treaty of Paris was signed, all surviving Spanish capital ships were now husbanded to defend their homeland leaving only isolated units of auxiliary vessels to defend the coast. Uncontested U.S. control of the seas around Cuba made resupply of the Spanish garrison impossible and its surrender inevitable.