Battle of Santiago de Cuba Cuba, leaving civil order to the military government that the United States established. The U.S. Army under the overall administration of General Leonard Wood governed the island for some time afterwards and, with help, removed many of the mines laid in the bay. The immediate effect of the Battle of Santiago and the larger Spanish–American War, then, was the end of any noteworthy Spanish naval presence in the New World. In the imperial vacuum left by Spain's New World empire, the United States now exerted considerable influence both in annexing formal territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines
Invasion of Cuba (1741) Invasion of Cuba (1741) The invasion of Cuba took place between 4–5 August and 9 December 1741 during the War of Jenkins' Ear. A combined army and naval force under the command of Admiral Edward Vernon and Major-General Thomas Wentworth arrived off Cuba and fortified positions around their landing site at Cumberland Bay. Despite facing no serious opposition, neither commander felt prepared to advance on the Spanish settlement at Santiago de Cuba. Harassed by guerrilla raids and with a mounting sick list, the British finally evacuated the island after several months of inactivity. Vernon had made an unsuccessful attempt to