First Battle of Manzanillo First Battle of Manzanillo The First Battle of Manzanillo was a series of naval engagements during the Spanish–American War on 30 June 1898 in and outside of the harbor of Manzanillo, Cuba. Three American gunboats were forced to retire after attacking a squadron of Spanish gunboats and auxiliaries. After the blockade of Santiago, the Spanish attempted to resupply the city by taking in provisions from ports on the southern coast of Cuba that were not blockaded. Aware of the situation, the American consul at Kingston sent word to the military that the Spanish were preparing to send a resupply convoy
Battle of Santiago de Cuba August 9, 1898, the "Springfield Republic" claimed the controversy was largely a product of writers determined "to get a brilliant hero out of the Santiago battle at any cost." Many journalists felt that Sampson's "careful, thorough and comprehensive leadership" did not fit the mold of the brash American hero in the era of Rooseveltian masculinity. Just as early motion picture-makers such as Thomas Edison made films celebrating Schley's leadership at Santiago, journalists, by and large, placed Schley on a pedestal for winning the battle because he was the man standing on the bridge, leading the fleet towards the enemy and