Battle of Guantánamo Bay Battle of Guantánamo Bay The Battle of Guantánamo Bay was fought from June 6 to June 10 in 1898, during the Spanish–American War, when American and Cuban forces seized the strategically and commercially important harbor of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Capturing the bay from the Spanish forces was instrumental in the following Battle of Santiago de Cuba and the subsequent invasion of Puerto Rico. Although overshadowed by the land and sea battles at Santiago, the establishment of the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay and the rout of defending Spanish troops by American and Cuban forces was important in the
Raid on Santiago de Cuba (1603) by the English since the advent of the Anglo-Spanish war. Santiago de Cuba was the second largest town in Cuba having been founded in 1515. The town had been targeted by pirates before, notably in 1553. On 12 May 1603 the English landed in a bay near Santiago de Cuba and met no resistance. They then took the small but unfinished fort; a ravelin and battery on the south-western beach of the promontory which covered the bay from the land side. Soon after Cleeve's men then marched towards the town and then launched an attack. They surprised the militia who