Battle of El Caney Battle of El Caney The Battle of El Caney was fought on 1 July 1898, during the Spanish–American War in southeastern Cuba. Lawton succeeded in capturing the town, fort and blockhouses and protected the right flank of the main American attack on the Heights of San Juan to the south. At El Caney, Cuba, 514 Spanish regular soldiers, together with approximately 100 armed Spanish and Cubans loyal to Spain under the command of General Joaquín Vara del Rey y Rubio were instructed to hold the northwest flank of Santiago against the American 2nd Division, Fifth Army Corps commanded by Brigadier
USS Santiago de Cuba (1861) elusive Southern warships. On 21 June 1863, "Santiago de Cuba" overtook "Victory" off Palmetto Point, Eleuthera Island, ending a long chase after the British steamer had slipped through the blockade off Charleston with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, and turpentine. On the 25th, she took steamer, "Britannia", in the same area. On 15 July, she boarded steamer, "Lizzie", east of the Florida coast and sent the prize to Key West, Florida for trial. Late in the year, "Santiago de Cuba" sailed north for repairs and decommissioned on 30 December 1863. Overhaul completed, the side wheeler recommissioned on 6 June 1864