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
Battle of Santiago de Cuba Ramon Blanco y Erenas, the top military commander in Cuba, ordered it to sortie from the harbor along the coast westward to Cienfuegos. In Cervera's eyes, the escape from the bay seemed nearly impossible. He strongly considered fleeing under protection of night, but opted to sail by day instead to ensure the safe navigation of his ships through Santiago's narrow channel. On Sunday July 3, 1898, Cervera, aboard his flagship "Infanta Maria Teresa", led the Spanish fleet out of the safety of Santiago harbor at seven minute intervals. The primary elements of the American forces in Cuban waters were initially