Battle of Santiago de Cuba Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a naval battle that occurred on July 3, 1898, in which the United States Navy decisively defeated Spanish forces, sealing American victory in the Spanish–American War and achieving nominal independence for Cuba from Spanish rule. The battle marked the culmination of the Cuban Wars for Independence that had been waged by Cuban revolutionaries against Spanish imperial power for several decades. The United States had political, economic, cultural, and ideological interests in Cuba. Within this larger context, many American political leaders, pushed by interventionist public opinion, were outraged by
USS Santiago de Cuba (1861) covered them as they reluctantly reembarked the next day, under orders of General Benjamin F. Butler, the army commander. Porter immediately began work organizing a new invasion force. The union warships and Army transports returned to the vicinity of Wilmington in mid-January 1865. After a bloody three-day fight, Fort Fisher fell on the 15th. The next day, "Santiago de Cuba" embarked men wounded in the battle and sailed for Norfolk, Virginia. During the Civil War, the following crewmen of the USS "Santiago de Cuba" were awarded the Medal of Honor: Before the war ended, "Santiago de Cuba" was the steamship