On 21 April 1898, two months after the sinking of the battleship in Havana harbor, Cuba, the U.S. declared war on Spain. Meanwhile, the Navy had moved its warships into position to attack Spanish possessions in the Far East and in the Caribbean. In May, she participated in the Second Battle of Cardenas and was defeated but at the Bombardment of Cárdenas the next morning, she sank two Spanish gunboats and two schooners without a fight. On 15 July 1898, "Wilmington" arrived off Cape Cruz, near Manzanillo, Cuba, and joined "Wompatuck" on station with the blockading forces.