Short history: The U.S. battleship Maine was sunk in the Havana harbor, in February, 1898. In May, the Rough Riders were sent to Tampa, thereafter to Cuba. The Battle of San Juan Hill, outside Santiago, Cuba, was July 1. The Spanish forces in Santiago surrendered later in July, and the treaty giving Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the U.S. was signed with Spain in August.
What is the U.S. version of this battle of the Spanish-American War?
[Lifted from Wikipedia]: The cause and responsibility for her [Maine] sinking remained unclear after a board of inquiry. Nevertheless, popular opinion in the U.S., fanned by inflammatory articles printed in the "Yellow Press" by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, blamed Spain. The phrase "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!" became a rallying cry for action, which came with the Spanish–American War later that year. While the sinking of the Maine was not a direct cause for action, it served as a catalyst, accelerating the approach to a diplomatic impasse between the U.S. and Spain.
According to our tour guide, the Cubans, in opposition to Spain, helped Teddy Roosevelt to win San Juan Hill and also helped the U.S. forces in the bay. The Spanish ships were wood and the U.S. ships were steel. When the battles were over, General Calisto Garcia and the Cubans were not allowed at the treaty signing between Spain and the U.S. And, the U.S. declared that the Cubans were "immature" to govern, so the Americans raised the U.S. flag for 4 years. The U.S. also made Cuba sign the Platt Amendment, which allowed the U.S. to intervene, also called "Cuba's misfortune."
The U.S. version, continued:
Rough Riders [lifted from Wikipedia]: As the troops of the various units began slowly creeping up the hill, firing their rifles at the opposition as they climbed, Roosevelt went to the captain of the platoons in back and had a word with him. He stated that it was his opinion that they could not effectively take the hill due to a sufficient ability to effectively return fire, and that the solution was to charge it full-on. The captain reiterated his colonel's orders to hold position. Roosevelt, recognizing the absence of the other Colonel, declared himself the ranking officer and ordered a charge up Kettle Hill. The captain stood hesitant, and Colonel Roosevelt rode off on his horse, Texas, leading his own men uphill while waving his hat in the air and cheering. The Rough Riders followed him with enthusiasm and obedience without hesitation. By then, the other men from the different units on the hill became stirred by this event and began bolting up the hill alongside their countrymen. The 'charge' was actually a series of short rushes by mixed groups of regulars and Rough Riders. Within twenty minutes Kettle Hill was taken, though casualties were heavy. The rest of San Juan Heights was taken within the hour following.
Departure from the United States [as "lifted" from Wikipedia].
On May 29, 1898, 1060 Rough Riders and 1258 of their horses and mules made their way to the Southern Pacific railroad to travel to Tampa, Florida where they would set off for Cuba. Under heavy prompting from Washington D.C., General Shafter gave the order to dispatch the troops early before sufficient traveling storage was available. Due to this problem, only eight of the twelve companies of The Rough Riders were permitted to leave Tampa to engage in the war. The many horses and mules were almost entirely left behind on United States soil. This situation resulted in a premature weakening of the men. Approximately one fourth of them who received training had already been lost, most dying of malaria and yellow fever. This sent the remaining troops into Cuba with a significant loss in men and morale.[8]
Upon arrival on Cuban shores, the men promptly unloaded themselves and the small amount of equipment they carried with them. Camp was set up nearby and the men were to remain there until further orders had been given to advance. Further supplies were unloaded from the ships over the next day including the very few horses that were allowed on the journey. "The great shortcoming throughout the campaign was the utterly inadequate transportation. If they had been allowed to take our mule-train, they could have kept the whole cavalry division supplied."[9] Each man was only able to carry a few days worth of food which had to last them longer and fuel their bodies for rigorous tasks. Even after only seventy-five percent of the total number of cavalry men was allowed to embark into Cuba they were still without most all of the horses that they had so heavily been trained and accustomed to using. They were not trained as infantry and were not conditioned to doing heavy marching, especially long distance in hot, humid, and dense jungle conditions. This ultimately served as a severe disadvantage to the men who had yet to see combat.[9]
Severeal Wikipedia sections deleted here.
Aftermath [again, "lifted" from Wikipedia]
Colonel Roosevelt played a key role in the outcome of the Spanish-American war by serving as the catalyst for the brave charge that promptly took down the Spanish defenders at San Juan Heights. The ultimate goal of capturing that strategic position was to then move downhill and take Santiago de Cuba, a strong point for the Spanish army. There, they had a fleet of their cruisers in port. By taking areas around Santiago and consequently moving in on the city from many sides, the United States hoped to scare the Spanish cruisers into leaving port out to sea where they would encounter the United States Navy. This, in fact, was the exact result. Only a couple of days after the battle on San Juan Heights, the Spanish cruiser fleet was quickly sunk. This took a tremendous toll on the Spanish army due to the fact that a large portion of a nation's military power lies upon their naval capabilities.[24]
However, the sinking of the Spanish cruisers did not mean the end of the war. Battles continued in and around Santiago. By July 17, 1898, the Spanish forces in Santiago surrendered to General Shafter and the United States military. Various battles in the region continued on and the United States was continuously victorious. On August 12, 1898, the Spanish Government surrendered to the United States and agreed to an armistice that relinquished their control of Cuba. The armistice also gained the United States the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. This was an enormous turning point for America which had been wounded by civil war for over thirty years. Gaining such a large mass of land all at once brought the United States up on the ladder of world powers. The Spanish-American War also began a trend of United States intervention in foreign affairs which has lasted to present day.[24]
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