Battle of the Aguadores

Battle of the Aguadores
Part of the Spanish–American War

USS New York, circa 1898
Date1 July 1898
Location
Near Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain  United States
Cuban rebels
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Henry Duffield
William Sampson
Strength
274[1] 2,700[1]
1 armoured cruiser
2 gunboats[2]
Casualties and losses
None 10 killed & wounded[2]

The Battle of the Aguadores was a sharp skirmish on the banks of the Aguadores River near Santiago de Cuba, on 1 July 1898, at the height of the Spanish–American War. The American attack was intended as a feint to draw Spanish defenders away from their nearby positions at San Juan Hill and El Caney, where the main blows fell later that day.[3]

Poor coordination between Duffield's column and the North Atlantic Fleet led to an ineffective bombardment of the Spanish positions. By the time the Americans arrived, the west end of the only bridge had been dismantled and the river gorge was impassable.[4]: 132  Seven hundred men of the 33rd Michigan Regiment pressed the attack on land but proved unable to close on the Spanish positions. Spanish rifle fire checked the American advance at the river crossing and Duffield, sustaining casualties from accurate small-arms fire, called off the attack and withdrew to Siboney.

The Spanish did not shift any forces from Santiago to Aguadores after all.[1] While the Secretary of the Army declared the feint prevented the reinforcement of the San Juan Heights, no evidence was found to support this claim.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Trask, p. 235
  2. ^ a b c Tucker (2009), p. 7
  3. ^ Trask, p. 233
  4. ^ Nofi, A.A., 1996, The Spanish–American War, 1898, Pennsylvania: Combined Books, ISBN 0938289578