The American goal was to capture the port of Santiago. The Cuban Name rebel troops under General Calixto García would join in the battle. Before Santiago, however, the troops had to brave defenses at San Juan Hill. The soldiers had a grueling march to even reach the battlefield. They stumbled through the jungle heat in standard issue A Splendid Little War, Part 2 - The Course of wool uniforms. the War Miscues and ineptitude at the official level made things even tougher. By Toni Lee Robinson Many of the soldiers had been issued spoiled rations and faulty equipment. Thousands fell ill. Among them was Fifth Corps commander General William Shafter. The general lay weakened by The U.S. Navy had ably fever at his headquarters away from the fighting. Staff officers on handled the first battle of horseback directed the action according to Shafter's plan. the war with Spain. Now the plan called for landing It took a couple of skirmishes for U.S. troops to push through to troops in . The War Santiago. Each one would be an uphill battle. U.S. forces had to make Department scrambled to head-on, uphill assaults on heavily defended positions. On July 1, the gather and train soldiers. second of Fifth Corps' three divisions was sent to take El Caney. Streams of men responded Estimates were that the operation would take two hours. Afterwards, to the president's call for the division was to join the others in the attack on San Juan Hill. volunteers. An army of Instead of a quick win, thousands of U.S. soldiers endured twelve 26,000 swelled to over hours of shelling from 500 Spanish troops embedded on the heights of 200,000. The U.S. military machine began to move again after the El Caney. American losses were heavy. long peace. The machine, however, was a little rusty. On San Juan Hill, a team in a hot air balloon had been sent up to look Tampa, Florida, had been picked as the staging area for troops headed for the best approach to the hilltop. The slow-moving balloon made an to Cuba. Volunteer and militia units assembled and shipped to Florida. easy target for Spanish rifles. It was shot down, but not before a new Tampa was overrun by the new units. A quartermaster corps of 57 route had been found. Units advanced up the path through the trees. men struggled to equip the flood of soldiers. Some unit leaders, As they came into the clearing, three officers in turn fell to enemy frustrated with delays and errors, bought supplies for their men out of fire. The troops entrenched and waited for backup and the order to their own pockets. charge.

The log jam in the army frustrated Teddy Roosevelt more than It would be a long wait. The delay caused turmoil in the U.S. ranks. anyone. He quit his job as the number two man in the Department of Soldiers lay for hours at the bottom of the hill with the bullets of the Navy. He formed his own cavalry regiment. The unit came to be Spanish troops raining down on their heads. They called the area known as the . Along with the main body of U.S. ground "Hell's Pocket." Soldiers were edgy, ready to do anything besides wait forces, they landed on Cuban soil on June 22, 1898. and dodge bullets.

The Spanish had held positions above the landing site at the port of In typical fashion, Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt took it upon himself to Daiquiri. Before U.S. troops landed, the site was secured by a Cuban get things started. Having gotten hold of a horse, he rode back and rebel force. Still, the landing of some 16,000 U.S. troops was a mess. forth along the line, shouting encouragement to the troops. Finally, he Roosevelt himself described the scene: "Different parts of different ordered a charge up the hill. His troops stormed up a small hill in front outfits were jumbled together . . . one transport had guns and another of San Juan. The U.S. forces routed a Spanish position atop the rise had the locks for the guns. Soldiers went here, provisions went that came to be called Kettle Hill. Another volunteer unit, the there...," he wrote. all-black 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, charged up the hill. 2. Explain how Teddy Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Name Navy, ended up in Cuba as part of the ground assault on Santiago.

Roosevelt continued to urge all the troops forward. Regular army officers refused to follow. They'd had no orders from their superiors, they pointed out, to undertake the charge. Undaunted, Roosevelt led his volunteers through the ranks of regulars and on up the hill. Other units followed. After heavy losses, U.S. and Cuban forces captured San Juan Hill. They were now able to bear down on Santiago. 3. American allies in the fight against Spain were ______. Shafter sent a note to the Spanish commander, demanding his surrender. The Spanish reply was to attack U.S. ships blockading the A. the British who had long been rivals with Spain for city's harbor. U.S. and Cuban troops began a siege of the city. On July colonies in the New World 3, the Spanish fleet tried to break through the stranglehold, making a B. Spanish citizens who had grown bitter over their nation's run for the open ocean. In the resulting battle, every ship in the high-handed treatment of its Cuban colony Spanish fleet was destroyed. Hundreds of crewmen died. American C. Portuguese forces who wanted to weaken Spain and take losses included one dead and one wounded. over the country D. Cuban rebels fighting for the freedom of their country Days later, the Spanish surrendered Santiago. Spain sued for peace. Except for a few battles in the Philippines and Puerto Rico, the war 4. The main goal of U.S. forces on the ground in Cuba was was over. It had taken four months. Fewer than 500 Americans were ______. lost in battle, though ten times that many died of disease. Compared to A. making sure Cuban political prisoners were freed the dreadful death tolls of the Civil War, it had been an easy victory. B. defeating the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay Besides, the U.S. had gained the Spanish territories of Guam, the C. the capture of Santiago Philippines, and Puerto Rico. One of Roosevelt's friends declared it "a D. the capture of San Juan Hill splendid little war." 5. The largest source of casualties for U.S. troops in Cuba was ______. A Splendid Little War, Part 2 - The Course of the War A. the Battle of San Juan Hill B. disease Questions C. hot air balloons shot down by Spanish troops D. the 1. In 1898, what indications were there that the U.S. military machine was a little rusty? 6. How did actual events at El Caney differ from the expectations of planners? Name

7. At the port of Santiago, the Spanish fleet ______. A. was destroyed when it tried to escape to the ocean B. successfully defeated the U.S. fleet C. burned its own ships to keep them from falling into U.S. hands D. kept U.S. troops from taking the city 8. Why do you think one of Teddy Roosevelt's friends called the Spanish American War "a splendid little war"?