|
:''For other uses, see Battle of San Juan (disambiguation).'' The Bombardment of San Juan, or the First Battle of San Juan, on 12 May 1898 was an engagement between United States Navy warships and the Spanish fortifications of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was the first major action of the Puerto Rican Campaign during the Spanish–American War. ==Background== Under the command of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, a U.S. fleet—consisting of the battleships and , the cruisers and , the monitors and , the torpedo boat , two unidentified auxiliary cruisers, and an unarmed collier—prepared to attack Puerto Rico. Their mission was to intercept the Spanish Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete and his fleet steaming from the Cape Verde Islands to the Antilles. American commanders believed the Spanish fleet was steaming for Puerto Rico. With this understanding, Sampson set steam from Havana and lifted anchor at about noon on 2 May, for the Spanish colony. Sampson intended to destroy the Spanish squadron and then move on to attack San Juan's castles, forts and batteries. On 8 May, in San Juan Bay, the captured the Spanish cargo ship ''Rita''. The Americans installed a prize crew and sent the cargo vessel to Charleston, South Carolina. The following day, a Spanish auxiliary cruiser, name unknown, and ''Yale'' fought a minor battle off San Juan. The Spanish auxiliary cruiser was much better armed, which led to ''Yale'', fleeing shortly after the commencement of the engagement. The next day, on May 10, ''Yale'' returned to San Juan Bay and briefly exchanged fire with Fort San Cristobal, with little effect. Finally on 11 May, a day away from Puerto Rico and after receiving no new information about the Spanish fleet, William Sampson boarded ''Detroit'' and issued his orders. ''Detroit'' was to lead the U.S. battle line up San Juan's bay, their orders where to initiate a bombardment of the enemy positions if fired upon. Sampson also transferred his flag to ''Iowa''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bombardment of San Juan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|