Battle of San Juan Hill
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Template:Battlebox The Battle of San Juan Hill was the bloodiest and most famous battle of the Spanish-American War.
At San Juan Hill, 750 Spanish soldiers were ordered to hold the heights against an American offensive on July 1, 1898. For reasons still not quite clear, Spanish General Arsenio Linares failed to reinforce this position, choosing to hold nearly 10,000 Spanish reserves in the city of Santiago. Spanish hilltop entrenchments, crucial to the defense of the city, had been poorly constructed and would make even point-blank rifle volleying at the advancing Americans difficult.
Despite this, the struggle lasted for more than twelve hours and cost at least two hundred American and an equal number of Spanish lives. General Shafter's tactical competence may be called into question, particularly his decision to proceed with a frontal attack with the knowledge that his flanking force had been stalled into a bitter stalemate at El Caney.
During the engagement, Theodore Roosevelt became famous for his bold "charge up San Juan Hill" (the actual name of the hill was Kettle Hill but various reports incorrectly gave the name as "San Juan").
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Order of Battle
U.S.
V Corps - William Rufus Shafter
- 1st Division - Jacob Ford Kent
- 1st Brigade - Hamilton S. Hawkins, wounded
- 2nd Brigade - E. P. Pearson
- 3rd Brigade - Charles A. Wikoff, killed
- Cavalry Division - Joseph Wheeler
- 1st Brigade - Samuel S. Sumner
- 2nd Brigade - Leonard Wood
Notes: Because General Wheeler was sick, General Sumner was in command of the Division when the battle began but Wheeler quickly returned once fighting started.
Spanish
- 1st Provisional Battalion
- 4th Battalion Talavera Peninsular Regiment
- 1st Battalion San Fernando Regiment
- 1st Battalion Asia Regiment
- 1st Battalion Constitutional Regiment
- 1st Battalion Cuba Regiment
- 2nd Battalion Cuba Regiment
- 1st Battalion Simancas Regiment
- 1st and 2nd Guerrila Companies
- 1st Cavalry Regiment
References
- Nofi, Albert A., The Spanish American War, 1898, 1997.
- Carrasco García, Antonio, En Guerra con Los Estados Unidos: Cuba, 1898, Madrid: 1998.
External link
- Spanish-American War Centennial Website (http://www.spanamwar.com)