Battle of Hormigueros - Puerto Rico was a Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts engagement fought in PR, 1898.
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupation, and annexation of the archipelago and island by the United States, and the cession of said territory by Spain. The offensive began on May 12, 1898, when the United States Navy attacked the capital, San Juan. Though the damage inflicted on the city was minimal, the Americans were able to establish a blockade in the city's harbor, San Juan Bay. On June 22, the cruiser Isabel II and the destroyer Terror delivered a Spanish counterattack, but were unable to break the blockade and Terror was damaged.
The land offensive began on July 25, when 1,300 infantry soldiers led by Major General Nelson A. Miles disembarked off the coast of Guánica. After winning the first skirmish, the Americans advanced to Coamo, where they engaged Puerto Rican and Spanish troops in battle. With two defenders and four Americans dead, the defenders retreated. The United States forces were able to seize control of Fajardo on August 1, but were forced to withdraw on August 5 after a group of 200 Puerto Rican-Spanish soldiers led by Pedro del Pino counterattacked, while most civilian inhabitants fled to the nearby lighthouse. The Americans encountered more opposition as they advanced towards the main island's interior. They engaged in two crossfires in Guamaní River and Coamo, both of which were inconclusive as the allied soldiers retreated. A battle in San Germán concluded in a similar fashion with the Spanish retreating to Lares.
On August 9, 1898, American troops that were pursuing units retreating from Coamo and Asomante encountered heavy resistance in Aibonito and retreated after six of their soldiers were injured. They returned three days later, reinforced with artillery units and attempted a surprise attack. After about an hour of fighting, Spanish artillery batteries had been silenced. American guns advanced some 2,150 yards and set up positions, but soldiers reported seeing Spanish reinforcements nearby and the guns were withdrawn back to the main line. Shortly before the launch of a flanking movement on the Spanish, all military actions in Puerto Rico were suspended on August 13, after U.S. President William McKinley and French ambassador Jules Cambon, acting on behalf of the Spanish government, signed an armistice whereby Spain relinquished its sovereignty over the territories of Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Philippines and Guam.
In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, a member of the Navy War Board and leading U.S. strategic thinker, wrote a book titled The Influence of Sea Power upon History in which he argued for the creation of a large and powerful navy modeled after the Royal Navy. Part of his strategy called for the acquisition of colonies in the Caribbean Sea that would serve as coaling and naval stations, being strategic points of defense upon the construction of an isthmusian canal.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
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