- Battle of El Caney
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of El Caney
partof=theSpanish-American War
caption="The Capture of El Caney" byHoward Chandler Christy
date=July 1 ,1898
place=El Caney ,Cuba
result=indecisive
combatant1=flagicon|USA|1896United States
flagicon|CubaRepublic of Cuba
combatant2=flagicon|Spain|1785 Kingdom of Spain
commander1=flagicon|USA|1896Henry W. Lawton
commander2=flagicon|Spain|1785 Joaquín Vara de Rey †
strength1=8,500 regulars
1,000 guerrilleros
strength2=500 regulars
casualties1=81 dead
360 wounded
casualties2=38 dead
138 wounded
130 captured|The Battle of El Caney was fought on
July 1 ,1898 , during theSpanish-American War .Background
At
El Caney ,Cuba , 500 Spanish soldiers under GeneralJoaquín Vara de Rey were instructed to hold the northwest flank of Santiago against an American advance.Battle
Despite having no machine guns or artillery and being denied promised reinforcements, Vara de Rey and his soldiers held over 8,000 Americans from their position for nearly twelve hours, preventing them from sweeping through and overwhelming the defenders of San Juan Hill.
Aftermath
The Americans lost over 80 dead and more than 350 wounded. Precise Cuban losses at El Caney are not known, but the Cuban irregulars lost around 150 killed and wounded that day. Over 300 Spanish troops were killed, wounded, or captured.
Many have called this engagement proof that, properly led, the
Spanish Army could have defeated the United States during the Cuban Campaign.References
*
* Carrasco García, Antonio, "En Guerra con Los Estados Unidos: Cuba, 1898", Madrid: 1998.External links
* [http://www.spanamwar.com Spanish-American War Centennial website]
* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-14388 "History of Negro soldiers in the Spanish-American War, and other items of interest"] , by Edward Augustus Johnston, published 1899, hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History.] Features illustrations and information about the Battle of El Caney.ee also
*
Last stand
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.