the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in the
Philippines without loss of a single
American life. In June a U.S. force of reg-
ular troops and volunteers under General
William Shafter landed on the Cuban
coast east of Santiago de Cuba and took
control of key fortifications. Among the
volunteers was Theodore Roosevelt, who
quit his position as assistant secretary of
the navy to form the First Volunteer
Cavalry Regiment, or “Rough Riders.”
The regiment included several Hispanic
Americans, among them Captain
Maximiliano Luna, a Nuevomexicano
whose family had been in New Mexico
since the 17th century. Roosevelt led his
Rough Riders in a daring assault on
Kettle Hill, flanking a Spanish fortifica-
tion on San Juan Hill. The victory
advanced not only the war effort but also
Roosevelt’s political career, which would
soon bring him to the White House
(president 1901–1909).122 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY
Following the sinking of the USS Mainein 1898, the U.S. Congress declared war on Spain, supporting Cuba’s fight for independ-
ence. On June 14, 1898, 17,000 U.S. naval troops set sail for Cuba from Tampa, Florida. On the advice of the local Cuban rebel
leader General Calixto García, U.S. troops landed at Daiquirí and Siboney. Together with Cuban forces, U.S. troops took Spanish
strongholds at Las Guásimas, El Caney, San Juan Hill, and Kettle Hill, leading to the Spanish defeat at Santiago. Soon after, U.S.
troops invaded Puerto Rico, defeating the Spanish there.The Spanish-American War’s Cuban and Puerto Rican Campaigns, 1898
Future U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt leads his “Rough Riders” up San Juan
Hill. (Library of Congress)