541:, armed with rifles, pistols and a 6mm Colt machine gun under Ensign Kenneth M. Bennett, with Assistant Engineer David J. Jenkins, Naval Cadets William H. Boardman, Paul Foley and Pay Clerk O.F. Cato to reoccupy the Cape San Juan lighthouse. Almost immediately, a second boat of 14 armed petty officers and men under naval Lt. Charles N. Atwater with Assistant Surgeon A.H. Heppner was dispatched, with Atwater to take command of the landing parties. Atwater ordered Bennett's men to proceed ahead to reoccupy the lighthouse and light the lamp, while his boat squad first secured both boats before following them up to the lighthouse. Though no attack materialised the first night, Cadet Boardman was mortally wounded when his revolver dislodged from its faulty holster, fell to the marble floor and fired into his left inner thigh as he was entering the darkened lighthouse with three sailors. Assistant Surgeon Heppner initially believed it was a flesh-wound, although Boardman suffered a large loss of blood. He died two days later on the
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436:), posted the American flag and ordered the lighthouse keepers to continue working. The Spaniards in Fajardo, about 5 miles away, did not become aware of the Americans until the early hours of August 3, when an employee of the telegraph office in Fajardo phoned the lighthouse and overheard voices speaking English. This information was immediately telegraphed to Governor General
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and
Atwater gave the order to cease firing shortly thereafter. 1,100 shots were fired from the 22 rifles of the navy men in the lighthouse. Lt. Atwater estimated the Spanish force was probably 72 infantry, 24 cavalry, with 2 killed and three wounded, one of them a Spanish lieutenant. The Americans retained control of the lighthouse and suffered no casualties.
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instructed the lookouts to be on heightened vigilance. As he was heading to the yard gate to order the corporal of the guard and sentry to come inside the light-house, those men came running up and announced they had seen
Spanish troops in the road. Almost immediately, a volley of gunfire erupted from the surrounding woods.
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mentioned the engagement in his State of the Union address, remarking, "With the exception of encounters with the enemy at
Guayama, Hormigueros, Coamo, and Yauco and an attack on a force landed at Cape San Juan, there was no serious resistance. The campaign was prosecuted with great vigor, and by the
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At about 12:30am, an errant 6 pound naval shell crashed through the 2 foot thick walls of the parapet, "within touch of six men not one was hurt" when the shell failed to explode. Lt. Atwater immediately ordered the lighthouse lamp relit. At about the same time, gunfire from the
Spanish troops ceased
549:
Meanwhile, in
Fajardo, when Spanish Col. Pino first led his troops into the city they found it mostly deserted; about 60 of the women and children of the cities prominent families, including Dr. Veve's wife and children and a few Europeans that were deemed most at risk, had been authorized by Captain
648:
After the
Americans had departed, Col. Pino's men tore down the two U.S. flags that flew over the Customs House and City Hall and returned to San Juan after verifying that the lighthouse was abandoned, leaving only the civil guard behind to police Fajardo. The flags, as trophies of war, were sent to
545:
where he was evacuated that night after the ship's surgeon came ashore to accompany him and Dr. Heppner back to the ship. Boardman was one of only 23 combat-related U.S. Navy deaths during the entire
Spanish–American War, two Navy deaths during Puerto Rican operations and the only Annapolis cadet to
509:
On August 5, Governor
General Macias dispatched Colonel Pedro del Pino and 200 men, including provisional troops and civil guardsmen from San Juan to recapture Fajardo. When the citizenry learned that the Spanish troops were coming, panic and fear ensued among those who had sided with the Americans.
451:
When Dr. Santiago Veve
Calzada, an influential Fajardo civic leader, realized that the Spaniards had withdrawn and the city was defenseless against the invading Americans, he entreated the Spanish authorities in San Juan over the next two days to dispatch troops to defend Fajardo. Believing that the
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Just before 11:00 on the night of August 8, 1898, Lt. Atwater thought he saw moving figures in white, on the edge of the woods 250 yards from the lighthouse. At 11:45, with moonlight breaking through the clouds, he saw several men in the brush on the edge of the woods. Without giving an alarm, he
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and navigated through the shoals to shore. The
American bluejackets and the contingent of Fajardans posted the American flag at the Customs House in the harbor and marched to the town where they hoisted the United States flag over the City Hall. Before the sailors returned to their ship, Barclay
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who suggested to Governor Macias that they take the town with 200 soldiers and an artillery battery. Macias was told to capture Dr. Santiago Veve Calzada and all those involved in the revolt, including the Americans in the lighthouse even if it meant the destruction of the structure.
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was ordered to investigate the situation in Fajardo. He was told that the Americans no longer occupied the city and that it would be an easy task to capture the people of Fajardo that had betrayed Spain. Rivero Méndez passed the information to General
463:, Dr. Veve and other Fajardan civic leaders rowed out to the American monitor on the morning of August 5, and persuaded the naval captains to protect the women and children of the prominent town families from a feared Spanish reprisal.
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landing party engaged in arms practice and fortified the lighthouse for the expected assault by Spanish troops. Windows were blocked, sentries placed, and the Colt machine gun was mounted on the roof to "sweep the lane".
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On the 7th and 8 August, native horse-men repeatedly galloped up to the Navy men "with the wildest of rumors" estimating the Spanish were planning attacks with 500 men, a figure hyperbolically increased to 800.
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and on the 8th, Jenkins returned to the lighthouse with Gunner Herbert Campbell and a relief party for half the men, who returned to the ship, including Ensign Bennett and Pay Clerk Cato. The cruiser
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779:"The Spanish American War Centennial Website, The American Army Moves on Puerto-Rico Part 1, by Mark R. Barnes, Ph.D., Senior Archeologist, National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office"
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Barclay to be quartered in the lighthouse with the American petty officers and men, while some 700 Fajardans that could not be accommodated were camped out in the adjacent hills.
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The citizen militia was disbanded and the citizens who had joined in the sedition fled to neighboring towns and into the hills. Dr. Veve and several other town leaders went to
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Early the next morning, Captain Barclay decided to withdraw the landing party and civilian refugees as the advantage of continuing to hold the lighthouse seemed slight. The
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The next morning, Captain Rodgers ordered another boat party ashore led by Lt. Commander James R. Selfridge, USN. The sailors seized the "Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan" (
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Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan (Cape San Juan lighthouse), c. 1898. It is located on the northeastern part of the highest point of Cape San Juan in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
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Atwater ordered the lighthouse lamp doused as a signal to the three armed ships lying offshore that the light-house was under attack. The cruiser,
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On the afternoon of August 5, Captain Barclay, Ensign Albert Campbell, a few prominent Fajardan leaders, including Veve and a landing party of 14
597:, the only ship with an operable searchlight, trained it on the hill where the lighthouse sat in order to direct secondary battery gunfire from
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Spanish forces would not come to his aid, on August 5, Veve went to the lighthouse to seek American protection of his town from the Spanish.
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, p. 656-657
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, p. 655-656
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, p. 654-655
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, p. 655
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, p. 705
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, p. 652
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organized a citizens militia to patrol the town and appointed Dr. Veve as military governor of the eastern region of Puerto Rico.
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12th of August much of the island was in our possession and the acquisition of the remainder was only a matter of a short time."
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation
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Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Year 1898, Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation
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led by Lt. Herman G. Dresel, USN, for reconnaissance. The sailors traveled to within half a mile of the nearby town of
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on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. Expecting a rendez-vous with Miles' troops, but finding no transports save for
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anchored about 1,800 yards offshore, Captain Barclay ordered a landing party of 14 petty officers and men from
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that "had been ordered to make a landing, but were at a loss what to do", the senior officer present, Captain
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and then marching the rest of the way, the Spanish troops entered Fajardo the afternoon of August 7.
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373:. However, sometime between July 21–24, 1898, Miles had unilaterally changed the invasion site from
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Satellite View of Fajardo lighthouse and offshore keys (Reserva Natural de las Cabezas de San Juan)
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637:(30) landed and covered the withdrawal. The women and children refugees were soon on board the USS
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The Spanish–American War: A Guide to the Collections of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library
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to communicate with the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. Rodgers ordered two boat parties of
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798:"Some Experiences on a U.S. Naval Tugboat", by Ens. Walter S. Crosley, USN;
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where American forces withdrew from a position, it was not a defeat.
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that occurred on the night of August 8–9, 1898 near the end of the
1062:"State of the Union Address: William McKinley (December 5, 1898)"
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United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries
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While the Battle of Fajardo was the only instance in the
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die out of 123 who served on ships in combat operations.
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where today they can be seen at the army museum there.
897:"Los incidentes de Fajardo 3 al 7 de agosto de 1898"
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455:Obtaining an invitation from Captains Rodgers and
293:was an engagement between the armed forces of the
365:, out of sight from the mainland. Cape San Juan (
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852:"Fajardo Incidents, Aug. 3-7, 1898 (translated)"
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758:"Fajardo Incidents, Aug. 3-7, 1898 (translated)"
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575:off Cape San Juan on August 8. That day, the
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353:to Cape San Juan, on the northeastern tip of
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475:and the two army transports proceeded on to
553:On the 7th, Jenkins and Foley returned to
317:Proceeding under orders from Rear Admiral
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1098:. New York Public Library. Archived from
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530:Early on the evening of August 6, with
467:had since returned from St. Thomas and
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814:
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800:Proceedings of the US Naval Institute
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1086:Spanish–American War Centennial site
1154:Battles of the Spanish–American War
738:. U.S. Navy. 1898. pp. 650–651
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822:. Home of Heroes. Archived from
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877:. 1898. pp. 652–653
503:Ricardo de Ortega y Diez
434:Cape San Juan lighthouse
1159:Military in Puerto Rico
514:. Moving by rail from
438:Manuel Macías y Casado
113:Commanders and leaders
1125:18.32583°N 65.65250°W
691:Puerto Rican Campaign
658:Puerto Rican Campaign
446:San Juan, Puerto Rico
303:Puerto Rican Campaign
166:Casualties and losses
1149:Spanish–American War
820:"Fajardo lighthouse"
696:Spanish–American War
425:before returning to
391:Frederick W. Rodgers
361:, Isla de Lobos and
307:Spanish–American War
215:Puerto Rico campaign
151:2 protected cruisers
63:Fajardo, Puerto Rico
29:Spanish–American War
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498:Ángel Rivero Méndez
125:Col. Pedro del Pino
1174:August 1898 events
683:Puerto Rico portal
662:President McKinley
643:Ponce, Puerto Rico
457:Charles J. Barclay
342:, and the collier
319:William T. Sampson
403:Walter S. Crosley
291:Battle of Fajardo
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742:27 November
625:guard from
623:U.S. Marine
485:bluejackets
411:bluejackets
387:Mississippi
355:Puerto Rico
305:during the
155:1 armed tug
1143:Categories
1116:65°39′09″W
1113:18°19′33″N
830:2008-08-02
717:References
635:Amphitrite
627:Cincinnati
603:Amphitrite
599:Cincinnati
594:Cincinnati
577:Amphitrite
569:Amphitrite
560:Cincinnati
555:Amphitrite
543:Amphitrite
539:Amphitrite
534:Amphitrite
512:Amphitrite
461:Amphitrite
407:St. Thomas
393:, USN, of
332:Amphitrite
313:Background
159:28 marines
153:2 monitors
617:Aftermath
532:USS
401:, Ensign
351:Port Nipe
344:USS
337:USS
330:USS
323:USS
173:3 wounded
157:1 collier
669:See also
565:Hannibal
520:Carolina
516:Hato Rey
496:Captain
473:Hannibal
397:ordered
346:Hannibal
278:Asomante
171:2 killed
143:Strength
58:Location
567:joined
469:Puritan
427:Puritan
419:Fajardo
415:Puritan
395:Puritan
383:Arcadia
379:Guanica
375:Fajardo
367:Fajardo
325:Puritan
263:Guamani
258:Guayama
248:Fajardo
243:Guanica
1042:. 1898
1018:. 1898
994:. 1898
970:. 1898
946:. 1898
922:. 1898
639:Leyden
607:Leyden
573:Leyden
526:Battle
490:Leyden
465:Leyden
399:Leyden
359:Icacos
339:Leyden
135:Capt.
70:Result
477:Ponce
299:Spain
268:Coamo
253:Yauco
95:Spain
1069:2014
1048:2014
1024:2014
1000:2014
976:2014
952:2014
928:2014
904:2014
883:2014
859:2014
786:2014
765:2014
744:2014
605:and
571:and
385:and
297:and
289:The
50:Date
645:.
518:to
479:.
459:of
444:in
440:at
377:to
148:200
1145::
1094:.
839:^
807:^
725:^
601:,
471:,
429:.
328:,
309:.
1071:.
1050:.
1026:.
1002:.
978:.
954:.
930:.
906:.
885:.
861:.
833:.
788:.
767:.
746:.
205:e
198:t
191:v
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