Report of Major General Nelson A Miles on Operations in Puerto Rico
[Excerpt]
REPORT OF THE MAJOR-GENERAL COMMANDING THE ARMY.
Headquarters of the Army, Washington, D. C., November 5, 1898.
. . . Instead of making a demonstration at Fort Fajardo, it was finally decided to go direct to Guanica. We arrived off that point near daylight on July 25, and the harbor was entered without opposition. The guns of the Gloucester fired several shots at some Spanish troops on shore. The landing of the marines, sailors, and our troops immediately commenced, and after a short skirmish the Spanish troops were driven from the place, and the flag of the United States was raised on the island.
In this, and in subsequent movements I was very ably and cordially assisted by the Navy, which rendered invaluable aid in disembarking troops and supplies from the transports, using their steam launches to tow the lighters loaded with men and animals from the transports to the shore. Ten lighters were captured at Guanica and seventy at Ponce.
Source Note Print: Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1898. Report of the Secretary of War. Miscellaneous Reports. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1898), pp. 18, 42. This section of the Secretary’s report was a compilation of reports on the Spanish-American War by a number of generals. The portion reproduced here concerns operations in Puerto Rico and was submitted by Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles.
