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Learn About TR – Timelines

Theodore Roosevelt and the Spanish-American War

  1. 1897

    April 6

    President William McKinley appoints Theodore Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the Navy

  2. 1897

    June 2

    Roosevelt delivers an address at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He emphasizes the significance of naval preparedness to national security and world peace. “Peace is a goddess only when she comes with a sword girt on thigh.”

  3. 1898

    January 25

    USS Maine arrives in Havana, sent by President McKinley to protect American interests during the unrest of the Cuban War of Independence from Spain.

  4. 1898

    February 9

    The De Lôme Letter is leaked to the press. Written by the Spanish Ambassador to the United States to the Foreign Minister of Spain, it criticized President McKinley, characterizing him as weak and only concerned with popularity. De Lôme was forced to resign due to the public outcry over his remarks.

  5. 1898

    February 15

    At 9:40 pm local time, the USS Maine suddenly explodes in Havana harbor

  6. 1898

    February 25

    Assistant Secretary Roosevelt sends a coded telegram to Commodore George Dewey, commander of the Asiatic Squadron, instructing him to be prepared for imminent war

  7. 1898

    March 25

    USS Oregon begins traveling from Puget Sound to Key West to support the Flying Squadron

  8. 1898

    March 26

    President McKinley delivers an ultimatum to Spain, demanding an armistice and an end to concentration camps, and to begin negotiations for Cuban independence. Hostilities were to end by October 1. Spain does not concede.

  9. 1898

    April 11

    President McKinley asks Congress for authorization to send troops to Cuba to end the war

  10. 1898

    April 21

    Spain severs diplomatic relations with the United States; the United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuba

  11. 1898

    April 23

    President McKinley calls for 125,000 volunteers from across all states, territories, and the District of Columbia, to serve for two years unless sooner discharged

  12. 1898

    April 25

    The United States declares war on Spain, arguing that a de facto state of war had existed since April 21.

  13. 1898

    May 1

    The Battle of Manila Bay; under the command of Commodore George Dewey, the Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy completely destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron at Manila Bay in the Philippines; it is considered to be perhaps the greatest naval victory in United States history

  14. 1898

    May

    Roosevelt begins recruiting Rough Riders in the Southwest, forming a motley crew of college students and athletes, cowboys and native Americans, miners and gamblers, etc. They will train in San Antonio, Texas.

  15. 1898

    June 19

    The First Volunteer United States Cavalry, better known as the Rough Riders, having traveled from Tampa, disembark in Cuba near Santiago

  16. 1898

    June 24

    The Battle of Las Guasimas: the rearguard of the Spanish forces briefly halts the American advance toward Santiago; the Rough Riders, trained as cavalry but fighting as infantry due to not having space on the ship for horses, struggle to march through the jungle

  17. 1898

    July 1

    The Battle of San Juan Hill: under the command of Colonel Roosevelt, who has been promoted in the field, the Rough Riders, Buffalo Soldiers, and others undertake an aggressive assault of Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill near Santiago; the Spanish forces are routed; Roosevelt will refer to this battle as his “crowded hour”

  18. 1898

    July 3 – 17

    The United States Army and Navy lay siege to Santiago de Cuba. Food and water are cut off and Gatling guns cause hundreds of casualties. After a few days of negotiation, the Spanish formally surrender on July 17. Hostilities continue in both theaters of war, but the turning point has been reached.

  19. 1898

    August 3

    At the behest of Major-General Shafter and other military officers, Theodore Roosevelt drafts and signs a “round-robin” letter criticizing the Army’s haphazard handling of the Cuba campaign; poor logistics led to the rampant spread of disease

  20. 1898

    August 4

    Spain agrees to peace terms as demanded by President McKinley, including the relinquishment of all claims to Cuba, the cession of Puerto Rico, and the immediate evacuation of all Spanish troops from the Caribbean.

     

  21. 1898

    August 12

    An armistice and peace commission, the Protocol of Peace, is agreed to by the United States and Spain.

  22. 1898

    September 15

    After a month quarantined at Camp Wikoff at Montauk, Long Island, the Rough Riders are officially disbanded

  23. 1898

    December 10

    The Treaty of Paris, signed on behalf of the United States by Secretary of State John Hay, officially ends the war

  24. 1899

    May

    Theodore Roosevelt’s biographical account, The Rough Riders, is published by Scribner’s