Battle of Cárdenas

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Battle of Cárdenas
Part of the Spanish-American War
Date May 11, 1898 Location near Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba Result Spanish victory
Combatants
Spain	United States
Commanders
Unknown	Chapman C. Todd John Bernadou
Strength
3 gunboats	5 gunboats
Casualties
2 ships damaged 3 dead	1 ship heavily damaged 5 dead 6 wounded

Cuban Campaign
Cárdenas – Cienfuegos – Guantánamo Bay – Las Guasimas – Tayacoba – Aguadores – El Caney – San Juan Hill – Naval Santiago – Santiago – Manimani

The Battle of Cárdenas was a small naval engagement of the Spanish-American War that resulted in an unusually costly American reverse.

In May 1898, a small squadron of the United States Navy was operating off the northern coast of Cuba, consisting of the torpedo boats Foote and Winslow, the gunboats Wilmington and Machias, and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Hudson.

On May 11, 1898, this fleet was assigned to enter Cárdenas Bay and destroy the three Spanish gunboats reportedly moored in the harbor.

Having swept the area for mines, Captain Todd ordered the Winslow to approach the shore and investigate a steamer moored alongside the wharf to determine whether or not the vessel was an enemy warship.

By 13:35, Winslow reached a point approximately 1,500 yards from her quarry when a white puff of smoke from the Spaniard's bow gun signaled the beginning of an artillery duel which lasted one hour and twenty minutes. Winslow responded with her 1-pounders, but enemy batteries ashore then entered the fray. The Spanish concentrated their efforts on Winslow, and she soon received a number of direct hits. The first shot to score on the torpedo boat destroyed both her steam and manual steering gear. Her crew tried to rig an auxiliary steering system, but she swung broadside to the enemy and a shot pierced her hull near the engine room and knocked the port main engine out of commission. She maneuvered with her remaining engine to evade enemy fire and maintained a steady return fire with her 1-pounders. At this point, Wilmington and Hudson brought their guns to bear on the Spanish ship and shore batteries, and the combined fire of the three American warships put the Spanish gunboat out of action and caused the shore batteries to slacken fire – several waterfront buildings caught fire, and the Spaniards suffered a few deaths.

All but disabled, Winslow requested Hudson to tow her out of action. The revenue cutter approached the stricken torpedo boat and rigged a tow line between the two ships. As Hudson began to tow Winslow out to sea, one of the last Spanish shells to strike the torpedo boat hit her near the starboard gun and killed Ensign Worth Bagley who had been helping to direct the warship's maneuvers by carrying instructions from the deck to the base of the engine room ladder. Ensign Bagley was the first U.S. naval officer killed in the Spanish-American War.

Badly damaged, Winslow was towed clear of the action. Her commanding officer and a number of others in her crew were wounded. Lieutenant John Bernadou saw that the dead and wounded were transferred to Hudson, and he then left the ship himself after turning command over to Chief Gunner's Mate George P. Brady, who — along with Chief Gunner's Mate Hans Johnsen and Chief Machinist T. C. Cooney — later received the Medal of Honor. The Commanding Officer of the USRCS Hudson was recommended by President McKinley, and awarded the Cardenas Gold Medal of Honor. The rest of the USRCS Hudson's crew were awarded lesser medals.

[edit] References

• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
• Albert A. Nofi (1996). The Spanish-American War, 1898. Combined Books. ISBN 0938289578.