San Juan Hill, Battle of
San Juan Hill, Battle of (1898).Probably the best known U.S. battle in Cuba during the Spanish‐American War because of the media coverage of Theodore Roosevelt, the Battle of “San Juan Hill” is more accurately the Battle of San Juan Heights, and Roosevelt's famous charge occurred on nearby Kettle Hill.
On 1 July 1898, the U.S. Expeditionary Forces under Maj. Gen. William R. Shafter assaulted the Spanish defenses of Santiago, where the Spanish squadron lay protected in the harbor. After sending one division to attack Spanish fortifications at El Caney on his right flank, Shafter ordered the Fifth Corps to attack San Juan Heights, where Gen. Arsenio Linares had established a forward defensive line 4,000 yards long anchored on San Juan Hill, the largest elevation in the area.
In the difficult terrain below the heights, U.S. troop concentrations, located by...
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