Battle of Cárdenas

Battle of Cárdenas
Part of the Spanish-American War
Gunboat "Pizarro" {scuttled by crew August 1898}
Date May 11, 1898 Location near Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spanish Navy	United States Navy
Commanders
Antonio Pérez Rendón	Chapman C. Todd John Bernadou
Strength
3 gunboats, unknown shore batteries	2 torpedo boats 2 gunboats 1 cutter
Casualties and losses
1 gunboat heavily damaged, 1 gunboat lightly damaged, 3 dead, 1 wounded	1 torpedo boat heavily damaged, 5 dead, 6 wounded

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

Background

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 the Bay of Cárdenas 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 the vessel was an enemy warship.

Battle

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. The Spanish concentrated their efforts on Winslow, and she soon received several 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. Wilmington and Hudson brought their guns to bear on the Spanish ship and shore, and the combined fire of the three American warships put the Spanish gunboat out of action while 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.

Aftermath

Badly damaged, Winslow was towed clear of the action. Her commanding officer and several 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 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. Because at the time members of the Revenue Cutter Service were not eligible for the Navy Medal of Honor, a special "Cardenas Medal of Honor" was struck for them; The Commanding Officer of the USRCS Hudson was awarded this decoration in gold, his officers received it in silver, and the enlisted crewmen in bronze.

In Spanish side, the Teniente de Navío Montes, comandant in the Antonio López received the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand and the Teniente de Navío Pérez Rendón, comandant in the Ligera, received the Naval Cross of Maria Cristina^[1]

References

1. ^ Franco Castañón, Hermenegildo, "1898: Los españoles que derrotaron a EE.UU.". (Historia de Iberia Vieja, nº 7, pags. 80-85)

• 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.