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.

The Spanish squadron based on Cárdenas consisted of three ships: Ligera, Alerta and Antonio López,[1] under the command of Teniente de Navío Mariano Mateu.

Antonio López was a small tug armed with a Nordenfelt gun,[2] and under the command of Lieutenant Domingo Montes Reguefeiros.

By 13:35, Winslow reached a point approximately 1,500 yards from her quarry when a white puff of smoke from Antonio López's bow gun signaled the beginning of an artillery duel which lasted one hour and 20 minutes.

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.

On the Spanish side, Teniente de Navío Montes, commander of the Antonio López, received the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand.

The most high-profile of the cases was that of the socialite and heiress Enriqueta García Martín and her husband, landowner Francisco E. Cazañas[7] for damages to their Buena Vista estate grounds near the Bay of Cárdenas, which included extensive farmlands and a major sugar plantation.