List of battles of the Spanish–American War

The United States Navy battleship Maine was mysteriously sunk in Havana harbor on 15 February 1898;[b] political pressures from the Democratic Party pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war that he had wished to avoid.

[6] Commodore Dewey successfully destroyed the Spanish Pacific Fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, but failed to land troops.

[8] The U.S. Marines also cut telegraph lines under the bay of Cienfuegos, but suffered heavy losses from Spanish fire.

[10] U.S. expeditionary forces landed in Cuba on 22 June and skirmished successfully at Las Guasimas two days later.

[16] The Spanish fleet also attempted to escape Santiago harbor, but was destroyed by U.S. gunboats and armored cruisers.

[22] From 8 to 9 August, an American battalion captured the mountain at Coamo, Puerto Rico, on the road to the port of Ponce.

[26] The 1898 Treaty of Paris, which was the result of the American victory in the war, was negotiated on terms favorable to the U.S. which allowed it temporary direct control of Cuba and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine islands.

The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $20 million ($732,480,000 today) to Spain in order to cover the Spanish infrastructure.