When the Spanish fleet in the Philippines was attacked by the United States Navy during the Battle of Manila Bay, Isla de Cuba was scuttled to prevent capture.

However, the Americans raised the ship and commissioned her into the United States Navy in 1900 and assigned to the Asiatic Station, keeping the same name.

[2][a] The ship was powered by steam from two cylindrical boilers fed to two sets of horizontal triple expansion engines constructed by R & W Hawthorn Leslie.

She was anchored with the squadron in Cañacao Bay under the lee of the Cavite Peninsula east of Sangley Point, Luzon, eight miles (13 km) southwest of Manila, when, early on the morning of 1 May 1898, the United States Navy's Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey, found Montojo's anchorage and attacked.

[5] The American squadron made a series of firing passes, wreaking great havoc on the Spanish ships.

When Montojo's squadron had been battered into submission, Isla de Cuba was scuttled in shallow water to avoid capture.

Her upper works remained above the water, and a team from gunboat USS Petrel went aboard and set Isla de Cuba on fire.

[6] Isla de Cuba was commissioned into the United States Navy on 11 April 1900 at Hong Kong, China.

On 17 November 1900, the ship landed a battalion at Ormoc, Leyte, to hold the town after the garrison had been sent away to deal with Philippine insurgents.

[7] On 4 March 1904, Isla de Cuba left Cebu, which marked the end of the ship's deployment to the Asiatic Station.

The ship returned to the United States where Isla de Cuba was decommissioned on 9 June at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.