Philippine-American War

Chronology of Events Leading to the Philippine-American War
18 MayPrime Minister Sagasta formed the new Spanish cabinet. U.S. President McKinley ordered a military expedition, headed by Major General Wesley Merritt, to complete the elimination of Spanish forces in the Philippines, to occupy the islands, and to provide security and order to the inhabitants.
19 MayEmilio Aguinaldo returned to Manila, the Philippine Islands, from exile in Hong Kong. The United States had invited him back from exile, hoping that Aguinaldo would rally the Filipinos against the Spanish colonial government.
24 MayWith himself as the dictator, Emilio Aguinaldo established a dictatorial government, replacing the revolutionary government, due to the chaotic conditions he found in the Philippines upon his return.
25 MayFirst U.S. troops were sent from San Francisco to the Philippine Islands. Thomas McArthur Anderson (1836-1917) commanded the vanguard of the Philippine Expeditionary Force (Eighth Army Corps), which arrived at Cavite, Philippine Islands on June 1.
27 MayU.S. Navy, under Admiral William Thompson Sampson and Commodore Winfield Scott Schley, formally blockaded the port of Santiago de Cuba.
28 MayGeneral William Rufus Shafter, U.S. Army, received orders to mobilize his forces in Tampa, Florida for the attack on Cuba.
June-OctoberU.S. business and government circles united around a policy of retaining all or part of the Philippines
3 JuneFirst contact of the commanders of the U.S. Marines and leaders of the Cuban Liberation Army, aboard the armored cruiser U.S.S. New York at which the revolutionary forces provided detailed information for the campaign.
9 JuneU.S. Admiral William Thompson Sampson sailed to Guantánamo Bay.
10 June U.S. Marines land at Guantánamo, Cuba.
11 June McKinley administration reactivated debate in Congress on Hawaiian annexation, using the argument that "we must have Hawaii to help us get our share of China."
12 June Philippines proclaim independence. German squadron under Admiral Diederichs arrives at Manila.
13 JuneThe Rough Riders sailed from Tampa, Florida bound for Santiago de Cuba.
14 JuneMcKinley administration decided not to return the Philippine Islands to Spain.
15 June Anti-war American Anti-Imperialist League assembles. Admiral Cámara's squadron received orders to relieve Spanish garrison in Philippines.
Congress passed the Hawaii annexation resolution, 209-91. On July 6, the U.S. Senate affirmed the measure.
American Anti-Imperialist League was organized in opposition to the annexation of the Philippine Islands. Among its members were Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain, William James, David Starr Jordan, and Samuel Gompers. George S. Boutwell, former secretary of the treasury and Massachusetts senator, served as president of the League.
Admiral Dewey's defeat of the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 ignited impassioned nationalistic feelings in Spain. Spanish Admiral Manuel de la Cámara y Libermoore's squadron received orders to relieve the Spanish garrison in the Philippine Islands. His fleet consisted of the battleship Pelayo, the armored cruiser Carlos V, the cruisers Rápido and Patriota, the torpedo boats Audaz, Osado, and Proserpina, and the transports Isla de Panay, San Francisco, Cristóbal Colón, Covadonga, and Buenos Aires.
18 JuneU.S. Secretary of the Navy John D. Long ordered Commodore William T. Sampson to create a new squadron, the Eastern Squadron, for possible raiding and bombardment missions along the coasts of Spain.
20 June Spanish authorities surrendered Guam to Captain Henry Glass and his forces on the cruiser U.S.S. Charleston.
The main U.S. force appeared off Santiago de Cuba, with more than 16,200 soldiers and various material in 42 ships. A total of 153 ships of the U.S. forces assembled off of the harbor.
Lieutenant General Calixto García (Cuba) and Admiral Sampson and General Shafter (US) met in El Aserradero (south coast of Oriente Province, Cuba) to complete the general strategy of the campaign. Cuban forces occupied positions west, northwest and east of Santiago de Cuba.
22 June U.S. General Shafter's troops land at Daiquirí, Cuba.
27 JuneLieutenant General Calixto García requested that Tomás Estrada Palma and the Cuban Committee ask President McKinely to recognize the Cuban Council of Government.
1 July U.S. and Cuban troops took El Viso Fort, the town of El Caney, and San Juan Heights. Spanish General Vara del Rey died in the fighting. San Juan Hill was taken at the same time, with the help of the Rough Riders under Teddy Roosevelt and Leonard Wood at the battle on Kettle Hill. These victories opened the way to Santiago de Cuba. General Duffield, with 3,000 soldiers, took the Aguadores Fort at Santiago de Cuba. Spanish General Linares and Navy Captain Joaquín Bustamante died in battle.
2 July Admiral Cervera and the Spanish fleet prepared to leave Santiago Bay.
3 JulyThe Spanish fleet attempt to leave the bay was halted as the U.S. squadron under Admiral Schley destroyed the Spanish destroyer Furor, the torpedo boat Plutón, and the armored cruisers Infanta María Teresa, Almirante Oquendo, Vizcaya, and Cristóbal Colón. The Spanish lost all their ships, 350 dead, and 160 wounded.
7 July U.S. President McKinley signed the Hawaii annexation resolution, following its passage in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.
8 JulyU.S. acquired Hawaii.
15 JulySpanish forces under General Toral capitulated to U.S. forces at Santiago de Cuba.
17 July Santiago surrenders to U.S. troops.
18 July The Spanish government, through the French Ambassador to the United States, Jules Cambon, initiated a message to President McKinley to suspend the hostilities and to start the negotiations to end the war. Duque de Almodóvar del Río (Juan Manuel Sánchez y Gutiérrez de Castro), Spanish Minister of State, directed a telegram to the Spanish Ambassador in Paris charging him to solicit the good offices of the French Government to negotiate a suspension of hostilities as a preliminary to final negotiations.
U.S. General Leonard Wood was named military governor of Santiago de Cuba.
Clara Barton of the Red Cross cared for wounded soldiers at Santiago de Cuba.
25 JulyGeneral Wesley Merritt, commander of Eighth Corps, U.S. Expeditionary Force, arrived in the Philippine Islands.
26 JulyFrench Government contacted the United States Government regarding the call for suspension of hostilities at the request of the Spanish Government.
28 JulyDuque de Almodóvar del Río called for the U.S. annexation of Cuba.
U.S. officials instruct General Shafter to return troops immediately to the United States to prevent an outbreak of yellow fever.
30 JulyU.S. President McKinley and his Cabinet submitted to Ambassador Cambon a counter-proposal to the Spanish request for ceasefire.
2 AugustSpain accepted the U.S. proposals for peace, with certain reservations regarding the Philippine Islands. McKinley called for a preliminary protocol from Spain before suspension of hostilities. That document was used as the basis for discussion between Spain and the United States at the Treaty of Peace in Paris.
11 AugustU.S. Secretary of State Day and French Ambassador Cambon, representing Spain, negotiated the Protocol of Peace.
12 August Peace protocol that ended all hostilities between Spain and the United States in the war fronts of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines was signed in Washington, D.C.
13 August Manila falls to U.S. troops.
14 AugustCapitulation was signed at Manila and U.S. General Wesley Merritt established a military government in the city, with himself serving as first military governor.
President of the Governing Council of the Republic of Cuba Bartolomé Masó called for elections of Revolutionary Representatives to meet in Assembly.
15 AugustU.S. General Arthur MacArthur appointed military commandant of Manila and its suburbs.
12 SeptemberThe U.S (General Wade, General Butler and Admiral Sampson) and Spanish Military Commission (Generals Segundo Cabo and González, Admiral Vicente Manterola, and Doctor Rafael Montoro) met in Havana, Cuba, to discuss the evacuation of Spanish forces from the island.
13 SeptemberThe Spanish Cortes (legislature) ratified the Protocol of Peace.
15 SeptemberThe inaugural session of the Congress of the First Philippine Republic, also known as the Malolos Congress, was held at Barasoain Church in Malolos, province of Bulacan, for the purpose of drafting the constitution of the new republic.
16 SeptemberThe Spanish and U.S. Commissioners for the Peace Treaty were appointed. U.S. Commissioners were William R. Day (U.S. Secretary of State), William P. Frye (President pro tempore of Senate, Republican-Maine), Whitelaw Reid, George Gray (Senator, Democrat- Delaware), and Cushman K. Davis (Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican-Minnesota). The Spanish Commissioners were Eugenio Montero Ríos (President, Spanish Senate), Buenaventura Abarzuza (Senator), José de Garnica y Diaz (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court), Wenceslao Ramírez de Villa Urrutia (Envoy Extraordinary), and Rafael Cerero y Saenz (General of the Army).
William R. Day resigned as U.S. Secretary of State and was succeeded by John Hay.
22 SeptemberWhen Major General Calixto García and his Cuban forces arrived in Santiago de Cuba, General Leonard Wood formally recognized his efforts in the war since General Shafter had failed to recognize the Cuban leader's participation in the capitulation of Santiago.
26 September Commission established under U.S. General Grenville Dodge to investigate mismanagement by U.S. War Department.
1 OctoberThe Spanish and United States Commissioners convened their first meeting in Paris to reach a final Treaty of Peace.
25 OctoberMcKinley instructed the U.S. peace delegation to insist on the annexation of the Philippines in the peace talks.
10 November
U.S.S. Maine
In accord with the Assembly of Representatives of the Revolution, a commission of Major General Calixto García, Colonel Manuel Sanguily, Dr. Antonio González Lanuza, General José Miguel Gómez and Colonel José R. Villalón met to seek support for needs of the Liberation Army and to establish a Cuban government. The U.S. did not recognize this commission. The U.S. instead stated that the U.S. had declared war on Spain and all of its possessions because of the destruction of the battleship U.S.S. Maine and other acts against the United States.
26 NovemberCaptain General Ramón Blanco y Erenas resigned as Governor General of Cuba.
28 NovemberThe Spanish Commission for Peace accepted the United States' demands in the Peace Treaty.
29 NovemberThe Philippine revolutionary congress approved a constitution for the new Philippine Republic.
10 DecemberRepresentatitves of Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Peace in Paris. Spain renounced all rights to Cuba and allowed an independent Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and the island of Guam to the United States, gave up its possessions in the West Indies, and sold the Philippine Islands, receiving in exchange $20,000,000.
21 DecemberPresident McKinley issued his Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation, ceding the Philippines to the United States, and instructing the American occupying army to use force, as necessary, to impose American sovereignity over the Philippines even before he obtained Senate ratification of the peace treaty with Spain.
23 December Guam placed under control of U.S. Department of the Navy.
1899
1 JanuaryEmilio Aguinaldo was declared president of the new Philippine Republic, following the meeting of a constitutional convention. United States authorities refused to recognize the new government.
Spanish forces left Cuba.
17 January U.S. claims Wake Island for use in cable link to Philippines. U.S. Commander Edward Taussig, U.S.S. Bennington, landed on the island and claimed it for the United States.
21 JanuaryThe constitution of the Philippine Republic, the Malolos Constitution, was promulgated by the followers of Emilio Aguinaldo.
4 February The Philippine Insurrection began as the Philippine Republic declared war on the United States forces in the Philippine Islands, following the killing of three Filipino soldiers by U.S. forces in a suburb of Manila.
6 FebruaryU.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris by a vote of 52 to 27.
19 MarchThe Queen regent of Spain, María Cristina, signed the Treaty of Paris, breaking the deadlock in the Spanish Cortes.
11 AprilThe Treaty of Paris was proclaimed.
2 June Spanish forces at Baler, Philippine Islands, surrender to U.S.
1901
23 MarchLed by General Frederick Funston, U.S. forces captured Emilio Aguinaldo on Palanan, Isabela Province. Later, he declared allegiance to the United States.
1902
JulyWar ended in the Philippines, with more than 4,200 U.S. soldiers, 20,000 Filipino soldiers, and 200,000 Filipino civilians dead.