Spanish-American / Philippines War

The Spanish-American and Philippines War included major campaigns at San Juan Heights and El Caney in Cuba from 6/98 to 7/98 with 1,475 deaths, the Cuba Campaign from 6/98 to 8/98 with 350, the Battle of February 4th in the Philippines in 2/99 with 60, the Balangiga Massacre in the Philippines in 9/01 with 48, Manila in the Philippines from 7/98 to 8/98 with 18, Santiago in Cuba from 6/98 to 7/98 with 17, Cardenas naval action in Cuba in 5/98 with 5, the Battle of Cavite in the Philippines in 6/99 with 4, the Battle of Lonoy in 3/01 with 3, and Manila naval action in the Philippines in 5/98 with 1. Military service personnel participants totaled 306,760, with 6,680 in-theater deaths, 4,480 wounded in service, 72 missing in action, 284 Illinois deaths, and 8 Kane County deaths. In April 1898, President McKinley sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba, where it exploded and sank in Havana harbor, killing 266 servicemen; that same month Spain and the United States declared war. In December 1898, the Treaty of Paris recognized Cuban independence, ceded Puerto Rico, and transferred the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000. In 1898, Filipinos began insurgency warfare against the United States to gain independence; Puerto Rico received limited self-government in 1900, the Philippine Insurrection ended in 1901, and the Philippine Government Act of 1902 inaugurated partial self-government in the Philippines. Ninety percent of U. S. casualties were caused by malaria, yellow fever, typhoid, and dysentery. The Philippines War was the first major land campaign fought by the U.S. outside the Western Hemisphere and is considered America's first imperialist conflict.

Geneva, Illinois · United States