The North American Intervention (2)

The first U.S. troops to land in Cuba were marines who landed at Caimanera on Guantánamo Bay on June 10, 1898. The army made two landings on the southeast coast of Cuba on June 22. The first was at Siboney, and the second at Daiquiri. The idea was to capture the city of Santiago de Cuba, about 8 miles west. On July 1, heavy fighting took place at El Caney and San Juan Hill. Spanish Admiral Cervera, whose fleet was anchored in Santiago’s harbor, made a desperate attempt to leave the harbor on July 3. Unfortunately, the entrance channel was narrow and would only allow one vessel at a time to pass through. As the Spanish fleet passed out of the harbor in single file, the American warships were able to attack them one by one. On July 16, Spanish forces at Santiago surrendered and the city was occupied on July 17.

The US military post office at Santiago was established on July 21, 1898.

Tome II, p.3: Santiago to New York, December 1899.
Click to see a detail of cover design.

This cover shows the oval postmark of “Mil. Sta. No. 1/ Santiago/ Cuba” (Military Station No.1), canceling a US postage stamp overprinted with values in Cuban currency for use in Cuba. These overprinted stamps were first placed on sale on January 2, 1899. This particular cover was backstamped on arrival at New York in December, 1899.