Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa
Encyclopedia
Infanta Maria Teresa was an Infanta Maria Teresa-class
armored cruiser
of the Spanish Navy
that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
during the Spanish-American War
.
, northern Spain
. She was laid down in 1889, launched on 30 August 1890, and completed in 1893. She had two funnels and was fast and well armed. Her main armament was mounted on the center line in single barbettes fore and aft. Her armor was poor: her 11-inch guns had only lightly armored hoods, her 5.5-inch guns were mounted in the open on the upper deck, her armor belt was thin and protected only two-thirds of her length, and she had a high, unprotected freeboard that took much damage during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
. Like other nineteenth-century warships, she was heavily furnished and decorated with wood, which the Spanish failed to remove prior to combat and which would feed fires during the battle.
Infanta Maria Theresa was flagship of Vice Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete
, commander of the Spanish Navy
's 1st Squadron, when tensions with the United States
were rising after the explosion and sinking of the battleship USS Maine
in the harbor at Havana
, Cuba
on 15 February 1898. The squadron concentrated at São Vicente
in Portugal
's Cape Verde Islands; departing Cadiz
on 8 April 1898 Infanta Maria Teresa, armored cruiser Cristóbal Colón
, and three destroyers arrived at São Vicente on 14 April 1898, experiencing machinery problems and burning excessive amounts of coal during the voyage. As more ships arrived over the next few days, it was noted that the 5.5-inch guns aboard Infanta Maria Theresa had defective breach mechanisms and had been supplied with defective ammunition, and that the fleet had a shortage of stokers.
The Spanish-American War
began while Infanta Maria Teresa was at São Vicente. Ordered by neutral Portugal in accordance with international law to leave São Vicente within 24 hours of the declaration of war, Infanta Maria Teresa and the rest of Cervera's squadron departed on 29 April 1898, bound for San Juan
, Puerto Rico
. Cervera's ships reached French-owned Martinique
in the Lesser Antilles
on 10 May 1898. While Infanta Maria Teresa and the other large ships loitered in international waters, two Spanish destroyers went into Fort-de-France
to ask for coal. France
was neutral and would not supply coal, so the Spanish squadron departed on 12 May 1898 for Dutch-owned Curaçao
, where Cervera expected to meet a collier. Cervera arrived at Willemstad
on 14 May, but the Netherlands also was neutral, and strictly enforced its neutrality by allowing only Infanta Maria Teresa and her sister ship Vizcaya to enter port and permitting them to load only 600 tons of coal. On 15 May, Cervera's ships departed, no longer bound for San Juan, which by now was under a U.S. Navy blockade, but for as-yet unblockaded Santiago de Cuba
on the southeastern coast of Cuba
, arriving there on 19 May 1898. Cervera hoped to refit his ships there before he could be trapped. His squadron was still in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba when an American squadron arrived on 27 May 1898 and began a blockade which would drag on for 37 days.
The blockade wore on, with Infanta Maria Teresa and the others enduring occasional American naval bombardments of the harbor. Infanta Maria Teresa still faced a serious problem with her 140 mm gun ammunition, 80 percent of which defective.. Some of her men joined others from the fleet in a Naval Brigade to fight against a U.S. Army overland drive toward Santiago de Cuba.
By the beginning of July 1898, that drive threatened to capture Santiago de Cuba, and Cervera decided that his squadron's only hope was to try to escape into the open sea by running the blockade. The decision was made on 1 July 1898, with the break-out set for 3 July 1898. The crew of Infanta Maria Teresa spent 2 July 1898 returning from Naval Brigade service and preparing for action. With Vice Admiral Cervera aboard, Infanta Maria Teresa was to lead the escape, sacrificing herself by attacking the fastest American ship, armored cruiser USS Brooklyn
, allowing the rest of the squadron to avoid action and run westward for the open sea.
At about 0845 hours on 3 July 1898, the Spanish ships got underway. The U.S. squadron sighted the Spanish ships in the channel at about 0935, and the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
began.
As lead ship in the Spanish line, Infanta Maria Teresa was the first ship to receive concentrated fire from the blockading U.S. Navy squadron. With Vizcaya close behind her and the other Spanish ships turning hard to starboard to flee to the west, Infanta Maria Teresa charged Brooklyn as if to ram, closing the range to 600 yards (550 meters) by 1005 hours, forcing Brooklyn to turn away to the east. Infanta Maria Teresa turned west, brushing past the last obstacle in her path, the armed yacht USS Vixen
, as battleship USS Iowa
came up at a range of 2,600 yards (2,377 m) to port, with battleships USS Oregon
and USS Indiana
close behind Iowa. A general engagement ensued, with the U.S. ships to starboard of Infanta Maria Theresa and both sides firing everything they could.
One of the first shells Iowa fired hit the after main-battery turret of Infanta Maria Teresa, killing or wounding its crew and knocking out its gun. Infanta Maria Teresa had already taken many hits, and now Brooklyn and battleship USS Texas
began to hit her repeatedly. Fires broke out, threatening to detonate her ammunition magazines. Seeing no hope for the ship and wishing to save as many of her crew as possible, Cervera at 1020 hours ordered her to beach herself. She turned to starboard, grounded at 1025 hours a few miles west of Santiago de Cuba and just west of Punta Cabrera, struck her colors, and flooded her magazines to prevent a catastrophic explosion.
Some of her sailors made it ashore, although they had to beware of Cuban insurgents, who began to shoot the survivors of the wrecked Spanish ships. Others were rescued by American sailors who brought small boats alongside the wrecks to take off survivors.
After the war, the U.S. Navy refloated Infanta Maria Teresa in the hope of putting her into service. She was towed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for preliminary repairs, then taken under tow by repair ship USS Vulcan
en route Norfolk, Virginia, where her repairs could be completed. Caught in a storm during the voyage, she began to founder. Repair ship Merritt took off her crew, and Infanta Maria Teresa sank between two reefs off Cat Island
in the Bahamas with a broken back, a total loss.
Infanta Maria Teresa class armored cruiser
The Infanta Maria Teresa class of three armored cruisers were built for the Spanish Navy between 1889 and 1893. All three were sunk in action against the United States Navy during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898.-Description:...
armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
of the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
Technical characteristics
Infanta Maria Teresa was built at BilbaoBilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. She was laid down in 1889, launched on 30 August 1890, and completed in 1893. She had two funnels and was fast and well armed. Her main armament was mounted on the center line in single barbettes fore and aft. Her armor was poor: her 11-inch guns had only lightly armored hoods, her 5.5-inch guns were mounted in the open on the upper deck, her armor belt was thin and protected only two-thirds of her length, and she had a high, unprotected freeboard that took much damage during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
. Like other nineteenth-century warships, she was heavily furnished and decorated with wood, which the Spanish failed to remove prior to combat and which would feed fires during the battle.
Operational history
Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete served as an admiral of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles....
, commander of the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
's 1st Squadron, when tensions with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were rising after the explosion and sinking of the battleship USS Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
in the harbor at Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on 15 February 1898. The squadron concentrated at São Vicente
São Vicente, Cape Verde
São Vicente , also Son Visent or Son Sent in Cape Verdean Creole, is one of the Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia, with the Canal de São Vicente separating it from Santo Antão.- Geography :The island is roughly rectangular in shape...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's Cape Verde Islands; departing Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
on 8 April 1898 Infanta Maria Teresa, armored cruiser Cristóbal Colón
Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon
Cristóbal Colón was a Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.-Technical Characteristics:...
, and three destroyers arrived at São Vicente on 14 April 1898, experiencing machinery problems and burning excessive amounts of coal during the voyage. As more ships arrived over the next few days, it was noted that the 5.5-inch guns aboard Infanta Maria Theresa had defective breach mechanisms and had been supplied with defective ammunition, and that the fleet had a shortage of stokers.
The Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
began while Infanta Maria Teresa was at São Vicente. Ordered by neutral Portugal in accordance with international law to leave São Vicente within 24 hours of the declaration of war, Infanta Maria Teresa and the rest of Cervera's squadron departed on 29 April 1898, bound for San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Cervera's ships reached French-owned Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
on 10 May 1898. While Infanta Maria Teresa and the other large ships loitered in international waters, two Spanish destroyers went into Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...
to ask for coal. France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was neutral and would not supply coal, so the Spanish squadron departed on 12 May 1898 for Dutch-owned Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, where Cervera expected to meet a collier. Cervera arrived at Willemstad
Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles
Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of...
on 14 May, but the Netherlands also was neutral, and strictly enforced its neutrality by allowing only Infanta Maria Teresa and her sister ship Vizcaya to enter port and permitting them to load only 600 tons of coal. On 15 May, Cervera's ships departed, no longer bound for San Juan, which by now was under a U.S. Navy blockade, but for as-yet unblockaded Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
on the southeastern coast of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, arriving there on 19 May 1898. Cervera hoped to refit his ships there before he could be trapped. His squadron was still in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba when an American squadron arrived on 27 May 1898 and began a blockade which would drag on for 37 days.
The blockade wore on, with Infanta Maria Teresa and the others enduring occasional American naval bombardments of the harbor. Infanta Maria Teresa still faced a serious problem with her 140 mm gun ammunition, 80 percent of which defective.. Some of her men joined others from the fleet in a Naval Brigade to fight against a U.S. Army overland drive toward Santiago de Cuba.
By the beginning of July 1898, that drive threatened to capture Santiago de Cuba, and Cervera decided that his squadron's only hope was to try to escape into the open sea by running the blockade. The decision was made on 1 July 1898, with the break-out set for 3 July 1898. The crew of Infanta Maria Teresa spent 2 July 1898 returning from Naval Brigade service and preparing for action. With Vice Admiral Cervera aboard, Infanta Maria Teresa was to lead the escape, sacrificing herself by attacking the fastest American ship, armored cruiser USS Brooklyn
USS Brooklyn (CA-3)
The second USS Brooklyn was a United States Navy armored cruiser.She was launched on 2 October 1895 by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; sponsored by Miss Ida May Schieren; and commissioned on 1 December 1896, Captain Francis Augustus Cook in...
, allowing the rest of the squadron to avoid action and run westward for the open sea.
At about 0845 hours on 3 July 1898, the Spanish ships got underway. The U.S. squadron sighted the Spanish ships in the channel at about 0935, and the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
began.
As lead ship in the Spanish line, Infanta Maria Teresa was the first ship to receive concentrated fire from the blockading U.S. Navy squadron. With Vizcaya close behind her and the other Spanish ships turning hard to starboard to flee to the west, Infanta Maria Teresa charged Brooklyn as if to ram, closing the range to 600 yards (550 meters) by 1005 hours, forcing Brooklyn to turn away to the east. Infanta Maria Teresa turned west, brushing past the last obstacle in her path, the armed yacht USS Vixen
USS Vixen (PY-4)
USS Vixen was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy for operations in the Spanish-American War, where she served with distinction during the Battle of Santiago. She was commissioned again for duty during World War I when she was assigned to patrol the U.S...
, as battleship USS Iowa
USS Iowa (BB-4)
| The second half of the 19th century saw radical changes in shipbuilding design. Wood-built sailing ships with cannons were replaced by steam-powered warships armored with steel...
came up at a range of 2,600 yards (2,377 m) to port, with battleships USS Oregon
USS Oregon (BB-3)
USS Oregon was a pre-Dreadnought of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract to build her was awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California on 19 November 1890. Her keel was laid exactly one year later...
and USS Indiana
USS Indiana (BB-1)
USS Indiana was the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned five years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship also pioneered the use of an...
close behind Iowa. A general engagement ensued, with the U.S. ships to starboard of Infanta Maria Theresa and both sides firing everything they could.
One of the first shells Iowa fired hit the after main-battery turret of Infanta Maria Teresa, killing or wounding its crew and knocking out its gun. Infanta Maria Teresa had already taken many hits, and now Brooklyn and battleship USS Texas
USS Texas (1892)
USS Texas was a second-class pre-dreadnought battleship built by the United States in the early 1890s. She was the first American battleship and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas to be built by the United States...
began to hit her repeatedly. Fires broke out, threatening to detonate her ammunition magazines. Seeing no hope for the ship and wishing to save as many of her crew as possible, Cervera at 1020 hours ordered her to beach herself. She turned to starboard, grounded at 1025 hours a few miles west of Santiago de Cuba and just west of Punta Cabrera, struck her colors, and flooded her magazines to prevent a catastrophic explosion.
Some of her sailors made it ashore, although they had to beware of Cuban insurgents, who began to shoot the survivors of the wrecked Spanish ships. Others were rescued by American sailors who brought small boats alongside the wrecks to take off survivors.
After the war, the U.S. Navy refloated Infanta Maria Teresa in the hope of putting her into service. She was towed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for preliminary repairs, then taken under tow by repair ship USS Vulcan
USS Vulcan (1884)
USS Vulcan was an iron-hulled, schooner-rigged screw steamship acquired by the U.S. Navy for use as a repair ship during the Spanish-American War.- The Navy’s first repair ship :...
en route Norfolk, Virginia, where her repairs could be completed. Caught in a storm during the voyage, she began to founder. Repair ship Merritt took off her crew, and Infanta Maria Teresa sank between two reefs off Cat Island
Cat Island (Bahamas)
Cat Island is in the central Bahamas, and one of its districts, and has the nation's highest point. Its Mount Alvernia rises to 206 ft and is topped by a monastery called The Hermitage. This assembly of buildings was erected by the Franciscan "Brother Jerome" .The first European settlers were...
in the Bahamas with a broken back, a total loss.