Ilustración Española, 22 May 1898, p. 293.
Download an uncompressed TIFF (.tif) version of this image.
Following Admiral George Dewey's defeat of the Spanish fleet in Manila harbor, Captain Ramón Auñón y Villalón was selected to replace Segismundo Bermejo as Minister of the Navy. Auñón y Villalón quickly was forced to decide whether Admiral Pascual Cervera, commander of the Spanish squadron in Cuba, should attempt to defend Santiago although vastly out-numbered as Captain General Ramón Blanco advocated or scuttle the fleet and save lives as Cervera himself argued. Ultimately Auñón y Villalón agreed with Blanco and on June 23 ordered Cervera to sail out of Santiago de Cuba. On June 15 he commanded Manuel de la Cámara y Libermoore to sail to Manila to relieve Spanish troops there.
Library of Congress