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Jun 20 / 21 1898 --
" On this day in 1898, the American flag was first raised on the island of Guam. Its capture was slightly comical. Spain had had control of Guam since the 17th century. But it wasn't exactly considered the Pearl of the Spanish Empire, so Spain had stationed only a tiny garrison there. And despite the fact that the Spanish-American War had been declared two months before, nobody had gotten around to telling the guys on Guam.
When the U.S.S. Charleston arrived on June 20 with orders to take the island, it fired on the Spanish fort. It's unclear whether it missed or only intended a warning shot. In any event, the locals mistook the shot for a friendly salute. Several eagerly went out to greet the Americans. Among those who came out was Guam's leading merchant–Francisco Portusach–who turned out to be a naturalized American citizen and an old friend of one of the officers. When he learned the true circumstances of their visit, he wanted to help.
The capture of Guam was thus bloodless. The Spanish governor wasn't exactly thrilled to surrender to the Americans, but his forces were significantly outnumbered, and he wasn't a fool. On June 21, the Spanish flag came down, and the Stars and Stripes went up. Easy peasy. "
" On this day in 1898, the American flag was first raised on the island of Guam. Its capture was slightly comical. Spain had had control of Guam since the 17th century. But it wasn't exactly considered the Pearl of the Spanish Empire, so Spain had stationed only a tiny garrison there. And despite the fact that the Spanish-American War had been declared two months before, nobody had gotten around to telling the guys on Guam.
When the U.S.S. Charleston arrived on June 20 with orders to take the island, it fired on the Spanish fort. It's unclear whether it missed or only intended a warning shot. In any event, the locals mistook the shot for a friendly salute. Several eagerly went out to greet the Americans. Among those who came out was Guam's leading merchant–Francisco Portusach–who turned out to be a naturalized American citizen and an old friend of one of the officers. When he learned the true circumstances of their visit, he wanted to help.
The capture of Guam was thus bloodless. The Spanish governor wasn't exactly thrilled to surrender to the Americans, but his forces were significantly outnumbered, and he wasn't a fool. On June 21, the Spanish flag came down, and the Stars and Stripes went up. Easy peasy. "
