Cuba Forts

American Forts: East

CUBA

Last Update: 15/DECEMBER/2007

NOTE: After acquisition from Spain in 1898, Cuba became a U.S. Territory from 1899 - 1902 before independence. Troops were sent back in 1906 - 1909, and again in 1912, to restore civil order. There were many minor forts, blockhouses, and batteries throughout Cuba, but we were primarily interested in the three major harbors and their defenses during the 1898 Spanish-American War. A selected listing of other Spanish forts follows.

Bahía de Guantánamo
(1898, 1903 - present), Guantanamo Bay Naval Station
The Spanish had shore batteries and a blockhouse on the eastern side of the bay, but they were quickly abandoned when the U.S. Marines landed onshore on June 10, 1898. The Marines set up fortified Camp McCalla along the eastern headlands (Fisherman's Point) at the mouth of the bay, now known as McCalla Hill. The last Spanish resistance was at the "Well of Cuzco" located about two miles southeast of Fisherman's Point. The U.S. Army set up Camp Lawton in the area in July 1898 as a staging area for the invasion of Puerto Rico. The Marines left in August 1898.

Spanish Coast Defenses of Guantanamo Bay in 1898 included Fort Toro on Cayo del Toro (North Toro Cay) at the entrance to the inner harbor (just north of the present Naval Station boundary), armed with three old 6.4-inch bronze ML guns and one modern 3.5-inch Krupp BL gun; a three-gun battery (6.4-inch bronze ML guns) at Caimanera; and Rowell Barracks (7000-man garrison) at Guantánamo City. The harbor was also mined. The Spanish also had a small gunboat with one 6-pounder quick-firing gun. Caimanera was bombarded by the American Navy on June 7, 1898. Fort Toro was put out of action on June 15, 1898. The Americans did not actually occupy Caimanera and Guantánamo City until October 1898.

The present 43-square mile reservation was created in 1903 by treaty as an American naval and coaling station. A ten-foot high concrete wall was constructed in 1906 along the boundary on North Toro Cay from Wireless Point to Granadillo Bay. A drydock basin was constructed on South Toro Cay in 1904, but was abandoned uncomplete in 1906. A one million gallon water reservoir was built on North Toro Cay in 1904, but was never completed. A smaller 100,000 gallon reservoir was also built on North Toro Cay. The coaling station was located on Hospital Cay in 1906, in operation until 1937. The first Marine Barracks, Naval enlisted barracks and Officers' quarters were located on South Toro Cay in 1904. The first post hospital was on North Toro Cay. The Naval Station was relocated from South Toro Cay to the eastern shore of the mainland in 1913 ("Main Station"), the former site now abandoned. The first rifle range was built in 1906 near Evans Point on the mainland (now part of the present golf course). A commercial cable station was built in 1907 on Windward Point. A fuel oil tank farm was built at Happy Valley in 1913. There was little new construction after 1913 until 1940 when the base was greatly expanded to accommodate the Navy's war needs. Camp Meyer on Deer Point was a Marine encampment used during the 1912 civil disturbance in Cuba, and also as a staging area in 1915 for the Haiti and the Dominican Republic interventions.

The U.S. Army in 1906-07 built three gun batteries for coastal defense, but they were never armed. Located on the western shore at the Conde Bluff Reservation (aka Fort Conde), west of Hicacal Beach (due north of Fisherman's Point), was a battery for four 6-inch DC guns (carriages mounted); and on the Cuzco Hill Reservation (aka Fort McCalla) near Fisherman's Point were two batteries for two 3-inch guns each. The guns were held stateside, the 6-inch guns were eventually given to the Marine Corps as field weapons during WWI. Also built were two fire-control stations for the 6-inch guns; a power plant at Fort Conde; a concrete shelter for a portable 30-inch searchlight at Fort McCalla; a mine casemate, torpedo storehouse, cable tank, and loading room for the harbor mine defense; an ice plant; four sets of quarters; and a mess hall. The Army left in 1908 due to lack of funds, but still retained title to the parcels until 1928 and 1940 respectively. The Leeward Point Reservation (1906 - 1912) was never used. The Marine Barracks was relocated to Fisherman's Point after 1908. The harbor entrance may have been protected by an anti-submarine net in WWI.

The first naval aviation camp was established on Fisherman's Point in 1913. Seaplanes were present beginning in 1919, but a concrete ramp and hangar were not built until 1939 and 1940 respectively. An airship mooring mast was built on McCalla Hill in 1930 (removed before 1939). The Naval Air Station was established in 1941 with the extending of the old grass fields into 6000-foot paved runways; McCalla Hill Field (N-S) on Fisherman's Point, and Carter Field (E-W) on Leeward Point. The Marine Barracks on Fisherman's Point were then relocated to Casa Point (Marine Site 1) and Defense Point (Marine Site 2). Two auxiliary landing fields were located offbase at Los Canos (abandoned 1942) and La Verdad (abandoned 1943). An underground command bunker was built in 1942 near the Naval Station administration building. The harbor entrance and the north boundary channel were protected by anti-sub nets and booms in WWII. A Marine Defense Battalion was sent here in February 1941, with several 6-inch naval guns and 3-inch AA guns emplaced in the Cuzco Hills above the Naval Air Station complex, on Conde Bluff, and at Leeward Point. The defenses were deactivated in 1945. The U.S. Navy and Marines still maintain a presence here, in perpetual lease from Cuba since 1903. The base is strictly off-limits to the general public, Cubans and Americans alike. Tourists may "spy" on the base from a Cuban military command post located at Mirador Los Malones, about 15 miles east of Caimanera. The Hotel Caimanera in Caimanera also has a designated lookout (special permit required for travel beyond Guantánamo City).

Santiago de Cuba (World Heritage Site)
(1898), Santiago View 1898 MAP
Eight (or ten) Spanish forts surrounded the entrenched city, including Forts Canosa (or Canovar), Horno, Centro Benefico, Las Canadas, St. Iñez, Cuabitas, Yacayo, and Harbor Fort. There were three blockhouses on the southeastern side of the city, one on the northeastern side, one on the eastern side (Sueno Blockhouse), and a fortified bull arena to the northeast. Another blockhouse was at Dos Caminos del Cobre (aka El Cobre), northwest of the city. A blockhouse at Cubanitas was abandoned before the battle. Two blockhouses protected the railroad terminal pier (Iron Pier) at the harbor. The Spanish garrison post was at Reina Mercedes Barracks, east of the city center, the second largest garrison post in Cuba. This was later known as Moncada Army Barracks (Cuartel Moncada) under the Cuban National Army, which was the focus of the 1953 revolt led by Fidel Castro. Since 1959 the former barracks has become a school and the Museo Histórico 26 de Julio (admission fee). Santiago was captured by American forces in July 1898.

An old Spanish fort (16th-century) was once located in the city center at the corner of Calle Mariano Corona at Calle Bartolomé Masó. Only fragments of the walls remain. Site now the Balcón de Velázquez (admission fee).

San Juan Heights: San Juan Blockhouse was at the top of San Juan Hill. It has been reconstructed in a small park with exhibits. Nearby at El Caney (northeast of the city) there were three wooden blockhouses, a stone blockhouse, and a small stone fort, called Fuerte El Viso (ruins still extant). Read about The Battle of El Caney (July 1898). Another blockhouse was located at Marianage, east of San Juan Heights.

Santiago Harbor: Spanish Coastal artillery, consisting of 11 modern guns at five different batteries, aided the protection of Santiago Harbor. The harbor was also mined. Spanish Coast Defenses of Santiago in 1898 included El Morro Castle (2) (formally called Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca del Morro), built from 1590 to 1638, converted to a prison in 1775, located at the eastern side of the harbor entrance (two 8.3-inch ML howitzers, five 6.3-inch RML), and five outer batteries: Estrella Battery (two 8.3-inch ML howitzers, two 3.2-inch BLR, two bronze 5.7-inch ML); Santa Catalina Battery (obsolete); Cayo Smith Battery (obsolete); Western Battery (aka Zokapa Battery) (three 8.3-inch ML howitzers, two 6.3-inch Hontoria BLR, one 6-pdr QF, four 3-pdr QF, one 1-pdr QF); and Punta Gorda Battery (two 6-inch BL howitzers, two 3.5-inch Krupp BLR, two 6.3-inch Hontoria BLR). The detached batteries no longer exist, the sites are now hotels and restaurants. The Estrella and Santa Catalina works were originally old Spanish forts built in support of El Morro Castle. El Morro Castle was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Additional Spanish blockhouses (1898) nearby were at Daiquiri, Siboney, Juraguasito, Las Guasimas, and Sevilla. An American monument is located at Sevilla.

Camagüey
(1898 - 1899), Camagüey
Located here were Camp Allyn Capron and Camp Carpenter, American occupation camps at the former headquarters of the Spanish Army Cavalry in Cuba. At the time, the name of the town was Puerto Príncipe. The Spanish Cavalry headquarters post became a hotel in 1905, and in 1948 became the Museo Provincial Ignacio Agramonte (admission fee), a regional art and history museum located on Avenida de los Mártires.

The Cuban National Army in the 20th-century used the nearby Iglesia y Hospital de San Juan de Dios (1728) (admission fee) at the Plaza San Juan de Dios as a military infirmary, which is today the Dirección Provincial de Patrimonio and the Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad.

La Habana (World Heritage Site)
(1898), Havana
There are several Spanish colonial forts still extant here. There were no major engagements here, by land or sea, during the war. The city was not occupied by the Americans until well after hostilities ended, in December 1898. Old Havana (Habana Vieja) was a walled city (built from 1674 to 1740, 10 meters high with ten equidistant bastions, mounting 180 guns). The wall was demolished beginning in 1863. A small portion of the original wall (Lienzo y Puerta de la Tenaza) still exists near the National Railways Station (Estación Central), along Avenida Bélgica. A wooden palisade with several bastions was first erected around the city in 1603. The British captured and occupied the city for 11 months in 1762 - 1763. By the 1763 Treaty of Paris it was returned to Spain in exchange for East and West Florida. The old city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta (aka La Punta Fort), built from 1589 to 1630, is a small fortress on Punta Sotavento at the entrance to Canal del Puerto (ship channel into Havana Harbor), directly opposite El Morro. Now used as a Naval Museum (admission fee).
West of here was the obsolete (in 1898) Reina Battery, and west of that was Santa Clara Battery (1898). North of Santa Clara Battery was New Battery (1898), and west of that was Battery A (1898) and Battery B (1898) on Punta Brava. South of Punta Brava was the obsolete San Nazario Fort, and west of that was Vedado Battery.
Castillo de la Real Fuerza, built from 1558 to 1577, is a small square-bastioned stone fort facing the ship channel, located across from the Plaza de Armas in the old city. It was the earliest maritime defense of the city, and the first bastioned stone fort in North America. It has been completely restored. Located here is the Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Cubana. Admission fee.
Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro (aka El Morro Castle (1)) (Parque Histórico Militar), built from 1589 to 1630, is a large triangular-shaped fortress on Punta Barlovento at the entrance to the ship channel into the harbor. El Morro Lighthouse (La Torre Blanca), originally built in 1581, became a lighthouse in 1764. The present light was built in 1845. A four-gun battery was added to the tower in 1583. The original Water Battery is below the lighthouse. The "new" water battery was built in 1739 behind the old. Velasco Battery (1740) was located just to the southeast. Admission fee. The two Cohima Batteries (Battery A and Battery B) (1898) were east of the fortress.
Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña (aka Cabaña Castle), built from 1763 to 1774, is a very large five-pointed fortress on the north side of the ship channel in East Havana. It is the largest Spanish-built fortress in North America, at about one half-mile (2300 feet) long, and about 200 yards wide, covering about 25 acres. San Diego Battery (1898) was east of here. New Battery (1898) was on the opposite side of the channel. A few relic Soviet missiles from the 1962 Missile Crisis are located here on display. Also here is the Museo Monográfico and the Museo de Armas y Fortificaciones (admission fees), and the Comandancia del Che, the former Spanish military governor's residence that was commandeered by Che Guevara in 1959. The "Cañonazo" ceremony is held in the parade every evening at 9 PM.
El Presidio de la Plaza de la Habana was in existence around 1700.
Southwest of the Old City at the head of Ensenada de Atarés was Castillo de Santo Domingo de Atarés, built from 1764 as a five-pointed star masonry fort. Present status undetermined (not shown in tourist guides).
Castillo del Príncipe, a five-bastioned fort built in the 1790's (still exists), and Príncipe Barracks, were located southwest of the San Nazario Fort on Aróstegui Hill at the intersections of Avenida de los Presidentes, Avenida Salvador Allende (Carlos III), and Calzada de Zapata. Present tourist status undetermined. The present-day Parque de la Fraternidad (laid out in 1892, renamed in 1928) located on Calle Dragones behind the Capitolio was once used as the garrison parade ground (Campo di Marte).
Camp Columbia was the American occupation camp near the city in 1898 - 1899. One source lists it near Buena Vista.

Fuerte del Cojímar (aka El Torreon) is in Cojimar, six kilometers east of Havana. It is a small square-shaped tower fort built in 1649. Still exists.
Fuerte de Santa Dorotea de la Luna en la Chorrera is located six kilometers west of Havana, near the mouth of the Río Almendares. This small square-shaped tower fort, built in 1647, was not shown on 1898 battle maps. Still exists, now a Cuban national monument.
Several Spanish earthen redoubts (1898) were located outside Havana: Redoubts Chipre, Mazo, and Mordazo, among others.

Bahía Honda
(1903 - 1911), Bahía Honda
The U.S. Navy acquired the use of this bay in the same treaty as Guantánamo Bay. It was abandoned after only eight years of limited use. Located on the northern coast west of Havana, north of Soroa.

Other Colonial Spanish Fortifications
(This listing makes no claim of completeness.)

Pinar del Río Barracks
(1895 - 1898), Pinar del Río
A Spanish garrison was quartered here. No action occured here in 1898. Occupied by the Americans in December 1898.

Fuerte de San Severino de Matanzas
(1693 - unknown, 1898 ?), Matanzas
A Spanish colonial square-bastioned masonry fort. Present status undetermined.

The harbor was fortified by the Spanish in 1898. The American Navy bombarded an uncompleted Spanish shore battery at Punta Gorda on April 27, 1898.

Cárdenas Barracks
(1850, 1898), Cárdenas
Spanish Army barracks were located at the Dominica building (still extant). Cuban nationalists raised the Cuban flag here for the first time in 1850.

The harbor was protected by a Spanish shore battery in 1898, which was bombarded by the American Navy on May 11, 1898.

Castillo de Jagua ?
(18th-century, 1898 ?), Jagua
A Spanish colonial fortress at the mouth of Bahia de Cienfuegos. Still exists. The original moat and drawbridge are still intact. Access by ferry from Cienfuegos. Admission fee.

The harbor was fortified by the Spanish in 1898. The American Navy raided the harbor on May 11, 1898 to sever the telegraph cables to Jamaica. The first American casualties of the war occured here at that time.

Trinidad Barracks
(1895 - 1898), Trinidad
The Spanish Army took over the Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco (1730) for use as barracks. The dilapitaded structures were demolished in 1930 except for the bell tower and several out buildings, which were then used as a school until 1984. Now the Museo de la Lucha contra Bandidos (admission fee), a museum devoted to the anti-Castro counter-revolutionaries in 1959. Located at the corner of Calle Hernández Echerri and Calle Piro Guinart. The city center, founded in 1514, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

Caibarién Blockhouse
(1898), Caibarién
A Spanish blockhouse was located here. Located on the coast east of Remedios. The American Navy bombarded a Spanish shore battery here on July 28, 1898.

La Trocha Line
(1896 - 1898), near Ciego de Ávila
The Spanish built a fortified line of entrenchments and redoubts/blockhouses/towers running between Morón on the Atlantic coast, and Júcaro on the Caribbean coast, each about 1 km apart, during the Cuban War for Independence. Also manned for use against the Americans in 1898. Several redoubts/towers still exist outside of town, and are open to the public. History of the Trocha Line is at the Museo Histórico Provincial in town.

Fuerte de la Loma (National Monument)
(1870's), near Las Tunas
A Spanish outpost built to halt the advance of the Mambí rebels (Cuban nationalists) during the Ten Years' War (1868 - 1878).

Holguín Barracks
(1868 - 1872), Holguín
Spanish barracks were at "La Periquera", originally a ballroom and casino (1860), located adjacent to Parque Calixto Garcia. The Cuban nationalists (mambises) overran the garrison in 1872 and liberated the city. The building is now the Museo Provincial de Historia (admission fee). North of town on Loma de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross) is a Spanish lookout tower.

Gibara Barracks
(19th-century), Gibara
Ruins of a Spanish garrison are reported here located along the harbor, according to tourist guides.

Nearby along Bahía de Bariay is the recorded landing place of Christopher Columbus in 1492.

El Ramón Battery
(1898), El Ramón
The Spanish had a shore battery on Punta Ramón that was bombarded by the American Navy on July 21, 1898. The entrance to Bahía de Nipe was also mined and protected by a small gunboat.

Manzanillo Battery
(1898), Manzanillo
The Spanish had a shore battery just south of town that was fired upon by the American Navy on July 18, 1898.

Baracoa Forts ?
(various dates), Baracoa
Castillo de Seboruco (18th-century), on a hill overlooking the town. Now the El Castillo Hotel.
Fuerte de la Punta (19th-century), on the northwest end of town along the bay. Now a restaurant.
Fuerte Matachin (19th-century), on the southeastern end of town facing the ocean. Now the Museo Municipal (admission fee).

Baracoa is the oldest city in Cuba, founded in 1511. It was the capital until 1515.

NOTE: Other Spanish blockhouses (1898) were located at Rincón, Isabella de Saqua, and La Sierra (locations undetermined).