 On August 1, the monitors USS Puritan, USS Amphitrite, armed tug USS Leyden, and collier USS Hannibal were sailing off the coast of Fajardo on the northeast corner of Puerto Rico, when Captain Frederick W. Rodgers, Puritan's commanding officer and senior officer afloat, spotted the "Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan" (Cape San Juan Lighthouse) that had been designated the landing site for the US Army's invasion of Puerto Rico. Rodgers ordered a reconnaissance landing party ashore, including Puerto Rican volunteers. The sailors advanced to within a half mile of Fajardo, about five miles from the coast, but withdrew when they encountered Spanish troops.
