Action of 13 June 1898 The Action of 13 June 1898 was a minor naval engagement of the Spanish - American War fought near Cienfuegos , Cuba , between the American auxiliary cruiser USS " Yankee " under Commander Willard Herbert Brownson and the Spanish gunboat " Diego Velázquez " under Teniente de Navío de 1ª clase Juan de Carranza y Reguera , which had exited the port to inspect a suspicious steamer which proved to be " Yankee " . " Diego Velázquez " , markedly inferior to " Yankee " in armament , managed to return to Cienfuegos , where it was joined by the small gunboats " Lince " and " Cometa " . After the appearance of the latters , " Yankee " decided to withdraw . Background . At the outbreak of the Spanish - American War Cienfuegos was a strategically important port due to its facilities and good communications with Havana . Some prewar plans recommended its prompt capture , but instead it was blockaded , along with some other important ports of the southern coast of Cuba such as Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo . The most powerful Spanish naval units of the island , meanwhile , had been gathered in Santiago , and submarine defenses consisting mainly of torpedoes had been installed in the major ports of Havana , Cienfuegos , Santiago and San Juan de Puerto Rico . The naval units based in Cienfuegos consisted of the 541 - ton torpedo gunboat " Galicia " under Teniente de Navío de 1ª clase Ariño , the 300 - ton torpedo gunboat " Vasco Núñez de Balboa " under Teniente de Navío de 1ª clase Izquierdo , the 318 - ton torpedo gunboat " Alsedo " under Teniente de Navío Suences , and the 200 - ton torpedo gunboat " Diego Velázquez " under Teniente de Navío de 1ª clase Carranza , plus the 179 - ton gunboat " Contramaestre " and the 43 - ton small gunboats " Gaviota " , " Cometa " , " Lince " and " Satélite " , commanded respectively by Tenientes de Navío Freire , Rivero , Gómez Aguado and Moreno Eliza . Various engagements were fought near Cienfuegos during the war . On 29 April the American protected cruiser " Marblehead " and the auxiliary " Eagle " exchanged fire for half an hour with the Spanish small gunboats " Satélite " , " Lince " and " Gaviota " . On 2 May the gunboat Alcedo and the small gunboats " Almendores " and " Gaviota " escorted several transport vessels to Casilda , delivering to the town more than 3 , 000 men and about 800 horses and mules . A week later two small boats of " Marblehead " and the gunboat " Nasheville " tried to cut telegraph cables linking Cienfuegos with Madrid . Two undersea cables were cut , but a third cable near the shore remained untouched . On 1 June a convoy of blockade runner s and the transport " María Cristina " were successfully escorted into the port . Battle . On 13 June Teniente Carranza ' s " Diego Velázquez " was dispatched to inspect a steamer near the port thinking that it could be " SS Purísima Concepción " , a blockade runner which was expected to arrive to Cienfuegos at that time . Carranza took precautions in case the suspicious steamer proved to be an American warship . Wooden objects were left ashore , and bags of coal were emplaced around the guns to protect their crews from the American fire . The unknown steamer was " USS Yankee " , a 6 , 888 - ton auxiliary cruiser under Commander Willard H . Brownson armed with 10 5 - inch guns , 6 6 - pound guns and two Colt machine gun s . " Yankee " was carrying out blockade tasks off the port , and was in fact waiting for the arrival of " Purísima Concepción " in order to intercept it . At about 1 , 400 meters range , the American ship put her helm over , unmasked her port battery , and opened fire . " Diego Velázquez " opted for a running fight , presenting the smallest possible target and only allowing " Yankee " to bring one or two of her guns to bear without turning away from her target ' s course . The Spanish gunboat was hit twice , receiving minor damage . A grenade entered through the starboard hawse and broke the retainers of the redbout , throwing up the parapet of coal . Another grenade pierced the hull of the cone that served as a carriage for one of the guns . Boatswain D . José Cacho Torres , cabo de mar de primera Eustaquio Bilbao , seamen Antonio Ferrer and José González , and gunners Francisco González and Ángel Bermudose were injured . " Diego Velázquez " fired 193 shots , some of which hit " Yankee " inflicting some casualties and causing a small fire on board which forced the gunfire to be temporarily suspended . After 69 minutes of combat , " Diego Velázquez " reached Cienfuegos , where the wounded men were disembarked and reinforcements were requested to face " Yankee " , which was exchanging fire with the shore batteries of Cienfuegos . " Diego Velázquez " exited the port shortly after accompanied by the small gunboats " Lince " and " Cometa " . According to Spanish sources , the American ship decided to withdraw from the battle at this point , and the Spanish vessels returned to Cienfuegos . According to American sources , the Spanish gunboats withdrew to Cienfuegos harbor and " Yankee " continued firing on Sabanilla Battery until it withdrew at 1500 hours . Teniente Carranza was acclaimed as his force re - entered the port . The fierce opposition of his gunboat confused the Americans , whose commander Willard H . Brownson believed that the ship that he was facing was the torpedo gunboat " Galicia " , a ship almost three times larger than " Diego Velázquez . " " Purísima Concepción " eventually reached Cienfuegos without difficulties while " Yankee " set a course back to the eastern end of Cuba . Aftermath . The Action of 13 June 1898 was the last naval engagement fought near Cienfuegos . Land operations to capture the town , which remained open as a supply route to Havana and was the headquarters of one of the five corps in which Cuba had been divided , were recommended by the Cuban general Máximo Gómez to General William Shafer , but that plan was never carried out . The action of Cienfuegos was one of the events in which the Spanish coastguards successfully battled the American auxiliary fleet or " Mosquito Squadron " . At the end of the war " Diego Velázquez " sailed to the French colony of Martinique and then back to Spain , but was eventually sold to Venezuela on 17 July 1899 . Named " Miranda " , she served in the Venezuelan Navy for many years . Juan de Carranza y Reguera died from illness in Cuba in 1899 .