Battle of Cárdenas The Second Battle of Cárdenas was a secondary naval engagement of the Spanish – American War fought on 11 May 1898 in the port of Cárdenas , Cuba , between an American squadron of 5 ships under Captain Chapman C . Todd and 3 small Spanish vessels under Mariano Mateu . The battle resulted in an unusually costly American reverse that dissuaded the U . S . Navy from undertaking further attacks on the port . Background . In May 1898 , a small squadron of the United States Navy , consisting of the torpedo boat s and , the gunboat s and , and the U . S . Revenue Cutter " Hudson " , was operating off the northern coast of Cuba . On May 11 , 1898 , this fleet entered the Bay of Cárdenas to destroy the three small Spanish gunboat s reportedly moored in the harbor . Having swept the area for mines , Captain Todd ordered the " Winslow " to approach the shore and investigate a steamer moored alongside the wharf to determine whether the vessel was an enemy warship . The Spanish squadron based on Cárdenas consisted of three ships : " Ligera " , " Alerta " and " Antonio López " , under the command of Teniente de Navío Mariano Mateu . The 42 - ton " Ligera " , which had driven off " Foote " two weeks earlier in a fortuitous encounter off harbour ' s mouth , was under Lieutenant Antonio Pérez Rendón , while " Alerta " , of the same tonnage , was under Lieutenant Pasquín . Both gunboats mounted a cannon of 42 mm and a Maxim of 37 mm . " Antonio López " was a small tug armed with a Nordenfelt gun , and under the command of Lieutenant Domingo Montes Reguefeiros . The Spanish Line had transferred the " Antonio Lopez " to the navy some years before . Battle . By 13 : 35 , " Winslow " reached a point approximately 1 , 500 yards from her quarry when a white puff of smoke from " Antonio López " ' s bow gun signaled the beginning of an artillery duel which lasted one hour and 20 minutes . " Winslow " responded with her 1 - pounders . The Spanish concentrated their efforts on " Winslow " , and she soon received several direct hits . The first shot to score on the torpedo boat destroyed both her steam and manual steering gear . Her crew tried to rig an auxiliary steering system , but she swung broadside to the enemy and a shot pierced her hull near the engine room and knocked the port main engine out of commission . She maneuvered with her remaining engine to evade enemy fire and maintained a steady return fire with her 1 - pounders . " Wilmington " and " Hudson " brought their guns to bear on the Spanish ship and shore , and the combined fire of the three American warships put the Spanish tugboat out of action while several waterfront buildings caught fire . All but disabled , " Winslow " requested " Hudson " to tow her out of action . The revenue cutter approached the stricken torpedo boat and rigged a tow line between the two ships . As Hudson began to tow Winslow out to sea , one of the last Spanish shells to strike the torpedo boat hit her near the starboard gun and killed Ensign Worth Bagley who had been helping to direct the warship ' s maneuvers by carrying instructions from the deck to the base of the engine room ladder . Ensign Bagley was the first U . S . naval officer killed in the Spanish - American War . Aftermath . Badly damaged , " Winslow " was towed clear of the action . Her commanding officer and several others in her crew were wounded . Lieutenant John Bernadou saw that the dead and wounded were transferred to " Hudson " , and he then left the ship after turning command over to Chief Gunner ' s Mate George P . Brady , who — along with Chief Gunner ' s Mate Hans Johnsen and Chief Machinist T . C . Cooney — later received the Medal of Honor . Because at the time members of the Revenue Cutter Service were not eligible for the Navy Medal of Honor , Congress approved a special medal struck for them . Frank Newcomb , the Commanding Officer of " Hudson " received the medal in gold , his officers received it in silver , and the enlisted crewmen in bronze . On the Spanish side , Teniente de Navío Montes , commander of the " Antonio López " , received the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand . The Spanish gunboat squadron , made of seven steam launches , remained unscathed until the end of the war , when all the units where sold by the Spanish government .