{"id":82427,"date":"2026-03-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/03\/26\/when-the-us-went-to-war-with-guam-and-no-one-told-them\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:29:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:29:41","slug":"when-the-us-went-to-war-with-guam-and-no-one-told-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/military-history\/2026\/03\/26\/when-the-us-went-to-war-with-guam-and-no-one-told-them\/","title":{"rendered":"When the US went to war with Guam \u2014 and no one told them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was perhaps the politest \u201cbattle\u201d in human history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon entering Guam\u2019s harbor on June 20, 1898, instead of experiencing the expected whizz of bullets and the booms of a cannonade, U.S. Navy Capt. Henry Glass and his crew aboard the re-commissioned cruiser USS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/research\/publications\/documentary-histories\/united-states-navy-s\/list-ships-commanders\/american-ships-and-commanders.html\" rel=\"\">Charleston<\/a><i> <\/i>were greeted on the beaches by curious residents who mistook Charleston\u2019s warning shoots as a salute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No one had bothered to tell the residents on the island that they were at war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The small, neglected island under Spanish rule hadn\u2019t received a message from Spain since April 14, 1898 \u2014 a full month before hostilities broke out between their protectorate and the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That did not stop the Americans from attempting to seize the far-flung Spanish holding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MISSION TO GUAM <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier that month, upon receiving orders from Secretary of the Navy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/research\/publications\/documentary-histories\/united-states-navy-s\/biographical-directory.html\" rel=\"\">John D. Long<\/a> \u201cto stop at the Spanish Island of Guam \u2026 [and] use such force as may be necessary to capture the port,\u201d the Charleston, with Glass at the helm, steamed toward the Spanish-held island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One sailor recalled, \u201cWhen the news of our destination and object was learned aboard the Australia<i> <\/i>there was considerable excitement, of course, and the cause of many pow-wows as \u2018What about Guam and where is it anyway, and what do we want of it?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A POLITE DISCUSSION ABOUT WAR <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once they arrived in Guam, the Americans were hankering for a fight \u2014 Manifest Destiny on their minds \u2014 and soon began bombarding the fort at Santa Cruz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ironically, however, their act of violence was mistaken for a salute of respect, and the Spanish authorities on the island raced to obtain artillery to return the perceived salutations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Guamanian officials approached the Charleston by way of rowboat, they were shocked to learn that a state of war existed between the United States and Spain and that they were now technically prisoners of war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glass then dispatched Lt.\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/research\/publications\/documentary-histories\/united-states-navy-s\/biographical-directory.html\" rel=\"\">William Braunersreuther<\/a>\u202fto meet with governor Juan Marina Vega and collect the surrender of the small Spanish garrison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/research\/publications\/documentary-histories\/united-states-navy-s\/the-capture-of-guam.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/research\/publications\/documentary-histories\/united-states-navy-s\/the-capture-of-guam.html\">Naval History and Heritage Command<\/a>, Vega was taken aback that he had to go aboard the American vessel, as such an action was forbidden by Spanish law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI regret to have to decline this honor and to ask that you will kindly come on shore, where I await you to accede to your wishes as far as possible, and to agree to our mutual situations,\u201d Vega responded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vega eventually acquiesced, along with surrendering his small Spanish garrison to the Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LEFT IN QUESTIONABLE HANDS <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glass, eager to sail on to Manila posthaste to join Commodore George Dewey\u2019s fleet, placed the island in the hands of Francisco Portusach, a 30-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former janitor was in the right place at the right time. Portusach\u2019s only qualifying attribute was that he was an American, but that was enough for Glass, and he placed the island \u2014 and U.S. interests \u2014 in Portusach\u2019s less than capable hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unsurprisingly, after Glass\u2019 departure, Portusach was unable to solidify his position as governor and was overthrown by Spaniard Jose Sisto, a former public administrator. Sisto, too, had a short reign and was quickly overthrown by the native Chamorro population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 1898 Treaty of Paris formalized the handover of Guam as a U.S. territory, which it remains today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This story was originally published on <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/historynet.com\/when-the-us-went-to-war-with-guam-and-no-one-told-them\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/historynet.com\/when-the-us-went-to-war-with-guam-and-no-one-told-them\/\"><i>HistoryNet<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upon entering Guam&#8217;s harbor, the Americans were greeted on the beaches by curious residents instead of gunfire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":112370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":87,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,87,12,26,19,65],"tags":[8468,8469],"coauthors":[3383],"class_list":["post-82427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-history","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans","category-your-navy","tag-military-history","tag-war-history"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JLUOUBFEI5DUXN4DRZZPBMUI5A","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/military-history\/2026\/03\/26\/when-the-us-went-to-war-with-guam-and-no-one-told-them\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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