During the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launch their invasion of Puerto
Rico, the 108-mile-long, 40-mile-wide island that was one of Spain’s two
principal possessions in the Caribbean. With little resistance and only seven deaths, U.S. troops under General Nelson A. Miles were able to secure the
island by mid-August. After the signing of an armistice with Spain, American
troops raised the U.S. flag over the island, formalizing U.S. authority over its
one million inhabitants. Puerto Rico remains a U.S. commonwealth today.