Bravo de Rivera, a Spanish governor, founded the city of Fajardo in the late 1700s under its original name, "Santiago de Fajardo." In its early days, the city was also known as "La Metrópolis del Sol Naciente" (the city that guards the sun of the Caribbean). Though small and sleepy, Fajardo's excellent real estate, a fleet-ready marina, contributed to its military attractiveness and gave Fajardo its historical claim to fame. The city was the location of a key battle in the Spanish American War when American forces chose it as one of their main points of invasion.
General Nelson Appleton Miles, commander of the American forces that engaged Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, was originally ordered by the Washington war planners to land ships at Fajardo and begin the invasion. However, General Miles ignored those orders and chose to land up the coast, invading a city called Guánica. Despite his unconventional methods and lack of communication with Washington officials of his plans before he was settled in on land, he enjoyed a tactical advantage over the Fajardo troops.
Captain Frederic W. Rogers of the USS Puritan picked up where General Miles left off, landing at Fajardo on August 1, 1898. He noticed that there was no American flag where Miles was supposed to have been, the Cape San Juan lighthouse (or "Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan"). He realized that there must have been a problem which he was in a good position to solve. Rogers followed Washington's orders to the letter, sending a contingent of marines, sailors and Puerto Rican volunteers to the original landing site. More ships joined the Puritan the next day and, bolstered by the strengthened manpower, a shore party raised the U.S. flag over the lighthouse.
Only twenty-five men existed in the Spanish garrison stationed at Fajardo at the time; they reached out to San Juan immediately after becoming aware of the American presence. San Juan, noting a severe outnumbering, ordered them to withdraw. When they left, Fajardo's mayor (Dr. Santiago Veve Calzada) understandably panicked. The Spanish commanders refused to send troops to defend the city despite his cry for help, so Dr. Calzada took the people of the town to the most defensible position in the city to fend for themselves -- the lighthouse.
Spanish troops finally responded to the invasion on August 4, when the military commander (Governor General Macias) sent 200 troops, led by Colonel Pedro del Pino, to recapture Fajardo. There was some confusion. After all, when Pino first led his troops into the city, it was essentially deserted; the residents were all huddled in the lighthouse, despite the American flag flying atop it. Noting the presence of the flag, Pino decided to attack that particular building, not knowing that's where the Fajardans were hiding. When the Spanish began the attack, the American marines signaled their ships, which commenced bombarding the shore in a protective pattern.
The American ships forced the Spanish troops back into the city. The following morning, a detachment of Marines evacuated the terrified civilians from the lighthouse to the city of Ponce. Pino's men took the opportunity to clear the American flags from where they'd been erected in the city and headed back to San Juan, bringing along the flags as proof of victory. Despite the questionable circumstances of victory, Fajardo marked the only time that U.S. troops were forced to withdraw from any position during the entire Puerto Rican campaign.
