Battle of San Juan Hill - Aftermath

Aftermath

The battle had been a hard one for the Americans, who suffered almost five times as many losses as the Spanish. The Spaniards, meanwhile, had literally fought to the knife, losing a third of their force in casualties but yielding very few prisoners.

Lawton's division, which was supposed to join the fight early on July 1, did not arrive until noon on 2 July, having encountered unexpectedly heavy resistance in the battle of El Caney. The Americans, along with the aid of Cuban insurgents, immediately began the investment of Santiago, which surrendered on July 17.

Theodore Roosevelt, along with the rest of the Rough Riders, achieved considerable fame with the victory. Other soldiers fared less well.Young Jules Garesche Ord never received recognition in the popular press of the day for his actions. The Army turned down requests for a medal for his heroism from his commanding officer and his commanding general.

The large number of U.S. casualties from small-arms fire incurred in the fighting led directly to the Army's decision to update and modernize its small arms arsenal. The .45-70 and M1892 (Krag) Springfield rifles were quickly retired from service in favor of new Mauser-pattern .30-03 (later .30-06) M1903 Springfield rifles, while the remaining .30 Army Gatling guns were replaced in 1909 by the M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun.