By piecing together diaries, letters, scrapbooks and rare privately-printed memoirs, the author has created a story which tells how America's ragtag navy - composed mainly of converted yachts, steamers and tugboats - was able to fight and win against the more powerful Spanish gunboats. The naval battles were fought in places like Santiago, Cardenas, Cienfuegos, Manzanillo, Port Nipe, Guantanamo, San Juan, Guanica and Ponce. The stories of the brave little ships that fought these battles (with names like the Gloucester and the Yosemite), at times against overwhelming odds, demonstrates the excellent training of the men who manned their guns under leadership of daring officers. This book fills in many of the missing pieces in the history of the Spanish-American War.