Guam Mistook War For Salute

When the U.S. attacked Guam in 1898, the Spanish thought the cannon fire was a salute. Spanish officers sailed out to apologize for not firing back because they had no gunpowder, only to learn that the shots came from an American warship during the Spanish-American War. Guam had received little contact from Spain and did not yet know that war had broken out. The misunderstanding ended quickly as Spain surrendered Guam to the United States without a battle.

Previous Fact Next Fact