American Research Journal of History and Culture

The Puerto Rico campaign of 1898 was a brief but medically significant phase of the Spanish-American War. During nineteen days of operations, U.S. forces achieved rapid territorial gains with minimal combat losses. Of forty-nine documented battle casualties, only six were fatal, while disease caused 238 deaths, primarily from typhoid fever and malaria, yielding one of the highest disease mortality rates of the war. Military and medical reports show that antiseptic treatment, conservative surgery, and early use of X-ray technology helped reduce combat mortality. In contrast, typhoid fever, largely introduced from U.S. training camps, overwhelmed medical facilities despite reforms implemented by Surgeon General George M. Sternberg. Under the leadership of Colonel Charles R. Greenleaf, the campaign demonstrated advances in military medicine, including improved logistics, professional nursing integration, and more effective field triage. The campaign highlighted both the progress of modern military medicine and the persistent challenge of disease control in wartime.

Keywords: Combat Casualties, Military Medicine, Disease Mortality, Battlefield Surgery, Typhoid Fever, Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico Campaign.