What city was besieged by U.S. and Cuban forces leading to the Spanish surrender in Cuba?

Santiago de Cuba was the city besieged by U.S. and Cuban forces before Spain surrendered its garrison in eastern Cuba. The siege followed the American landings near Santiago and the battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill.

Santiago was strategically important because it was a major Cuban port and the base of Spain’s Caribbean fleet. On July 3, 1898, the Spanish fleet attempted to escape from Santiago Bay and was destroyed by the U.S. Navy. With the harbor blocked and the city surrounded, American artillery and Cuban forces under Calixto García helped tighten the siege.

Spanish commander José Toral agreed to surrender the city and surrounding forces in July. The Spanish troops marched out on July 17, effectively ending the major fighting on Cuba, although the wider war continued elsewhere. Havana was Cuba’s capital but was not the city whose surrender followed this famous siege; Guantánamo and Cienfuegos were also involved in military operations but were not the answer to this question.