A Splendid Little War

In the spring of 1898 the United States
went to war with the empire of Spain.
It was our Nation's first major conflict
since the Civil War, and the first
major foreign war in our Country's
brief history. It was a war for which
the United States was unprepared
militarily, but a war that had been
looking for an excuse to happen for
a quarter-century.

It was a war that lasted less than a year from declaration
of war to signing of the Treaty of Paris ending it. Violent
conflict spanned a period of only 115 days with less than
400 American combat deaths. It was an unqualified victory
for the United States, a success that propelled the young
nation to the forefront as a world power.

http://www.homeofheroes.com/wallofhonor/spanish_am/01_intro.html