In the beginning the plan of campaign included an advance along three lines.
The first division, under General Schwan, was to advance along the western coast to Aguadilla, in the north-western corner of the island, and then to push to the east until Arecibo, on the northern coast and about half-way between Aguadilla and San Juan, was reached. The second division, under General Henry, was to push directly to the north from Ponce, forming a union with Schwan at Arecibo. The main advance was to be along the military road from Ponce to San Juan. As this road runs for some distance parallel to the southern coast, a division was dispatched under General Brooke to land at Arroyo and capture Guayama, an important city on the military road, about forty miles east of Ponce. By this means, whatever detachments of Spanish troops might be stationed on the road between these two points were exposed to attack from both front and rear.
Before any of these movements could be completed, however, came the armistice and the consequent cessation of hostilities.
Much, though, had been accomplished before this, enough to show what American arms were capable of.
In the east, General Brooke, after landing at Arroyo, had taken Guayama; in the centre, General Wilson had advanced on the military road, occupied Coamo, and had made a demonstration before Aibonito, where there was a large Spanish force; further to the west, General Henry had marched to within fifteen miles of Arecibo; in the extreme west, General Schwan had marched along the coast and taken Mayaguez, the principal port in that end of the island, after a sharp skirmish with a force that outnumbered his own. The slight opposition met by General Brooke at Guayama, General Wilson at Coamo, and General Schwan near Mayaguez, indicated that there would be little difficulty in reaching the capital, and officers and men alike felt that the capture of San Juan was a matter of but a few days.
The third landing of American troops in Porto Rico took place on August 2, at Arroyo, from the St. Louis and the St. Paul. The army then took the place of the navy and accepted the surrender of the town. There was no defense and no Spanish flag was flying. The surrender of Arroyo was important, as there were a large number of manufacturing enterprises there.
The attitude of the civil authorities and the ineffective character of the defense made by the Spanish troops, says the San Francisco Argonaut, was illustrated by the advance made by General Henry's division. General Roy Stone was sent in advance with a small body of about one hundred men to reconnoiter the road and determine its fitness for military operations. The character of the expedition may be gathered from the fact that General Stone and his officers rode in carriages. Yet town after town surrendered to these outposts until they were encamped before Arecibo, on the northern coast of the island. The main body had nothing to do but follow and furnish flags for the surrendered municipalities.
One of the most extraordinary things in the whole campaign was the surrender of the city of Ponce. This was done in response to a telephone communication from Ensign Curtin. Not a single shot was fired.
After the surrender of Ponce it was reported that a large Spanish force had gathered about ten miles in the interior. Two companies of soldiers were sent out by General Ernst to see what this meant. On the outskirts of the town a party of Spanish soldiers, loaded down with guns and swords, was met with. As soon as the Spaniards caught sight of the Americans they ran toward them crying, "Don't shoot!"
They declared that they were coming in to surrender. Although the party was small, they had arms enough to stock a regiment. They were taken before General Wilson, gave up their arms and signed a parole.