Proceeding under orders from Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, the monitors USS Puritan, USS Amphitrite, the armed tug USS Leyden, and the collier USS Hannibal proceeded from Port Nipe to Cape San Juan, on the northeastern tip of Puerto Rico, arriving late afternoon on August, 1. The ships anchored behind a series of keys: Icacos, Isla de Lobos and Isla Palominos, out of sight from the mainland. Cape San Juan (Fajardo) was the designated landing site for the US Army forces under Major General Nelson A. Miles. However, sometime between July 21–24, 1898, Miles had unilaterally changed the invasion site from Fajardo to Guanica on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. Expecting a rendez-vous with Miles' troops, but finding no transports save for Arcadia and Mississippi that "had been ordered to m