As part of the Spanish-American War, the USS Charleston sailed into Guam's harbor and fired on the old Spanish fort, only to discover the Spanish governor had no idea war had broken out and possessed no ammunition to return fire. The bloodless capture placed Guam under American control, where it remains a U.S. territory today.
The scene bordered on farce. When the Charleston's guns opened fire on Fort Santa Cruz, the Spanish garrison, isolated for months from any news of the outside world, assumed the noise was a courtesy salute and sent a small boat out to apologize for having no gunpowder to return the greeting.
Captain Henry Glass informed the bewildered Spanish officers that Spain and the United States had been at war for months and that Guam was now being annexed by the United States. The tiny garrison, without means of resistance, surrendered the island without a single shot fired in anger.
The capture was part of a broader American sweep through Spain's Pacific holdings during the Spanish-American War, alongside the seizure of the Philippines. Guam's strategic position made it a valuable naval coaling station, and it has remained an unincorporated U.S. territory ever since, a legacy of that almost comic 1898 encounter.