Although many Americans were sympathetic to the rebels and wanted to support them.
From the outset, both President Grant and Secretary of State Fish focused their attention on the Caribbean region. In 1868, Cuban rebels began to fight a guerrilla campaign against Spain to win independence. Although many Americans were sympathetic to the rebels and and wanted to support them, Grant and Fish sought to avoid a possible war with Spain just as the United States was trying to recover from the Civil War.
