Cámara's Flying Relief Column

During the Spanish-American war of 1898, Cámara's Flying Relief Column was a naval task force of Spain's most powerful warships, under the command of Rear Admiral Manuel de la Cámara, to relieve Spanish forces in Manila after the defeat of Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón by the American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. The Spanish fleet, consisting of the Spanish battleship Pelayo, the armoured cruiser Carlos V and four other warships, left Spain in June 1898. The squadron was far more powerful than that commanded by Dewey.

The monitor USS Monterey (BM-6) had been ordered from the U.S. to the Philippines, and departed on 11 June. The U.S. moved to detach the battleships Iowa and Oregon and the cruiser USS Brooklyn from the squadron then blockading Cuba for raids and bombardment of Spanish ports On 7 July, Spain ordered Cámara's fleet to return home, and the American ships never left the Caribbean.