Cervera's formation and sacrificial breakout plan

Infanta Maria Teresa led the Spanish column out of Santiago, followed by the engine-troubled Vizcaya, Cristóbal Colón, Almirante Oquendo, and the destroyers Plutón and Furor. The ships made only eight to ten knots and followed at intervals of roughly eight hundred yards. USS Brooklyn initially headed toward Cervera's flagship, then turned across the formation and nearly circled USS Texas as the American squadron sorted itself out. Cervera's likely design was a sacrificial fight by his flagship, Vizcaya, and the destroyers to clear an escape route for the faster cruisers. Cristóbal Colón and Almirante Oquendo instead fell back into line, suggesting that their captains and crews were unwilling to abandon their admiral.