The Guano Islands Act allowed the United States to claim midway atoll.
Yes United Sates still owns Midway island as of 2012 no more Visitors will be welcome due to budget cut backs... thank you Decorate Party..... This is an Historic Place that should be Honored for all the fallen Brothers who defended the Atoll during WWII ..
A superior intelligence network that intercepted, decoded and translated Naval messages which allowed the US Fleet to spring a surprse attack.
See website: Battle of Midway
US Navy deciphered the Japanese attack plan by breaking the Japanese codes used for communicating with Japanese naval commanders. This allowed the U.S. to direct its carriers to sit back behind Midway island and launch air attacks on the large Japanese force.
The Guano Islands Act allowed the United States to claim midway atoll.
Midway Atoll.
The Midway Atoll was acquired by the US in 1867. In 1859 Captain N.C. Brooks discovered Midway and claimed it for the United States.
The Pacific islands which were acquired in 1867 as U. S. territories were the Midway Atoll. These islands are also known as the Midway Islands.
The US had passed the Guano Islands Act of 1856, which allowed American sailing vessels to temporarily claim and occupy islands for the removal of guano (bird droppings) which were valuable as fertilizer. On July 5, 1859, Midway atoll was sighted by Captain N.C. Middlebrooks, on the seal-hunting ship Gambia. The islands were named the "Middlebrook Islands" or the "Brook Islands". Nine years later, on August 28, 1867, Captain William Reynolds of the USS Lackawanna formally took possession of the atoll for the United States. Although technically part of the Hawaiian seamount chain, the island was separately annexed and placed under control of the US Navy.
American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island.
The US did not gain their current territories of American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands as a result of the Spanish-American War.The US did gain the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba as a result of the Spanish-American War.
Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Johnson Atoll, Midway, Wake Island, Guam, Baker Island, American Samoa and several others. Hawaii is part of the US and is not "owned" by the US. See the Wikipedia link below for the list of U.S. territories (not just those in the Pacific).
Midway Island was claimed for the US under the Guano Islands Act of 1856 after its dicovery on 5 July 1859 by Captain N. C. Middlebrooks of the sealing ship Gambia and formally claimed by the US on 28 August 1867. The ownership of Midway Island has no relevance to the Spanish American War.
Northern Marianas Palau Guam American Samoa US Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Wake Midway Bikini Atoll, Baker, Howard
Midway Atoll was a US base that provided aerial surveillance and advance notice of Japanese naval threats approaching the main islands of Hawaii from the west-northwest. It was large enough to house a small-to-moderate sized air & naval forces. It was primarily a defensive base for the US, with only minimal capability to help with US offensive operations in the central Pacific in the direction of Japan. To the Japanese, the atoll if seized could have possibly helped Japan conduct offensive operations into the Hawaiian Islands. However, if the Japanese had seized the atoll in June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, then it is doubtful that Japan could have successfully held the island more than one or two months against the strength of US naval, ground & air forces stationed in nearby Hawaii. Midway was too far away from other Japanese bases to get air support or allow Japanese naval units to linger for defense of the atoll. In the end, Midway's main benefit to the US was to draw the Japanese aircraft carriers into a foolhardy, fateful & pivotal battle that led to a devastating Japanese defeat.
Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Navassa Island Palmyra Atoll Jarvis Island Kingman Reef American Samoa Johnston Atoll Baker Island Howland Island Midway Islands Wake Island Northern Mariana Islands Guam