Ad
mi
ra
l G e o rg e
3 S ke t c h
of
t he
D
ewe
m
an
BY
U NI T E D
JO HN B A R R E T T
S A ES M N I ST E R T o s u m 894
T
S PE C I A L
AD
MI
T
I
WA R
RAL
M A Y,
1
CO
R R E SPO N D E N T
D E WE Y
898 ,
TO
AT
M A NI
MA R C H ,
,
1
-1
898
WI T H
LA
1 899
A
I L LU ST R T E D
AND LO ND O N
B R O T H E R S P U B L I SH E R S
NE W Y O R K
H
ARPER
I
8 99
y
Copy n gh t, 1899, b y
H
A
mn
R PE R
A ll ri ght: n a
md
e
B no
.
s.
T HIS L I TTL E V OLU ME
A T R I B U T E OF S I N CE RE E S T EEM FOR
TH E G RE A T M A N IT A TT EM PT S TO DE SCRI BE
i
s
E e btc a t e o to
TH A T DE L E G A TI O N
0F
B
R AV E A N D FA ITHF UL
NE WSPAPER CORRE SPOND ENT S
I N TH E I R RE S PO N S I B L E L I N E OF D U TY S E RV ED
TH E I R C O UN TR Y A T M A N I L A W ITH TH E S A M E DE V O TI O N
A N D PA T RI O TI S M T H A T C H A R A CT E R I ZED TH E I R CO M R A DE S
OF TH E A RM Y A N D N A V Y A N D WHO I A M CO N F I DE N T
W I LL C H EE R F ULL Y C O N FI R M A LL I W R IT E OF TH E N A T UR E
OF T HE M A N UN DE R WH OS E S URV E I LL A N C E A S TH E FA I R
E S T OF C E N S O RS TH E Y L A B O R ED A N D FO R WH O S E UN A E
FE CT ED PE RS O N A L IT Y L O N G A SS O C I A TI O N UN DE R M O S T TRY
I NG C I R C U M S T A N C E S DE V E L OPED TH E I R L A S TI N G R E S PE C T
WHO,
,
,
,
,
,
PR E F A C E
IN
the first ch a p ter of this wor k those p oi n ts
are d isc u sse d which u s u all y find p la ce i n a p ref
a ce ;hence on l y a few w or d s a re nee d e d here
Al tho ug h most of the matter p u b l ishe d is ne w
a n d fresh l y t a k en from th e note boo k which I
c a ref u ll y kept a t Man i la from Ma y 1898 to
Ma rch 1899 se l ec t ion s h a v e a pp e a re d o v er
my n a m e in HA R PE R S MA G A ZI N E a n d HA R
P E R s WE E K L Y a n d i n add resses a n d inter v ie w s
w hich h a v e from time t o time bee n q u ote d in
th e p u b l ic p ress I w o u l d be g th ose wh o re ad
this u n a ss u min g a t tem p t to p ortr a y A d mir al
D ewey the m a n t o be a r in min d that it la ys
n o c la im to s p eci al l iter a ry e xce ll ence b u t is
la r g e l y a co ll ectio n of l e av es from my note
boo k in w hich th e la n gu a g e u se d is sim p l e
a n d n ot st u d ie d T he short time moreo v er
a t my d is p os al after th e d etermin a tio n to write
th e boo k h as h a n d ic a pp e d m e in my e fforts to
g i v e it th a t finish w h ich th e s u b j ect w a rra nts
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P R E FA C E
tr u st th a t its d e ficie n cies w i ll be more
tha n co u nterb ala nce d by th e tr u thf u l story
th a t is to l d I t is ho p e d t h a t all who a re su ffi
c i e ntl y intereste d to re ad it w i ll be a b l e to form
a f a ir l y com p rehensi v e a n d s a tisf a ctory Op inion
of A d miral G eorg e D e w ey in a ctio n a n d in r e
p ose a n d to l e a rn those p a r t ic u la r fe a t u re s of his
p erson al ity of w h ich they d esire more inti m
a te
k no w l e d g e T he fa ct th at h e h a s become s u ch
a g re a t p u b l ic ch a r a cter e x c u ses the d et a i l a n d
free d om of tre a tment a n d q u ot a tio n w hich a re
no w a n d then em p l oye d Whi l e in th e m a in
th e A d miral is d isc u sse d a s I k new h im a t
Ma ni la for ne a r l y a ye a r ad e q u a te bi og ra p hi
c al m a tter is inc l u d e d to p ro v i d e a f a ir s k etch
of his l ife before his chief f a me c a me A s f a r
a s I c a n l e a rn a t this w ritin g th ere is no o t h er
wor k of the s a me n a t u re bein g p u b l ish e d a t
the ho u r of A d mir al D e w ey s ret u rn to his
home la n d T here a re e la bor a te bio g r a p hies
w ritten by d istin gu ishe d a u thorities b u t this
l it t l e v o l u me i s not inten d e d t o co m p ete w ith
them
bu t I
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J B
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NE W Y O RK , 8ep
4, 1899
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C ONT ENT S
I
AND
P AR T
I N T R O D U C T O RY
G E NE R A L
A
P GE
HE P URP OSE S CO P E AND I NSPI RAT I O N O F
T H I S WO RK
II A D M I RAL D EWE Y IN HI ST O RY — A G R E A T
M AN I N T H E T RU E M E AN I N G O F T HE T E RM
III P R O L O N G E D S T AY A T M AN I LA AND A P P R E
C I A T I ON O F HO M E E S T EE M
I V R ELA T I O NS 0 F A D MI RAL D EW E Y AND A G U I
NALD O T HE INSURG E N T L EADER
A D MI RAL S OP I N I O N O N A M E R I C A S
V T HE
D U TY I N T HE P H I L I P P I N E S
V I T HE T E M PT AT I ON 0 F P RES IDEN T I A L AMB I
T I O N R E SI S T ED
I
T
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3
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9
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16
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30
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42
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PA R T
P R E P A RA T
I ON
F OR
B
47
II
A T T L E T HE B A T T L E
R E SP O N SI B I L I T I E S
,
,
AN D
CON SE QU E NT
I P REP AREDNE SS F O R T HE B ATT LE A T HO N G
KON G
I I T HE S T O R Y O F T HE B A TT L E T O LD I N T H E
A D M I RAL S O WN R E P OR T
III CO MM E N T O F AD MI RAL D EW E Y O N T HE B AT
T L E AND I N C I DEN T S C O NN E C T ED W I T H I T
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79
CONTENTS
I V WHY ADMI RAL D EWEY D I D N O T S A I L AWA Y
FR OM M AN I LA AF T ER T HE B A TT LE
V PR I DE I N T HE C AV I TE NAVY YARD B U T
D I SAPP O IN T M EN T IN T HE S T A T U E
V I A DM I RAL D E WE Y AND T HE G ER M ANS
V I I AD M I RAL D E WE Y S T R E A T ME NT O F N EWS
P AG E
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P AP E R
ME N
116
V I I I AD MI RAL D E WE Y D I S C U SSE S A P O SS IB LE
B A TT LE W I T H C AM ARA S S QUADR O N
I!
R ELA T I O NS W IT H T HE A RMY AN D C A PT URE
O F M AN I LA
!
S TAFF OFFI C ER S AND C A PT A I NS T RU ST ED
F O R V AR I O U S R ES P O N SIB I LI T I E S
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’
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130
143
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II I
C HARA C T ER I STI C S HA B I T S AND MI SC E L L A
N E OU S I N C I DEN T S
P O IN T S O F T HE A D MI RAL S C HARA C T ER
NO TE D FR O M T I ME T O T I M E
QU I E T VI SI T S T o M AN I LA O NE O F WH I C H
NEARLY RE SUL T ED D I SAS T R O USLY
R EL IGI O US INS T IN C T S M O RA L V I EWS AND
P ERS O NAL HA B IT S
T HE A DM I RA L S U NF A ILI N G
C O UR TE SY
T O WARDS WOME N
G ENERA L F EA T URE S O F PER SO N AN D M AN
N ER
152
P A RT
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II
I II
IV
V
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17 7
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IV
ENVIR O NM EN T B I O GRA P HY G ENEAL O GY
AN D FA M I L Y
I MARKED INFLUEN C E O F L OC AL E NVI R O N
MEN T ON D EWE Y S B OY H OO D
viii
193
199
P AR T
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211
CONTENTS
PAG E
AD M I RAL D E WE Y S FA T HER D R JU LI US
Y E M AN S D EWE Y A M AN O F G REA T
A B ILI TY
I II F A M I L Y R E LA T I O NS AN D N O TAB LE AN C ES T O R S
I V B I O G RA P H I C AL S KE T C H O F D EWE Y FR O M
M ON TP ELI ER T O M ANI LA
V T HE A FFE C T I O N O F T HE A D MIRAL F O R HI S
O NL Y S O N G E O R G E G OO DWIN D EWE Y
II
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216
2 24
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230
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I
II
III
I V
V
A PPE N D I !
R EAR A D M I RAL G E O R G E D E WE Y U S N
A D MI RAL G E O R G E D E WE Y
D R JU LI US Y E MA N S D EWE Y
D E WE Y G ENEAL O GY
R E P O R T O F B A TT L E B Y A D M I RA L M O N T O JO
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I ND E !
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2 58
26 0
26 4
265
27 5
I L L U ST R A T I O N S
AD M IRAL G E O R G E DEWE Y
T HE FAL L 0F M AN IL A
AD MI R AL DEWE Y CO MI N G ASH ORE A T MA
N I LA
EN T RAN C E T O P A SIG R IVER M AN I LA
O NE O F T HE B I G 6 IN C H SPAN I SH G UN S O N
SAN GL E Y P O I N T WHI C H F I RED 0N AD
M IRAL D E WE Y S SQU A D R O N AND WA S
D ISM O UN T ED B Y T HE F IRE F R O M T HE
AM ER I C AN SH IP S
T HE REI NA CRI S TI NA F L A G SH I P OF AD MI RA L
M ON T OJO A S SHE L OO KS T O DA Y
T HE I SL E D E R I ND ANA O A SP AN I SH AR M ED
T R ANSP O R T AND M ER C HAN TM AN
LI EUT ENANT W ILLIA M S AND HI S DE T A C H
M ENT O F M ARI N E S FR O M T HE B AL TI MORE
SA L U T I N G AD M IR AL DEWE Y O N HI S F I RST
VI SI T T o T HE C AVI TE NAVY Y ARD
F a c i ng p
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16
U
H
38
6 ‘
56
6‘
68
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H
I LLU
STRATI ON S
F O UR O F T HE S MA LL ER S PAN I SH G UN
B O AT S SUNK O N MA Y
DEWE Y O N T HE B RI D G E O F T HE PE N SA COL A
DURI N G HER C RU I SE I N EURO P EA N
WA T E RS
VI EW O F T HE M A L AT E F O R T JUS T AF T ER
T HE C A PT URE AND OCC U P A T I O N B Y T HE
A M ERI CAN T R OOP S AU G U ST
T H I S VIE W WAS T AKEN SH OR T L Y A F T ER
L I EU T ENAN T B RU MBY OF ADM I RAL
DEWEY S S T AFF RAI SE D AN I MM ENSE
A M ERI C AN F L A G BR O U G H T SPE C I A LL Y
FR O M T HE OL YMPI A 0N AU G UST
COMM OD O RE G E O R G E DEWE Y A S T HE HEAD
O F A B UREAU
B I RD S E Y E VI EW O F O NE SE C T I O N O F M A
N I L A T AKEN A B OU T M AR C H 30 1899
A F T ER T HE I NSUR G EN T O U TBREAK
T HE ST A T E H O USE M O N TP EL I ER VER M O N T
DR JUL I US YE MAN S DEWE Y
T HE
H O USE I N WH I C H G E OR G E DE WE Y
WAS B O RN AS I T L OO KED AND S T OO D
WH E N HE WA S A B OY
C HARLES DEWE Y T HE ELDER B R O T HER
0F AD M IRAL DEWE Y
T HE U S S OL YMPI A O N T HE M O RNIN G O F
T HE DAY SHE L EF T M AN IL A WI T H AD
M IRA L D EWE Y ON B O ARD
! G
126
146
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156
6 ‘
170
H
182
h
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x ii
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ILLU
STRATI ON S
EWE Y A S A LIEU T ENAN T CO MM ANDER
COMM O D O R E G E OR G E DEW E Y
T HE T W O
KRU P P G UNS O F T HE LUNE T A
B A TT E R Y WH I C H F IRED O N T HE A ME R I
C AN SHI P S M AY
A V I EW OF T H E LUNE T A L OO K IN G S O U T H
T O WARDS M ALATE
P OR TRA I T OF T HE AUT H OR
D
256
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26 6
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H
2 70
p a rt i
I NT R OD U C T OR Y A N D
G E NE R A L
A D MI R A L
G E O R G E D E WE Y
to l earn m ore than is genera ll y to ld an d kno w n
of this great man as he appeare d u n d er t he
trying con d itions which brought him h is high
est fame an d greatest responsibi l ities
T his l itt l e vo l ume i s ma d e up chie fly o f
l ea v es from my note book I t i s not there
fore a n attempt to write an e x h au sti v e biog
ra hy or history of th e foremost comman d er
p
of the war b u t a mo d est sketch of the man as
I an d o t hers knew him
On l y su fficient bio
!
graphica l m atter is intro d uce d to gi v e a fairl y
comprehensi v e recor d of the Ad mira l s l ife
an d there i s no intention to compe t e with the
l onger an d more a m
bitious works which are
being pub l ishe d I t was not my e x pectation
w hen in the P hi l ippines to w rite a book of
this nature after my return to A meric a but
so much press u re has been brought to bear by
those who ha v e seen my notes which w ere
kept with consi d erab l e d i l igence mere l y for my
own persona l satisfaction an d future reference
that I ha v e en d ea v ore d to put some of them
together in this form T he q uotations of the
A d mira l s own w or d s are w ith f e w e x ceptions
repro d uce d j ust as they w ere written d own by
me at Mani l a wi t hin a few hours after h e ha d
T he numerous a ll usions to m
sai d them
y
se l f I trust w i ll be par d o ne d in V ie w of the
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Se e P art I V
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a nd
4
Ap pe ndi x
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PERS
O N A L A C QU A I N T A N C E
fact that m uch of what i s recor d e d h ere is
base d on personal con v ersations which w e i e e u
j oye d with th e A d mira l or those c l ose l y as so
B eyon d stating graph ica ll y
c i a t e d with him
what came un d er m y d irec t persona l obser v a
tion th ere i s no d esire to gi v e myse l f any
prominence W hen it i s state d that d uring
his l ong stay at Mani l a it i s probab l e t hat n o
oth er A merican not a na v al m an or offi cia l of
th e U nite d S ta tes ha d th e opport u n ity of se e
ing more of h i m than I d i d thi s fact i s not
brough t ou t boastfu ll y but simp l y in a com
i
ar
a
t
ve
sense
to
sh
ow
what
cre
d
ence
may
be
p
p l ace d in m y h umb l e estimates of hi s won d er
fu l character
T h e beginning an d d e v e l opment of my
ac q uaintance w i t h the great A d miral can be
attribute d to a series of m ost interesti ng e xp e
r i e nc e s
A l though I ha d e x change d Offi cial
l etters with him wh i l e I was U nite d S tates
Mini ster at B angkok it was re s er v e d for m e to
know h im w e ll fi rs t at Mani l a after his triumph
w hich ha d set the A siatic wor l d agog at the
same time that it arouse d th e enthu siasm of
A s soon as th e war c l ou d s began to
A merica
gather an d D ewey s s q ua d ron mad e its ren
d e z vou s at Hong K ong I p l an n e d to reach
there in time to go with it to the P hi l ippines
My successor h owe v er was d e l aye d in arri v ing
suffi cient l y l ong to pre v ent my d eparture f ro m
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5
A D MI R A L
G E O R G E D E WE Y
so that I co u ld catch the s q ua d ron
before it l eft Mirs B a y
A l most broken hearte d o v er l osing this one
opportunity of a l ifetime I ma d e u p my min d
on l eav ing my post in S iam fi rst to make a
hasty v isit to Mani l a in or d er t o be th ere if
possib l e at its capture w hich then seeme d i m
minent an d then to retu rn with a ll s pee d to
t he U ni t e d S tates an d v o l unteer f or t he army
I n fact my ser v ices were proffere d in a dv anc e
to the g o v ernment by a specia l l etter th rough
th e S tate D epartment but une x pecte d d e v e l op
ments as it w i ll be seen change d my origina l
L ooking back now I am gl a d that
p l a ns
e v ent s shape d themse lv es as they d i d Other
wise I might hav e l ost the chance of coming
into l ong association wi t h th e fi rst na v a l man
of the war an d of continuing m y stu d ies of
th e P hi l ippines an d th eir peop l e
W hi l e en route from B angkok to Hong K ong
in ear l y May 18 98 other in fl u ences were at
work in A merica which a d d e d to th e p r ob a b i l
ities of my going to the seat of war in the F a r
E ast
W hen I reache d B ong K ong an d repair
e d to th e C onsu l ate for l etters an d te l e g rams
C onsu l G enera l W i ld man han d e d me d espatches
which at once d etermine d my course I was
aske d to my surp rise an d p l easu re to procee d
imme d iate l y to Mani l a as a Specia l war corre
sp ond e nt of a prominent Ne w Y ork d ai l y act
B angkok
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6
OF
GU E ST
T HE
A D MI R A
L
ing in connection w ith oth er repre se nta ti v e
papers of l e a d ing cities W iring d irect l y to
S ecretaries D ay an d L ong for th eir appro v al
an d per m ission an d to S enator R e dfie l d P roc
tor for his c o operation I recei v e d prompt an d
fa v orab l e rep l ies
Th en by specia l courtesy
of th e A d m ira l I procee d e d to Mani l a o n the
U nite d S tates a u x i l iary d espatch boat Zafir o
I took u p th is responsib l e task with so m e m is
gi v ings as to m y capabi l ities after four years
of d ip l o m ati c ser v ice bu t d i d m y best u nti l
th e fall of Mani l a in A ugus t wh en I resi g ne d
to d e v o t e m y entire time to th e stu d y of th e
genera l situation
P racticall y th e guest of th e A d miral on boar d
d ifferent v esse l s of h is s q u a d ron for o v er three
m onths it was m y pri v i l ege to m eet him f r e
q u ent l y d u ring this protracte d perio d an d e v en
e v ery d ay in ti m es of Special e x cite m ent A fter
th e fa ll of Mani l a I d i d not see so m u ch of hi m
but sti ll enough to fee l hi s remarkab l e i nfl u
ence an d note th e principal traits of his char
acter an d th eir practica l workings I n this con
n e c t i o n it shou l d be m entione d that th e fi rst
d irecting agency that brought me into m ore
than u sual ac q uaintance with h im was th e fact
that I was by birth a nd bringing up a fe ll ow
V ermonter ;th e secon d w a s my e x perience in
the d ip l omatic ser v ice w hich h e be l ie v e d ha d
particu l ar l y taught m e to be cautiou s an d d is
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A D MI R A
L G E O R G E D E WE Y
criminating an d h ence w orthy of his con fi d ence
an d trust , I t is m y hope that I ha v e n e v er
vio l ate d his re l iance on m y j u d gment e v en in
Se l ecting the notes wh ich I ha v e use d in this
work l ong after the ti m e they were fi rst re
cor d e d
T hose portions ha v e been carefu ll y
omitte d which were gi v en to m e with th e i n
j unction of pri v acy
S peaking of d ip l omacy this reference enab l es
me to d ra w one conc l usion right h ere wh ich
has a particu l ar bearing on an estimate of th e
A d mira l s character an d C haracteristics
If I
l ear ne d anything of tru e successfu l d ip l omacy
d uring se v era l years responsib l e l abor an d if
my E uropea n co ll eagues were d ip l oma t ists of
the fi rst rank ou r m etho d s were cru d e an d o ur
resu l ts l imite d compare d to th e forcefu l fi nesse
an d the acknow l e d ge d achie v ements in d ip l o
macy a l one of the hero of Mani l a B a y
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II
A D MI R A L
I T O R Y—A G R E AT MA N
ME AN I N G OF T H E T E R M
D E WE Y I N H S
T RU E
I N T HE
A D M I RA L
G E O R G E D E WE Y
!
wi ll occupy a
uni q u e p l ace in h istory H e wi ll fore v er stan d
out c l ear l y as th e fi rst fi gure among th e co m
m an d ers an d general s of the S panish A merican
W ar B u t his fame w i ll rest not m ere l y on th e
v ictory of May 1 1898 in Mani l a B a y H e is
not on l y a d istinguish e d na v a l h ero : h e i s a
great man in th e true signi fi cance of th e t erm
Hi s thorough preparation for th e ba t t l e be
fore l ea v ing B o ng K ong h is courage an d con
fid e nc e in attack ing th e S panish ships in their
home waters un d er their own l an d batteries
his rare tact d ip l o m acy an d e x ecuti v e capac
ity d uring the year fo ll owing th e v ictory h is
mar v e ll ous d e v otion to d uty un d er t rying con
.
-
.
,
.
,
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-
,
,
,
,
,
ir a l
u ni f orm
ity t h e w ord A d m
i s re pe ate dl y
u sed i n re f e rri ng t o t he s u b e c t o f t h i s s k e tc h i ns te a d
j
of
mod ore f or the p eri o d th at h e h e ld th i s ra nk
Com
be f o re b e i ng p ro m
ote d to R e ar Ad miral a nd l ate r f ull
i ra l
Ad m
”
F or
,
,
”
,
-
.
9
,
,
A D MI R A
L G E O RG E D EWE Y
war an d c lima t e an d a l so hi s nu
se l fi sh m o d est d emeanor in the face of th e
un l imite d praise an d l o v e of the A merican peo
p l e support conc l usi v e l y no t on l y his right to
primary position amo ng th e l ead ers of th e war
b u t to be c l asse d among th e tru l y great A mer
i c a n s of th e c l osing d ays of this centu ry
I n v iewing th e A d mira l s l ife from th e d ays
of his m
aturity to th e present w e are i m
presse d with the l ogica l se q u ence of e v ents
an d th e na t ura l e v o l ution of th e m an which
make his career singu l ar l y we ll rou n d e d an d
harmoniou s U p to May l st there ha d been
nothing eccentric e x traor d inary or meteori c
about what h e ha d d one but a gra d ual c l imb
ing u p th e l a dd er step by step u nti l wh en h e
came t o the d i z z y top h e d i d not l ose his hea d
but met successfu ll y the mighty r e sp onsi bi li
ties th a t he saw abo ut h im I t is most inter
esting to start in with th e fi rst d ays wh en h e
went away to schoo l at Johnson V ermon t an d
fo ll ow d own the recor d of his l ife through N or
wich U ni v ersity ;th e na v a l co ll ege at A nnap
o l is ;his fi rst trips abroa d ;th e C i v i l Wa r ;th e
v ariou s comman d s an d d uties from L ieutenant
up to C aptain at home an d in foreign parts ;his
l ong responsib l e work as th e hea d of d i fferent
bureau s an d boar d s at W ashington h is appoint
m ent as C om m o d ore of the A siatic S tation— u n
ti l a t l ast we fi n d him th e comman d er of A mer
d i ti ons
of
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’
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10
,
A D MI R A
L G E O R G E D E WE Y
D e w ey himse l f moreo v er is e v ery t hing but
an acci d en t : he is the e v o l ution of e x perience
H e began hi s career by fi ghting in th e C i v i l
W ar ;h e crowne d i t by winning t h e m ost not
ab l e v ic t ory of the S panish A m erican W ar
thirty eight years l ater W hat a magni fi cent
recor d is represente d in that perio d ;an d th e
A merican peop l e may be thankf u l that h e put
those years to goo d u se
His t ory m ust therefore gi v e hi m one of th e
l oftiest an d l argest nich es in its temp l e wh ere
h e wi ll be l ooke d up to through a ll ages Hi s
name mu st rank in m any respects with those
of W ashington Je ff erson Ha m i l ton L inco l n
G ra nt F arragut an d oth ers wh o ha v e h a d su ch
an in fl u ence upon the history of th is e x pan d ing
repub l ic A l though it m ay be grante d that
t here are many who d oubt his c l ai m to tru e
g rea tness wh en they measure the bat t l e al one
there is no q uestion that i f th e v o ice of those
wh o knew him from his chi ld hoo d to th e ti m e
he went to the Fa r E ast were j oine d with th e
v oice of those w ho knew him fro m th e time h e
arri v e d there u nti l th e present the conc l usion
wou ld be unanimous that h e d eser v es th e d e
scription which the term a great man actuall y
means T h e historian of the future stu d ying
D ewey s l ife an d a ll the responsibi l ities that
came upon him at Mani l a in th e co l d l ight of
e l apse d years when th e present ha l o of senti
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12
HOPES
B
E FO R E
T
H E WA R
m ent has been d isperse d wi ll con fi rm a ll that
I say— an d yet I am in no sense a h ero wor
shipper an d a m not unmin d fu l of his fau l ts
,
-
.
,
Ju d ge F i fie l d ,
one of the most prominen t
m en of Montpe l ier an d a l ife l ong frien d of
D ewey recent l y to ld me an inci d ent in con
ne c ti o n with h im which is interesting in v iew
of what has happene d T he v ery l ast time h e
was in Montpe l ier h e was out d ri v ing wi th th e
B ecoming somewhat phi l osophica l an d
Ju d ge
retrospec t i v e in his con v ersation th e A d mira l
fi nall y remarke d that he ha d been thinking ho w
unsatisfactori l y his career in th e Na v y m ust
s oon en d saying :
“
Ju d ge you ha v e ha d a su ccessfu l recor d as
a l a w yer ;you are known in this S tate as ha v
ing accomp l ish e d something an d yo u can be
satis fi e d with wha t you ha v e d one W ith me
it i s somewhat d ifferent I ha v e a l ways worke d
f a ithfu ll y in the Na v y an d tr a ine d myse l f for
what re s ponsib l ities might com e ;bu t I am a p
pr o a c hi ng rapi dl y the years of retirement an d
w il l soon be out of it a ll with nothing to my
cre d it bu t gra d ua l an d h onorab l e promotion
I d o not want war b ut without it th ere is l itt l e
oppor t unity for a na v a l man to d istinguish hi m
se l f T here wi ll be no war before I retire fro m
the Na v y an d I wi ll simp l y j oin th e great m a
r it
o
j
y of na v a l men an d be known in h istory
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13
A D MI R A
L G E O R G E D E WE Y
on l y by consu l tation of th e recor d s of th e Na vy
D epartment as G eorge D ewey who entere d th e
Na v y at a certain d ate an d retire d as R ear Ad
”
m iral at th e age l imit 1
H e l ittl e appreciate d then wh at a f e w years
w ou ld bring to him T he l ong ser v ice to which
h e referre d ha d its suffi cient re w ard an d his
tory wi ll nee d no promptings to fi n d him
-
.
,
.
’
T h e truth o f D ewey s appoint m ent to th e
A siatic S tation which ga v e hi m his opp or tu
nity is not generall y known W hat I say h ere
is not on l y supporte d by what I hav e h ear d him
state but is con fi rme d by others who are th e best
o f authorities D ewey ha d ne v er ha d a high
comman d on th e A siatic S tation a nd d i d not
f ee l fami l iar with tha t part of th e wor l d but
he was d eep l y intereste d i n its progress an d
d e v e l opment He ha d often been to E urope
a n d th e Me d iterranean
an d o n accoun t of
his l ong resi d ence in W ashington was not par
t i c u l a r l y d esirou s of getting th e N orth A t l an
tic comman d He migh t ha v e ta k en th e l atter
if i t were in l ine for him but th ere were senior
offi cers who ha d th e prior right to it T h ere
was consi d erab l e competition a l so for th e A si
atic S t ation S ecretary L ong was not in fa v or
of sen d ing D ewey t h ere He was not oppose d
to D ewey personall y an d h e ha d no l ack of
con fi d ence in his na v al abi l i ty but h e ha d
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14
SENT T O A SIATIC STATIO N
m a d e up his m in d that as far as his in fl u ence
co u l d go it shou l d be gi v en to another offi cer
A t this j u n Ct u r e S enator R e d fi e l d P roctor of
V ermon t wh o is one of the strongest men in
the S enate an d who has a l ways been a truste d
frien d of the A d miral went to th e P resi d ent
an d u rge d that D ewey shou ld be gi v en com
m an d of th e A siatic S tation T h e P resi d ent
agree d to d o this an d before S ecretary L ong
ma d e his no m ination h e fo un d that th e P resi
d ent ha d promise d th e p l ace I t cou l d not be
sai d that th e P resi d ent o v erru l e d L ong but h e
m a d e the in d epen d ent C hoice of D ewey on th e
strong recommen d a tion of S enator P roctor
supp orte d by A ssistant S ecretary R oose v e l t
who was strongl y in fa v or of D ewey s a ppoint
ment fro m the fi rst consi d eration of names
R eme m bering the foresight w ith wh ich D ewey
as chief of bureau ha d prepare d for possib l e
war with C hi l i an d th e opinions of his abi l ity
e x presse d by na v a l men R oose v e l t e a rnest l y
fa v ore d his appoint m ent to the A siatic S tation
where th e A ssi s t ant S ecretary then foresaw
with charac t eristic acumen a probab l e scene
i n any w ar w ith S pain
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I II
P
R O L O N G E D STAY
AT I O N
WH E N
AN I L A
AT M
OF H O ME
,
AND
A PPR E C I
T
E S E EM
the A merican
peop l e Sho w their l o v e
for the A d mira l on his return th ey shou ld
bear in min d perhaps abo v e a l l oth er th ings hi s
mar v e ll ous d e v otion to d uty I refer to this
e l sewhere but I wish to en l arge upon it h ere
H e sai l e d into Mani l a B a y in May 1898 an d
ne v er l eft it for twe lv e continu o u s months to
be gone beyon d a fe w hours ! O nl y one who
is thorough l y fami l iar wit h the stea d y u u re
mi t ting roun d of responsibi l ities that re q uire d
his attention th e gra v ity of the prob l ems
w hich ha d to be so lv e d at Mani l a an d th e
weariness of remaining with ou t break in one
C l imate—which w ou l d e v en be as tru e of Ne w
Y ork as of Mani l a— an d yet with th e fact that
i t w as possibl e for hi mto get away if h e d eeme d
it w ise can comprehen d what it meant for him
to stay u nfli nc hi ng l y at his post for an entire
year
T his d e v otion i s e m phasi z e d so that it s tan d s
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16
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
dence when h e saw su ch self abnegation on
the part of this hero ? How can the peopl e
of the United S tates do otherwise than give
him that spontaneous reception which they
ha v e planned from one end of the cou ntry to
another with their hearts Welling u p with
patriotic enthusiasm when they think that this
gra n d character i n our history i s only comi ng
h ome after h e has done everything in his power
to ser v e his co u ntry faithfully and only after
absol ute co nditions of h ealth d emanded that
he shoul d depart if h e would li v e to give th e
Am
erican people an opportunity to show h im
their unmeasure d love 9
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,
,
,
,
'
It may be interesting to know h ow th e A d
miral receive d and considered all the evide nce
of the love of the American people for h im
We watched him very closely in this respect b e
cau se i t was su ch a good opportunity to study
the e ff ect of u nlimited pra i se amounti ng a l
most to adulation upon a great man Here
again we see th e si mplicity a nd naturalness
which made those who k new him well respect
him all the more When the great flood of
co ngratulatory telegrams came pili ng in fol
lowed by another flood o i letters a nd the e ul o
gies of the press it was e v ident that th ey
made a marked impression upo n him He was
—
pleased immensely pleased ;that cannot be
.
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'
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18
OF
FFECT
E
POPU LA R PRAISE
denied B ut h e was troubled with one very se
rions th ought to whi ch h e gave expression and
which shows the man s nature
“ This appreciation of the Am
erican peopl e
of what I h ave done is most gratifying I
cannot find language to express m
y feelings
bu t I sometimes wond er if it will last I even
fear that it may not This i s o nly t he first
part of th e war and th e only naval battle so
far fought There mu st follow oth er battles
in th e Atlantic and th e glory of triumph in
th em may su rpass that wh ich has com e to m e
from th e battle of Manila Bay I am th e hero
of th e present possibly ;bu t even at thi s very
h our that h onor may have gone to som e one
else Possibly th e next batch of tel egrams
may tell u s of e v ents in the Atlanti c that will
comple tely overshadow what has been d o ne
”
h ere
At th is point som e one interrupted and sug
gested that taki ng all things i n to considera
ti on it would be very diffi cult to surpass in
the A t la ntic what he had done in th e Pacific
”
I k n ow that he add ed though tfully
and I h onestly believe withou t intending to
gi v e any praise to what I h a v e d one th at in
v iew of th e d ifficulties and peculiar co ndition s
surrou n di ng me ou t h ere on th e other side of
the earth ten th ou sand m
iles away fro mWash
i ngt o n th e achi evem ent of my squadron should
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19
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
ra n k with most anything that will b e done in
th e Atlantic Still you know th e te m
per of
the American people
It is qu ite probabl e
that with the nearness of C uba and with the
excitement o v er th e issues of th e war in the large
centres of eastern population like Ne w Y ork
th ere may be a co m
bination of events endi ng in
some sort of a climax which will arou s e a great
wave of interest that will sweep a way e v erythi ng
else in its prai se of w hat is done th ere I even
doubt if at th e end of this war and when I r e
turn to America there will be any s u ch u na
i ty of ki ndly feeling towards me which there
ni m
i s n ow e xcept as one of many wh o did thei r
”
d u ty in the war
In response to a re qu est on my part that h e
mak e som e signed statement abou t th e battle
of Santiago for u s e in the papers which I
represented h e told me t o write out what I
th ought were his views fro mwhat I had heard
him say and then h e wo uld sign it The ti me
was sho rt before th e mail steamer left a n d
there was only a moment to prepare i t
He
looked it over h astily signe d his name a nd
sai d I could telegraph i t if I wish ed The
original which I possess was as follows
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m
“
U S F l a g sh i p Oly p i a
"
MAN I LA B AY Ju ne 17 1898
news of A d i ra l Sa p son s g re a t v i c t o ry
e A lthoug h i t i s su g g e ste d t ha t the r e
.
T he g ood
is
mtw
os
e
l c om
m
.
20
.
m
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T HE
SA NTIAGO V IC TOR Y
sui t s m
a y c au se m
e t o l ook t o m
y ow n l a u rel s I g l a dly
e x p r e ss m
y si nce re g ra t ifi ca t i o n a t t he d e str uc t i o n o f
the Sp a ni sh C u b a n fl e e t w h i ch w i t h t he i r l oss i n Ma
ni l a B a y m
ust e nd Spa ni sh se a p owe r i n t hi s w a r if not
f o reve r F r omt he te l e g ra m
s j u st a t h a nd I no te t he
re m
a r k a b l e si m
i l a r i ty o f the Sp a ni sh fi g ht i ng off Sa nt i
I n b ot h b a ttl e s t h e i r fi r i ng
a g o t o t ha t i n Man i l a B a y
w as i ne ff e c t i v e th e y fou g ht t he i r sh i p s t o t he l e a st a d
va nta g e a nd fi na l ly scu ttl e d or bu r ne d t he mto co ve r
a ll l o s s o f l if e on o u r s i d e t h e n i s
t h e i r d e fe a t T he sm
i nd e e d e x tr a o rd i na ry a nd ri v a l s o u r r e co rd h e re i n v i ew
I t rus t t ha t t he re su l ts o f t he se
o f the sh i p s e ng a g e d
a y p r o ve to th e
t w o b a ttl e s a s w e l l a s l esse r i nc i d e nt s m
Am
e r i ca n p e o p l e t he v a l u e o f a str ong a nd w e l l tr a i ne d
na v y
G E O R G E D EWE Y
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Re a n Ad
mi
,
ra l
”
.
From t h ese and oth er words of th e A d
miral of which I made record i n my n ote
book I know th at h e n ot only was a n xiou s for
great naval feats in th e Atlantic a nd would
be perfectly willi ng to see hi s own record su r
passed i f it c o u l d br i ng su ccess to our arms
but h e had the personal feeling which a ny man
wh o is hu man m u st ha v e that it i s qui te pos
sible that th e mantle of glory which had co me
to him at the m oment might at any tim e b e
placed upon th e shoulders of anoth er
I t i s also interesting to note h o w h e regard
e d th e e ff ect of th e battle off th e en trance of
San tiago Bay i n its he a r i ng s on his claim I t
must not b e understood h owever from my di s
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21
,
A
DMIRAL GEORG E D E W EY
c u ssi on
of th ese points that the Admiral gave
any considerable attention to th e m Far from
i t These are only side l i ghts on passi ng phases
of his charac ter and glimpses of his though ts
which were only caugh t at rare i ntervals By
putting together all that I remember in regard
to his views u pon this su bj ect I am able to
formulate this little diversion on a point which
will interest m
a ny
Af te r the news of the battl e of Santiago
arrived and had been discussed as fully as
possible with th e brief telegrams at hand
a nd each m
a n had drawn his conclusions as to
th e e ffect and meaning of th e destru ction of
C e rve r a s s quadron se v eral of us including
th e correspondents Mr H arde n and Mr Mc
C u tcheon happened to be sitting with the
Admi ral talking over some possible featu re
of that conflict S uddenly either Harden or
Mc C u tc he on suggested to th e Admiral that
wh ereas th e Santiago victory was a great one
i t cou ld never eclipse his at Manila The A d
m iral raised his head rubbe d his eyes and
pulled his m u stache as was his habit when
a bou t to express a n O pinion upon a matter
which interested him and th en sai d :
“
It i s very kind of you t o say that bu t you
know that victory was near at home and it
must have appealed to the people with a tre
me ndou s effect Bu t what d o you really think
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22
U NSPOI LE D B Y HON ORS
will be th e result of th e co m
parison between
i t and th e battle h ere 9 D o you belie v e that
th e Am erican peopl e will still rem ember u s for
what we have d o ne a nd n ot pu t u s behind
those wh o were at Sa n tiago
We th en all w axe d earnest in ou r contention
that the Admiral s fame and the greatness of
t he Manila victory woul d never wane in th e
lapse of tim e or in the comparison with oth er
v i ctories I thi nk I say noth i ng to the d is
credit of th e Admiral when I re m
ark that thi s
sincere obser v ation on our p art see med to
please hi m very m u ch H e was that hu man
and that natural that h e w oul d like t o have
h is na m
e and his battl e stand first in the his
tory of the war and yet not for a m om e n t
would h e argu e to that e ff ect or e v en mak e
th e d i rect assertion No matter h ow mu ch h e
may h a v e thought it in his own m i nd h e woul d
not declare i t in a man n er to indicate egotism
or self prai se If th e American p eople would
n o t give h im th e verdict of first h onors h e
woul d make no e ff ort wh atever to convince
th em that h e d eser v ed it If th e greatest glory
sh ould go to some other naval hero h e woul d
accept th e si tuat i on philosoph ically a nd be
ready to j oin if necessary in th e acclaim of
his su ccessor in th e line of heroes
Before he left for A m
erica these qu esti ons
as to his position were entirely settled There
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23
AD M
IRA L GEORGE DEWE Y
was n o dou bt of th e opi nion of the A merican
p eople as to where h e stood and h e recog
ni z e d i t
But i t did not spoil him He remaine d the
sa me si m
ple modest strong dignified matter
o f fact man that h e al w ays w a s e xcept possibly
h e eve n grew gentler i n natu re and mann er
Many of his o ffi cers remarked to me that after
he beca me fully aware of wh ere h e stood i n th e
opi nio n of the American peopl e h e lost nearly
eri ty an d gave away less to
a l l of his former se v
occasional exh ibitions of temper Both in giv
i ng orders a n d in conversation h e showed a
mild ness which earlier in th e year was often
times lacking T he love of the American peo
ple seemed to tou ch t he springs of h is e moti on
a nd d e v elop a si d e of his character which had
never before been fully brou ght out
In noting these obser v ations on th e Ad m
i ral s
appreciation of th e lo v e of his cou n trymen for
him I can best su m up its e fl e c t on him by
saying that he is comi ng h om e to America w ith
his heart not his head s w elled
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It migh t b e excused in a great man wh o is
nearly o v erwhelmed by th e attentions sh own
him if h e d id not give full credit t o his nati v e
town state su rroundings and family which
ha v e had a distinct influ ence on h is su ccess in
life ;bu t the Admiral never forgot to speak
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24
A DM I RA L G E ORG E D E W E Y
m arked that I was bor n in Verm ont h e said
Oh indeed I u nderstan d ho w it is you Ver
mont er s are s o n u merou s I migh t ha v e known
you were a Vermonter
Most every man I
m eet now i s a Vermonter I suppose h alf the
population in America was born i n Vermont
n o w that they have fou nd ou t that Admira l
”
Dewey com es from there I
No one l o v ed better than C hich ester to
quietly prod a person a little i n a half j oki ng
way One wh o did not know him migh t mis
u nderstan d him and be o ffended but to th ose
with wh om he was well acquai n ted he w a s a
most agreeable compa nion T h e Ad miral was
always please d wh en C aptai n C hich ester ca me
o v er to see him and h e liked noth i ng better
n ow a n d then tha n to get an opportunity to
spend a f e w minu tes with the Briti sh captain
on th e I m
mor ta li té T hey were two m en
whose spirits and feelings see m
e d to be thor
o u ghly aki n and each had great respect for
t h e ot h er
If the a ffairs of th e U nited S tates
a nd Great Britain could be forever i n tru ste d
to two s u ch m
e n as D ewey and C hich ester
th ere woul d never b e anythi ng to mar th e per
mane nt co ntinuance of their friendly relations
T he fifteen years that Admiral D ewey spent
in Vermont before h e went out i nto th e world
as i t w ere left an in d elible i m
pression on h is
mind He was always referring to the green
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26
H I S L OV E
OF
V E R MO N T
the ri v ers and the wh olesome aspect a n d
effect of the Ver mont landscape H e lo v ed
the mountains the v alleys th e mead ows th e
forests a nd a l l the cond iti ons whi ch are fou nd
at their best in a nd around Verm ont s capital
Whe never i n a reflective mood h e sat on the
after gun deck of the Olym
p i a and looked out
upo n th e hills and mountai n s toweri ng u p b e
hi nd Manila h e would dream of th e h i lls back
of th e old capitol buildi ng at M ontpelier of
M ou nt Ma nsfield and C amel s Hu m
p and of
th e Adirondacks o n the west a nd th e White
Mountains on th e east l ooking forward with
infinite delight to th e tim e wh en h e coul d
again be among them and think o v er the ex
T hi s is no
p e r i e nc e s and j oys of his yo u th
idle picture Many times I h ave h eard him
speak of th e Verm on t hills and there was a
si ncerity i n his words which characterized all
that he said
If h e receives a grand reception wh en h e
goes back to his ol d h o m
e as will su rely be
hi s exp erience and if h e tells th e people of
Montpelier and of Vermont that his greate st
satisfaction on returni ng from his campaign
i n tropical waters is to b e a mo ng the people
and h i lls of hi s native State h e will indulge
i n no exaggeration An d yet the Ad miral i s
thoroughly cosmopol itan and broad in lo v e of
his coun try When disc u ssi ng th e di ff erent
b i ll s,
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27
A DMI RA L GEOR G E D EWE Y
invitations that h e h ad recei v ed from C ali
f or ni a to New Y ork he often observed that
h e would be equally happy t o b e the gu est of
erica
a ny one of th e cities on hi s return to A m
and that his h eart was filled with grati t u de to
th e wh ole country for their spontaneou s ex
pression of l ove for him
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i te mof news which deligh ted th e Ad
m iral so m u ch that h e called our attenti on to
it was th e m ovement to erect a statu e of hi mon
the portico of th e capitol bu ilding a t Montp e
lier Vermont i n a posi tion corresponding to
that of E tha n Alle n Speaking of i t h e said
I well re member wh e n that statue of E than
Alle n was erected It made a great impression
upon my mi n d I t was n ot there wh en I wa s
a b oy but wh en I cam e h ome from the na v al
college I re member goi ng to l ook at i t with
that awe and reverence wit h wh ich all Ver
mont e r s at that age woul d ha v e for a ny great
h ero whose name was associated wi th th e S tate s
history I can see i t no w with all i ts lines and
i ts exact positio n as plainly as I saw i t fi rst
nearly forty years ago It i s a fine work of art
presses
a n d has that form which naturally i m
th e young hero worshipper I ne v er dreamed
t h at my statu e would e v er be placed either
alo ngsi de of his or a nywhere else i n th e world
in those days and I c a n hardly reali z e now tha t
One
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28
S T A T U E A T MO N T P E L I E R
I ha v e do ne enough to d eser v e it
S till if
th ere i s a nythi ng that would please m e goi ng
back to the memories of my you nger days a nd
keeping in mi n d all th e assoc i atio ns of t he past
i t is that the people of Verm ont shoul d in th is
”
way wish to sho w me their lo v e and esteem
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IV
RELA TI O N S O F A D MI R A L D E W E Y A N D A G U I
N A L D O T H E I N SU R G E N T LEA D E R
,
T H E relations of Admiral D ewey a n d Agui
n aldo have been th e source of extended d i s
c u ssi on
I t i s my pu rpose to th row a little
ligh t on thi s su bj ect which may be ne w to
some bu t k nown to those w ho were in touch
with th e Ad m
iral s plans It was my privilege
to liste n to him describe what had passed b e
tween himself an d the insu rgent leader so I
hope that I am in a positio n to speak with
some authority Moreover I talked o v er the
sam e points se v eral times with Aguinaldo him
self first at Hong Kong in May 1 8 98 later at
C a v it é and Bakor and finally at Malolos
The first point that I would bring ou t stro ng
1y i s that Dewey never by spok en or written
word urge d Agui nal do to go to th e Phil i ppines
! Seco n d the per
a nd d i d not even in v ite hi m
mi ss i on for hi mand hi s associates to go to C a
v i t e on th e Mc Cu lloc h was only secured by th e
earnest representati ons of th ose wh o favored
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30
i
AD MI R AL D E W E Y COM ING ASHOR E AT
i
c ll nt ph t g ph f th mn h pp
n
w l k i ng
Th s s a
ex e
e
o o ra
o
e
a
a
as
e a
A
M NI L
A
i g or
e a re d s ta nd n
A D MI RAL GE OR G E D E W EY
formally recognized or regarded Aguinaldo as
an ally even gi v ing h i m specifically to u nder
stand that neith er h e n or the American gov
ake him any promises as to
e nt coul d m
e r nm
privileges or rights
Sixth th e only direct
assurances that Aguinaldo ma y ever ha v e r e
c e i ve d as to h i s fu tu re s tatu s were gi v en to
him in Singapore and Hong Kong by agencies
It may ha v e
w hich D ewey did not control
bee n possible and i t i s even probable that
Aguinaldo though t these agencies were author
i z e d to speak and w ere responsible and su ffi
cient bu t h e h imself h owever knew well th e
day he boarded the MoOu l l oc h that th e Ad
miral as th e ch ief and only representative of
th e United S ta tes in th e Philippines ha d not
on h is or th e Government s part directly or
indirectly asked him to come to C avit é or
promise d him anyth ing i n event he d id com e
and that therefore h e had no h ol d on D ewey
or on th e United S tates Government through
D ewey
What interpre tation h e may have arbitrarily
given to his being permitted to travel on an
American despatch boat or wh at was said to
him by oth er agents of th e U n ited S tates can
not b e pl a ced at the d oor of D ewey s respo n si
He may even h a v e h onestly believed
b i l i ty
then that h e w a s to b e allowed to establish an
independent government of his own bu t it i s
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32
NO
P R OM I S E S MA D E
h ardly right that D ewey or th e Government at
Washington sh ould b e h el d respo n sibl e for h is
personal expectati ons especially when afte r
h e arrived D ewey s o plai nly manifested hi s
inability and lack of i n ten t i on to make any
pro mises I bel ie v e — and I know th e Admiral
bel i e v ed — ln giving Agu inaldo and h is follow
ers credit for all t h ey d i d in organi zing an
army pro v isional governm ent a nd in making
su ccessful warfare on th e Spaniard s ou tside of
Ma nila but th e recording of th ose ach ie v e
m ents sh oul d not prevent th e telling of th e
tru t h i n regard to th e actual relation s between
”
D ewey and Aguinald o
Whe n D ewey se n t t he telegram for Agu inald o
”
“
to
come immediately t he former was in
Hong Kong expecti ng to leave any m om ent for
Ma nila a nd i t was sent by him from H ong
Kong to C onsul G eneral Pratt at Singapore
It was si m
ply in response to telegram s a nd let
ters from Mr Pratt telling D ewey what assist
a nce Aguinaldo proposed to gi v e th e United
States and asking th e Admiral if h e wou ld
consider Aguinaldo s p r Op osa l s and i n tentions
and permit him to go to Manila T here was
nothing in that or other telegra ms or i n any
letters written by th e Admiral from whi ch th e
concl usion could b e drawn that he as th e
principal representative of th e United States
in connection wi th th e war then impendi ng
c
33
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A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
mad e any promises or gave a ny assurances
eith er to Aguinaldo or any of his associates
If Aguinaldo wish ed to see h im it was ne c e s
“
sary to come immediately or miss D ewey at
H ong Ko ng
Talki ng with Aguinald o on th e Mo Ou l l och
j u st before sh e sailed I asked h im about his
plans As I said in an article in the R evi ew of
R evi ew s for J uly 1898 :
“
While I can not qu ote his exact language I
remember that with h i s u sual reserved ma n
ner h e said that i t was his intention to pro
oecd to C avit é and after reporti ng to Ad m
iral
D ewey go on shore and organiz e without delay
a pro v isional go v ernm ent and an arm
y with
which t o j oin u s in making war on the Span
i a r d s and thu s secure freedom for his people
fro mSpanish rule He expressed admiration
and love for America and America n s c om
mende d their su ccesses in th e w ar with Spai n
and declared that he and his people wished to
be our allies At that moment in li n e with
general opi nion i n America a nd elsewhere he
probably believed that it was not the i ntention
of the U n ited States to h old th e i sla n ds i n
actual sovereignty ;b ut I kno w that h e was
ne v er given by Admiral D ewe y a ny assurances
whatever of i nd epende nce the n or later nor
e v e n treated by h i m as an ally i n th e accepte d
”
sense of th e ter m
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34
S T A T E ME N T
OF
AGUINALDO
In looki ng over th e n otes of my many d i fferent
inter v i ews wi th Aguinald o I find that on three
different occasi ons I attempted to gai n from
hi m a direct statem ent as to wheth er Ad miral
Dewey had ever sai d or written anything to
him which coul d possibly be interpreted as as
su ri ng him a nd hi s people absolu te i nd e p e n
dence H e stu diously avoided gi v i ng a direct
answer bu t on on e occasion h e said
“
There may b e no formal e v idence of h is
atti tu de according to i nternational l a w bu t
I con si d er his treatment of m e as evide n ce to
”
that e ffect
Fro mthis it can be seen that he practically
admitted that h e had no righ t to draw t he
conclu sion from th e attitu d e of th e o nly a n
t hor i ze d a n d responsible agent of th e U nited
States Go v ern ment Admiral D ewey that h e
was assured of Filipi n o i nd ependence
His
very references to in ternati onal l a w strengthen
this inference becau se i n all his correspond ence
with America n offi cials he was end eavori ng to
pro v e that his rights w ere based on i n terna
Then again wh en h e says
I c on
t i ona l law
”
sider h e acknowledges that his opinion i s
m erely an arbitrary one
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As for any further claims on th e part of Agui
nald o that th e Admiral recogniz ed him as an
ally base d on th e treatment of Spanish prison
,
35
AD M
I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
ers and the permission to fly the Filipi no flag on
insu rgent b oats I may be abl e to explain th e
situati o n so that it will be better understood
There were t w o important occasi ons only
whe n th e Admiral had any relatio n s with Agu i
naldo in regard to Spanish prisoners I n b oth
i nstan ces h e told m e what his purpose was and
in one instance cauti one d me to remember
wha t he said because the matter migh t come
u p i n th e fu tu re I t has a nd I am glad of the
opportunity to tell th e truth about i t F irst
i n regar d to th e Su bi g Bay priso n ers who were
captured by th e R a l eig h and Conc or d wh en
they w e nt there to look after th e I r ene T h e
Filipinos claimed that they were abou t to capt
u re th e garrison wh en th e I r ene interve n ed
and that rightfully the prisoners sh ou ld be
theirs because not only were they abou t to
proceed against Isle d e Grande w h ere th e
Spaniard s w ere h olding ou t bu t becau se th ey
had i nformed the Admi ral of t he G erman
cruiser s presence and of the garriso n which
he later compelled to s urrender Ha v i ng no
place or provision for prisoners at that time
an d wish i ng to avoid a misu n derstandi ng with
the Filipino leaders the Ad m
iral for these
reasons quietly told them that th ey could h old
the priso ners if they woul d treat th em well
which they pro m
i se d to d o That ended that
i ncident ;and there was no reference to or sug
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36
T HE
SPANISH PRISONERS
gestion of alliance i n remark or le tter passed
beyond that the Admiral impressed u pon th e
Filipinos that this arrangement was n ot to be
u sed by them in any way whatever as a prece
d ent
T he second a fl a i r of prominence was th e dis
posal of the prisoners captu red on th e L eyl e a
small gunboat Th ose taken earl ier in th e
campaign on th e Ca l l a o had all been paroled
and sent into Man ila T h ose on the L eyte d i d
not seem anxious to return to Ma n ila and the
Spanish official s were not incli n ed to recei v e
them Then as th e Admiral ha d n o arrange
m ents for incarcerating gu ar d ing a nd feed
ing prisoners of war h e sent one of his offi cers
to A g u inaldo wh o h eld all th e prisoners i n
C avit é and was then caring for nearly two
th ousand Spanish s oldiers wh om h e had taken
in hi s campaigns and su ggested that h e would
”
“
like to board ou t th e L eyte m en an d woul d
pay so mu ch for their food and care Agu i
naldo agreed and th ey were put with hi s pri s
oners L ater th e Admiral reclaimed th em and
deli v ere d th em u p as hi s and n ot Agu inaldo s
prisoners Wh en th e army came a nd Agu i
nal do withdrew from C avit é there was place
a n d room for prisoners a nd those from Guam
were kept u nder American surveillance u ntil
the fall of Manila This is th e whole of th e
sto ry of prisoners briefly told on wh ich Agui
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37
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
naldo based his c onclu si ons in his address to
foreign powers
I n th e matter of the alleged recognition of
th e Filipino flag th e Admiral simply allowed
them to fly some kind of distinguishing mark
for the ir boats which finally devel ope d into a
full fl e d g e d flag T hey seemed to want to d o
it th e Admiral saw no particular harm i n i t as
lo ng as h e was i n control of the bay and e v en
hel d that it was a good idea because h e th en
w ould not mix the m up at a distance with his
own and with foreign boats and launches which
were continually movi ng abo ut H e said noth
ing to th e Filipinos or to foreign o ffi cers which
could be rightfully co n str ued as formal recog
ni ti o n of the fl a g as that of an al ly or i nd e p e n
dent nation He rathe r tolerate d it on s u ff er
a nce as lo ng as the F ilipinos were friends ;
wh en they beca me u nfriendly h e i mme diately
stopped i ts u se T his the n is th e substance
of the flag story At that time th e F ilipinos
co nstru ed n either the pri v ilege of u sing th e
flag no r keeping priso n ers as evide nce t hat
the Ad miral considered and treated them as
an independent governm ent
These conclu
sions were plainly after thou ghts
Not only do I kno w what i s h ere written on
these poin ts from association with the A d miral
but from the te n or of what Aguinaldo hi mself
said to me on di fferent occasio ns T h ere is no
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38
FILIPI NOS
FOR
WA R
qu estion that h e is a cle v er i n tellige nt man s o
that wh en i n l ook ing over th e record of e v ents
h e saw some apparent ad v antage to himself h e
did not hesitate to interpret it for th e support
of his o w n a m
bitions I lik ed the man perso n
ally as I m et hi m S o did most oth ers a nd I
wo ul d n ot wilfully misrepresent hi m b ut m
y
i nterest and for m
er sy mpathy sh ou ld not r e
strain me fro mrelating what I know to b e facts
especially wh en th ey help to mak e plain t h e
Admiral s position on a most i mportant point
Th ese latter state m
ents as well as th ose
wh ich went before th em may seem of some
importance and i n terest becau se I d o not know
of th eir ha v i ng been brought ou t before to this
extent by any one wh o was i n tou ch with what
was going on It i s m
y desire to be th oroughly
fair in all my descriptions of what I sa w and
learned in H ong Ko ng a n d at Ma nila and I
have even been accu sed of inconsistency sim
ply becau se I believed i n stati ng both sides of
th e qu estion As long as the F ilipinos r e
f ra ine d fro mattacking a nd figh ti ng th e forces
of th e U nited S tate s Govern ment I di d all i n
my h u mbl e power to prevent a possible con
fl i c t a nd in v ariably ga v e the Fil i pinos credit
wh ere th ey deser v ed i t On the oth er hand
wh en led away by unfortunate influ ences and
inspired by false conceptions of th e attitud e
and intenti on of th e United S tates G o v ern
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39
,
AD M
IRA L GE ORGE D EWE Y
missio n appoi n ted by Gen
me nt a n d after a co m
e ral O tis consisti ng of General Hu gh es C ol o
nel C rowder a n d C olo n el S m
ith had b rought
every influe n ce to bear in order to co me to
some understanding with th e F ilipi n os th rough
a c ommissio n appoin t e d by Agu i naldo they
sa w fi t to d eclare w a r against th e United States
I like m
a ny o th ers w ho had followed carefully
th e si t u ation supported th e Go v ern me n t in its
determ i nation to put dow n th e i n surrecti o n
a n d establish peace a n d order through out the
i sland s under recog nize d A merican au th ority
We felt a ki ndly interest for th e Filip i nos as
long as th ey were guided by co n servati v e j u dg
ment and peacefully awaited th e ou tcome of
co m
plicatio n s but when th ey be came excessi v e
in their demands refu sed eve n to consi d er the
most liberal propositions from the U nited
Sta t es and their army resorted to irritating
and insul ting m eth ods al o ng the li n e of ou r
army which was defending th e city and finally
declared i n formal terms w a r against the U nited
S tates we logically held that th ey were not
longer deser v i ng of sympathy and support
T hose of u s w ho have watche d th i s wh ole
Philippine problem with th e closest i nterest
from its very beginn i ng up to th e prese n t tim e
a n d ha v e spent a greater part of th e period on
th e very field of action h ave reached our con
elu sions from actual observation a nd study of
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40
FILIPINOS
FOR
WAR
all th e co nd i t i o ns a nd i nflue nces at work F or
myself I k no w i t i s my h ope that the war
w i ll soo n be o v er a n d that th e U n ite d S tates
will be able to establish a s table go v ernment
through ou t th e islands characterized by j u st
as large a degree of a uto n o m
y as possible In
that w a y we shall b e abl e to subser v e n o t only
o ur o w n interests bu t th ose of th e F ilipi n os
and bri ng abou t a settlement of th e qu estio n
by wh ich th ey will ha v e even greater freedom
j ustice a n d righ ts than they wou ld ha v e u nder
bu t u nprotecte d
a n absolutely i ndepe nde n t
and u nstable go v ernment
While I am not au th ori z ed in any sh ape or
form to express th e op i nion of Admiral D ewey
I am confident that his personal views are cl ose
ly in accord with th ese
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T HE
’
A D M I RAL S O P I N I O N O N A M E RI C A
I N T HE PH ILI PP I N E S
’
S
D UTY
’
gradu al development of t he Admiral s
opi nion of th e attitu de of th e U nited States
towards th e Philippines was interesti ng t o fol
l ow
At first h e was plainly in d oubt as to th e
a d vi sa b i l i tv of perma n ently hol di ng th e island s
as America n possessio n s bu t as time went on
a n d th e moral res onsibilities of th e Un i ted
p
S ta tes grew apace he viewe d th e situatio n in a
broad li g ht and came to the co ncl usi on before
h e left Manila that the U nite d S tates could
not with h onor to h erself to th e natives a nd
to th e world shirk th e respons i bili ty which
sh e had not sought b ut whi ch had de v eloped
th rou gh a train of imperiou s e v ents No m
an
at Ma nila was more anxiou s to a v oi d figh ting
with th e Filipinos and none labore d m ore ear
n e stl y to that e ffect than th e Ad m
iral h imself
He strove by every influ ence which h e could
d i rectly exert an d in c c operation with Gen
eral Merritt and G eneral Otis to pre v e n t th e
T HE
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42
THE DUTY
OF
AMERICA
conflict which followed Wh en it cam e none
again was m ore earnest than he in th e opinion
that every e ff or t shoul d be pu t forward to bring
th e fighting to a qu ick co n clu sion Th e effect
of th e d elay of th e ratificati on of the treaty h e
d iscu ssed wi th u t m
ost frankness Time and
time again h e spoke of the most harm
ful i nfl u
ence of th e l ong peri od of wai t ing wh en the
U nite d States did not know wh eth er t hey were
to have sovereignty in th e Philippines or not
In his letters to his own family and to his
frie nds h e brought out th is idea
H e was
h eard to say that h e wi shed that th e United
State s S enate could b e on th e grou nd as were
h e and General Otis and understand all phases
of th e situation and the direct bearing on th em
of th e delay in ratifying th e treaty He sa w
th e tremendou s energy of th e Filipinos in taki ng
ad v antage of this doubtful period in the U nite d
S tates and expressed t he opini on that every
h our of delay added to their strength and gave
them more confi dence in th eir ability to figh t
Th e opinion of th e Admiral as to A merica s
position in the Philippines sh oul d carry mu ch
weight becau se n o man studie d al l th e con
d i ti ons moral political and m
aterial m ore
carefully than h e To day h e i s as full of
informatio n on e v ery point connected with
them probably as any li v ing man B efore he
l eft Manila he expressed himself in unq u al i fied
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43
A D M I R A L GE OR G E D E WE Y
term s as to th e du ty of th e United S tates in
solving th e problem s before h er Hi s conclu
sions were u nbiased and represented th e ma
ture thought of over a year s famili a rity with
th e island s and their people and all of th e con
di ti ons that had led up to the present fighting
L ike m
any oth er men wh o are in favor of
cou rageou sly m eeting our responsibilities and
e n d e a v r i ng to bring abou t the best resu lts for
q
everybody h e is not an expansionist or imperi
alist in th e radical sense in whi ch those terms
are u sed ;h e simply feels that wi th ou t th e
selfish prompting of c onq u est w e h ave been
obliged to face a great problem and we cannot
h onorably ru n away from it
In hi s impartial and fair way of looking at
all qu estions h e has not hesitated to state any
points tha t w ere i n favor of the F ilipinos e v en
though by so doing h e has exposed himself as
have others to bei ng called inconsistent by
those wh o think di fferently from him Why
it shoul d not be possibl e to s ta te both sides
w ith out being accu sed of inconsistency neith er
h e nor others who l i ke him would be perfect
l y fair and frank can u nderstand
At the
sam e time h e di d not allow the good poin ts
which h e saw in the natives to hide their bad
ones and therefore commi t h imself to state
ments that th e facts would not warran t If
every thing that the Admiral has said and writ
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44
IRAL G EORGE D EWEY
AD M
“
T he insurrection i s brok en There will be a
f e w m ore hard battles and th e ne w era for th e
islands th at was temporarily delayed by th e
rising will soon begin Aguinald o and hi s
generals m ust be captured and then the very
se mbla n ce of an insu rrection will cease
Aguinald o s nam e is the real power among
the nati v es
Wherever w e go it i s always
Agu inald o The ofli c e rs of th e Tagal os civil
and m ilitary tell u s th ey ha v e no power to
treat for peace until they h ear from Agu inaldo
F oreigners and nati v es testifying before th e
Peace C ommission all testify to th e sam e state
of facts
“
Many of th e i sland pro v inces that were
once war l ike are anxiou s for peace and will
accept th e terms as soon as th e Tagalos of
L u zon are whipped i nto line bu t they dare not
treat with u s so long as Aguinaldo has the
p ower to confiscate property or punish those
wh o o ff end h im
“
The end is not far off if we pu sh right
after th em We must concentrate ou r troops
and vigorou sly prosecu te th e campaign i n
L u zon T hat i s ou r wh ole task T he sou th
ern islands will quickly fall i n li n e T his I
”
hope will not b e long h appening
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VI
T E M PT A T I O N O F P RE SI D E NT IAL A M B I T I O N
RE SI ST E D
T HE
F R O M th e m oment that we realize d what
fam e Ad miral D ewey had ac hieved w e watch ed
for th e de v elopme nt of th e Presidential i dea
We listened to h ear th e bu zzing of th e bee
We were d isappointed If the i dea d e v elope d
or th e bee buzz ed i t was wh en h e was all alon e
by h imself From th e very beginning to the
e nd of the time h e was at Manila h e stoutly as
se r t e d that h e would not b e a candidate for
President h e wa s not a m
b i t i ons to b e Presi
dent a nd he was not fitted to be President
Ma ny of u s h owever have reason to believe
that the Admiral considered i n th e privacy of
hi s own th oughts what would be th e bearing
u pon his future of his willingness to be a c a n
di d a t e for the Presidency
T here were lit t le
signs at one time and a n oth er that h e had gone
over the matter thoroughly and had fi nally
mad e u p his mind for once and all that h e
would resist the temptatio n There may eve n
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47
AD MIRAL GEOR GE D EWE Y
ha v e bee n moments wh en h e was tempted to
consider su ch a great possibility He would
not have been hu man if h e had not been
The newspaper correspondents and many of
his officers were of th e O pi n ion that h e fought
th e matter out i n the same way that h e did
e v erything else l ooked at i t i n all its lights
and then made u p his mind fore v er t hat h e
would have nothing to do with the te mptation
whic h would be constantly before hi m
Great quantities of letters and telegram s
rolled i n on hi m from prominent men i n Amer
ica asking him if h e would be a candidate
T hese suggestions came fro mme n of Republi
c a n as well as D emocratic faith
I f I were to
gi v e here a list of th ose wh o wrote him i t
w oul d pr ove most i nteresting and instru ctive
I t might even asto n ish Mr Mc K i nl e y and Mr
Bryan Th ose which the Admiral mentioned
were tol d i n co nfide nce and they cannot be
repeate d here They were of sufficient nu m
ber and stre ngth to have tempted any man
We admired him all the m ore when we saw
h ow courageou sly h e tu rned a deaf ear to all
these proposals
S o many interviews ha v e
been publish ed with him i n regard to this sub
j cet that I will not qu ote him though I fi nd
that on many different occasions I made note
of what h e said There was also further par
t i c u l a r reason for my b eing interested because
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48
DEAF
EAR
T O
P ROP OS AL S
many men influ ential i n politics in di ff erent
sections of th e Uni ted S tates with wh om I
was acquainted wrote directly to m e and
asked that I sou nd the Admiral on th is i m
portant point and let the m know h o w h e
stood S everal even authorized m e to tele
graph fully h is p osition
In my opinion there i s only one condi tion
that wo uld tempt th e Ad miral to accept th e
i na ti on T hat would be eith er
P r e si d e nt i a l n o m
a requ est from b oth great part ies or a u nani
m ou s re q u est from one party wh ere i t was i n
such a posi tio n that acceptance would b e tanta
m o unt to an election Th e Admira l has ne v er
said anything of this kind to me bu t wi th all
h is ref usals to consider th e position I d o not
believe that he w ould sta nd to one side and say
that h e would n o t accept i f h e was fully c on
vi nc e d that i t was a d uty which h e owed hi s
c ou ntry H e would n o more h esitate than h e
did when h e entered Manila Bay T he Presi
deney with all its respo n sibilities m i ght be
to o mu ch for hi s h eal th and even kill hi m ;
bu t wh en h e sailed for Manila Bay to destroy
the Spanish fleet h e kne w that h e stood an
e qual chance of losing hi s life with any of h is
men A t Manila i t was performing d uty and
meeting responsibility ;wi th th e P residency i t
migh t be th e same S till the con dition s d o
not point that way T h e Admiral will oppose
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49
AD M
I R A L GEOR GE D EWE Y
any effort to develop popular sentim ent in his
fa v or ;and at thi s moment there is no doubt
that h e has no intention whatever of being con
si d e re d a candidate for the highest o ffice in th e
gi ft of th e American people—perhaps it i s even
a qu estion if th e post of full Admiral which
has only two precedents i n American history
is not e qual in h onor an d dig nity to that of
President
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Ad m
iral D ewey on the other hand enter
t a i ne d loyal respect for President Mc K i nl e y
He invariably referre d to hi m in sincerely kind
ter m
s He wou ld speak of the enormous difli
c ul t i e s and grave responsibiliti es before Mr
Mc K i nl e y as President and express full c onfi
d ence in hi s ability to m eet them su ccessfully
T h e Admiral is th oroughly broad i n his views
and if h e happened to di ffer from th e Preside n t
i n what was the best policy i n matters of poli
t i cs or w a r h e di d not think any th e less of
Mr Mc K i nl e y and criticize h im accordingly
He recognized that there were t w o sides to
every i mportant issue Whe n som e of the
e n or naval officers
newspaper m
who were
stro ng partisans would speak adversely of the
Pres i d ent s pol i cy h e would not only d efe nd
the E xecutive bu t end th e conversation if it
became personal or heated H e respected the
President as his chief and as a man At the
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50
RE
S PECT
FOR
T
HE P R E S I D E N T
sa me time he said nothing which indicated par
tisan or prej udiced views and did not indulge
i n fulsome praise
He fel t and spok e as a
t horoughly patrioti c servan t of th e govern
ment
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As to th e Admiral s politics it can be said
that h e i s neither a pronounced D em ocrat n or
Republican H e once d iscussed this matter
wit h m e and said that hi s life h ad been so a b
sol ut e l y removed from the d irect influ ence of
pol itics that h e did not class h i mself as b e
longing t o any particular party H e ha s voted
very few times in his life and d oes not expect
e ver to b e called u pon t o tak e th e position of
a parti sa n H e has nu merou s frien d s in both
parties a nd no particular prej u dices in favor
of eith er H e i s governed m ore by th e m
an
n ominated than by th e party nominati ng hi m
Any one who discu sses poli ti cs with hi m can
plai nly see that h e cann ot b e distinctly placed
in the ranks of either of th e great parties
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P RE P A RE D N E SS F O R
T HE
K
B A TT LE
H ONG
AT
ONG
To
th ose wh o w ere associated with th e A d
miral du ring th e days that H ong Kong was
th e rendezvou s of th e squadron before th e de
scent on Manila hi s preparedness for th e battle
was in n o sense a su rprise b u t well k n own
His captains an d staff h ad absolu te confidence
in him and h is mastery of th e situation T hi s
remarkabl e tru st i n th eir commander was
shared n ot only by th e wardroo m offi cers
bu t by th e petty officers and sa il or m
e n of every
ship From Ad m
iral d own to stoker there r a n
a thread of faith in s u ccess and of cou rage in
u ndertaking al ong which th rilled th e em otions
of co mi ng battl e begotten i n h is own breast
and finding welcome l odgm ent i n the hearts
of his brave men Wh en th e signal was run
u p to w eigh anch or i n Mirs Bay and m
ak e
th e co u rse for Bolinao th ere was not a fai nt
heart at m u ster
Th e Olym
p i a was l eading
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55
AD MI R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
and th e Admiral was aboard— that was ampl e
inspiration for all
T he peopl e of the U ni ted States may not
ha v e realized u ntil May l st what a strong
character D ewey possessed bu t the o fii c e r s
w h o w ere to execu te his commands and the
men behi n d th e guns knew T his mu st be
remembered as a most h elpful influ e n ce in
the su ccessfu l consummation of his plans If
you would arouse the i ndignation of a ny of th e
officers or men under D ewey s command wh o
came to Manila with h im suggest by even mild
i ntimation that the complete ness of the v ictory
or the Admiral s skilful management of affairs
that followed was unexpected or in a measure
surprisi ng
Standi ng one day on the superstru ctu re of
th e Olym
p i a I said to th e gunner who had
charge of on e of the big eigh t inch rifles of
th e forward tu rret
“
Wh ere did you think you were going and
what d id you expect to d o when you sa i led
”
?
away from Mirs Bay
“
G o and d o
he replied with a scornfu l
expression and tone that made me feel q uite
i n significant and asham ed for aski ng such a
“
fool ish question
Damn little di d I or any
one else o n this ship care as lo ng as the old
man was ordering it We knew we were g o
i ng to a h ot place and meant to make it h otter
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O
Z
O
w;
H
mE
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5
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fi
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3
9
2
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:
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t.
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E
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a
0
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b
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fi
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d
HE INSPIRED
C ON
F I D E NC E
still for th e Spaniar d s ;bu t m
a n we would
”
have sailed straight i nto h ell after him !
I n my n ote book where th is i n ci d ent i s r e
corde d are several other sente nces a n d phrases
of t he a nswer to my qu estion which on account
of th e stro ng sailor language u sed I will for
obviou s reasons o mit bu t th ey all served in
th eir w a y to demonstrate th e full tru st of this
gu nner and his gu n s crew in the Admiral
Possibly n o better evidence of Admiral
Dewey s capability of inspiring co nfidence
a mo ng th ose wh o came in contact with him
c a n be fou n d than the influ e nce h e e xerted
o v er th e British captains of the two auxiliary
vessels th e Na nsha n and th e Zafir o purchased
at H ong Kong to accompany the squad ron to
Manila a n d carry coal and supplies Both of
th e m told m e that whil e they fully realiz e d
th e great risk th ey were runni ng and the cer
tainty of bei ng pu t to death if captured they
l eft their first conference with the Admiral su
e ly i m
pressed with th e idea that su ch a
pr e m
ma n k n ew what h e was about and could not be
beate n T h erefore they woul d be safe i n c on
tinning comma nders of their steam ers They
were paid double what th ey recei v e d in times
of peace bu t even that indu cement woul d n ot
ha v e suffi ced if they had not been m ove d by
reliance on th e Admiral s j udgme n t and c o ur
age T h ese remarks were not merely pos t
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57
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
bellu m com ment swelling the tide of popular
ad ulation
I t so happened that skippers of
ships coming to Bangkok before the battle
repeated to me almost the same words fr om
th ese captains in explanation of their willi ng
ness to remain with the Americans which th e
latter e m
ployed i n dis cu ssing the matter with
m e soon after the great contest
I would lay special stress on these ac tu al
ante bellu mc onceptions of D ewey i n order to
sh o w that his qual ities of su ccessful leadership
and tru e greatness were demonstrated before
th e fight— when h owever they were not a p
—
i
r
e
c
a
t
e
d
at
home
as m u ch even as in th e
p
long trying peri od that ensued u ntil and after
the fall of Manila In letters which I received
from Bri tish ar m
y and naval friend s at H o n g
K o ng a n d from Am ericans stopping or li v ing
there written in March and Apr i l 1 8 98 some
of which I no w have before me I find withou t
exception thi s expressio n of th e sam e senti
ment : D ewey i s the righ t man for th e p e c ul
iar and d i fii c u l t situation ;n o A merican need
have any fear of the ou tcome of a figh t in
Ph ilippine waters with h im in com m
a nd
General Wi l son e Black military comman d er
i n chief and acting governor of H o ng Kong
wh o ha s all the kee nness of perception and
j udgment of m
e n which characterize typical
S cotchm en of his kind was an ardent admirer
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58
AD M
I R A L G E OR G E D E WE Y
from su ch i n union wi th th e best points a d
it was reached only
va nc e d by h is captains
after th orou gh deliberation an d was final
His details of preparedness also inclu ded oh
taini ng all data and information possibl e not
only of the Spanish fleet forts mines the
depths and l ocation of channels a nd entrances
to Manila and S a big bays the s tate of tides
currents and wi n ds but the constant traini ng
of his m en at target practice in preparing for
acti on in landi ng i n fi re drill and i n all other
p ossibl e conditions of actual battle u ntil every
o fficer and m
a n could i m
agine himself a veteran
i n advance an d knew his precise station and
rank as well as his own and his neighbors c a
a b ili t y of doing their d u ty
Admiral D ewey s
p
squad ron wh en i t sailed ou t of Mirs Bay could
have been compared to a thoroughbred h orse
traine d to th e hour by an expert who knew not
only h is animal bu t i ts compe t itors and the
conditions of th e race
To make th e comparison more apt a t this
seaso n I would say that h is squadron was like
a college football team trained to th e m oment
and yet with e n d u rance for a battl e royal where
indi v idu al play was i n spired by c onfid e nce in
th e captain to go in and win at all hazards
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I am often ve xed when I hear critics who d o
not understand th e situation as it then existed
6O
T HE
S QU A D R O N A U N I T
’
endeavor t o belittl e D ewey s v ictory by e m
h
a si z i ng th e weakness of th e ene m
y While I
p
do not admit t hat th ey were weak considering
th e stro n g land batteries at C av i t é poi nt Ma
nila and those at C orregidor which had first
to be passe d or silenced and the n umber of
their v essels having the ad v antage of location
home waters and lan d s upport I clai m that
u nder th e lead ership of Admiral De wey and th e
perfect condition for fighti ng which character
i z e d both ships and men a mu ch larger stronger
force wou ld likewise have been defeated —not
withou t loss of lives and possibly a ship or
m ore but with absolu te unqu estionable tri
um
ph for th e Americans
With everybody
and everything in that squadron worki ng as a
u nit for one pu rpose u nder the guidance of
one hand with n o bickerings and no j ealou sies
i n its li ving e n ergy and with no engines and
no gu ns u ntested in its inani mate power i t
formed withi n its limits an irresistible force
th at would have gaine d victory with any foe
or left n o ship or man to mark its defeat
There are many who will urge that I paint thi s
picture in too s trong colors bu t they w i ll not
be men wh o saw D ewey his m en and ships in
H o ng Kong before th e battle or in Manila Bay
after the combat We wh o were on th e groun d
speak feelingly and yet honestly Moreover I
write as an u nprej u diced layman and not as
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61
,
A D MI R A L GE OR G E D E WE Y
an enth u sias tic naval offi cer Mr S tickney the
n ewspaper correspondent wh o we nt to Manila
on th e Olym
p i a C onsu l William s wh o was on
th e B a lti m
or e Mr Harden and Mr Mc C u t c h
e on two oth er correspondents and C olonel
L oud on th e Mc Cu lloc h th e only m
e n not of
the navy wh o accompani ed th e squadron will
I am confiden t bear ou t all I write on th e pre
r e d ne ss of th e Admiral and th e con d iti on of
a
p
his ships and men for the expected battle
The supre me incident i nthe trai n of eve n ts
beginning wi t h hi s first coming to H ong Ko ng
u p to the h our of the battle whi ch sh owe d this
remarkable d eliberation and readi ness was the
“
gi v ing of th e fam ou s command
Y ou may
”
fire when you are ready Gridley
Th ere you
have the man : what composu re and yet what
strength what confid ence and yet what de
c i si on of character are sh own in th ose words
which must b e imm ortal as well as th e m
emory
of the m
a n wh o u ttered them
B ut with all th is deliberation care and
mastered perfection of force there were mingled
the i nfluences of profound cou rage supported
by i nte n sity and te n acity of purpose O t her
wi se e v en with h is excellence of arra ngement
h e might ha v e quailed at the ou tlook Here
again in estimati ng th e greatness of the A d
miral and of his victory m uch mu s t be taken
into consideratio n A brief review of some of
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62
S IT U AT I ON AT H ON G KON G
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the depressing features of th e situatio n that
found him will support the correctness of my
argu me nt
.
In Hong Kong alth ough th e sympathy of
th e British na v al and army m en was w ith u s
th ere was a strong tendency to exaggerate u n
intentionally th e dangers o f an isolated m ove
ment on Manil a to describe and pictu re the
Spanish fleet as o vermatching the American
and generally to impress on th e Ad miral his
officers and m en th e extremely hazardou s u n
d e r ta k i ng before them
Spanish agents were
hard at work spreading ope n an d mysteri ou s
repor t s about channels mine d and forests of
torped oes laid in both th e B oca C h ica and th e
Boca Grande respectively between C orregidor
and Ma r i va l e s on the n orth an d C orr egidor and
E l Fraile on th e south and in those por tio n s
of Ma nila Bay wh ere it would be necessary for
an i nvading fleet to man oe uvre
Among all
the marvellou s stories that were told and r e
tol d i t was exceedingly difficult to obtain exact
and reliable information T h ere se e m
ed to be
nothing defi nite
And yet the Admiral dis
criminated so carefully in sifti ng ou t what was
responsible that later h e fou nd condi ti o ns to
be approximately as h e finally concl uded when
making his ultimate pla ns
Another discouraging featu re of th e prob
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63
A DMI R A L G E OR G E D EWE Y
le
mbefore
h im was th e k n owledge that not
only no reinforce ments or assistance of a ny
kind had been despatch ed by the go v ernment to
support hi m i n case of need bu t that prob
ably none woul d come for nearly t w o months
either naval or military In this connection
i t i s well to remember that D ewey had long
before this advised th e government to send
hi m m ore and stronger ships and be ready for
d evelopments i n the Far E ast Finally th ere
was th e desperate n ecessity facing h im of b e
ing obliged to retire if th e battle was not de
o isive to some point for repairs — b u t wh ere ?
Ne utrality laws were against him in a ll ports
of Asia and America was 8000 miles a w a y l
To use a land phrase in treating a na v al sub
j cet D ewey i n goi ng to Manila was burni ng
all his bridges behind him and h e had to su e
c ee d
His only alternatives were a crippli ng
defeat endi ng i n hopeless retreat or u tter an
ni hi l a ti o n of his squadron
If th en there
ever was in history a situation re quiring more
cou rage in a commander than th i s i t certain
If D ewey h ad l ost
l y has not bee n recorded
instead of won under such d iscouragements
history woul d h a v e ulti m
ately done hi m j u s
tice even if th e people had been temporarily
u ngrateful In the light of what actually hap
pe n ed he i s perso nally deservi ng of e xclu sive
credit for the success of the desce nt on Manila
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64
H E T O OK T H E
L
EAD
All that th e governme nt di d was to tell hi m h e
might g o—to l oosen th e l eash as i t were or
release hi m from the i mmediate control of th e
Navy D epart ment
T h en wh en he saile d d o w n th e c oast of th e
Philippines nothing dau n ted hi m and hi s bra v e
captains H e was ready to figh t in O pen sea
in Su b ig or Manila u nder th e land batteries
He mad e a bold reconnoissance of Su b i g Bay
with th e B oston and Conc or d as if i t were San
Francisco harbor b ut when h e reach ed th e e u
tran ce to Manila Bay an d kne w that th e ene my
m u st b e awaiting h i m there h e took th e l ead
t
h i mself wi th th e Olym
d
espi
e th e hazard
i
a
p
of first contact w ith mines and th e fact t h at
h e r high freeboard and superstructu re forme d
a shining mark even for Spani sh gunners
Som e co m
manders would n ot h a v e sail e d in ;
others would have at l east tarried wh ile a r e
connoissan ce was made
I have devoted this am ou nt of spac e to A d
miral De w ey s prepared n ess for bat t le togeth er
w ith th e diffi cu lt i es and dangers that face d
h im because in j udging h im and what h e did
v ery little attention has been given to this
brief b u t m ost impor ta nt period of his com
mand and b ecause i t is impossibl e to arrive
at a tru e estimate of his characte r w ithou t con
sideration of h is cond u ct and m anagement in
th ose trying h ours wh en n o one kne w what th e
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65
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
future had in store of go od or ill or what the
chan ging fortu nes of war migh t bring forth
D ewey in fact had proved himself a g reat
commander before h e fi red a shot i n Manila
Bay
B efore concluding my observations on th ese
ante battle conditions I mu s t cite th e crown
i ng proof of his preparedness and accuracy of
j u dgment I will qu ote hi s own wor d s from
my note b ook bu t preface them with th e state
ment that th ey were well corroborated by what
from time to tim e I was told by his able C a p
tains : Wildes Gridley Dyer C oghlan Lam
berton Walker Wood as well as Flag lieu
te nant Bru m
by an d S ecretary C al dwell H e
sai d
“
I told you that this battle was won in Hong
Kong harbor T o sh ow you more plainly what
I m ean I will say that w e —that is my captai n s
and sta ff officers working with m e—so planned
ou t thi s fight wit h all possible contingencies
that we were fully prepare d for exactly what
happened Although I recognized the alter
native from reports that reach ed m e that the
Spanish Admiral Montoj o might me et m e at
Su b ig or possibly at Ma r i va l e s I had fi nally
mad e u p my mind that th e battle would be
fought righ t here that v ery m orni ng at the
same hour with nearly the same position of
O pposi ng ships That i s why and h o w at break
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66
ADMI R AL GE ORGE DEWE Y
Zafir o was at a loss as to how h e was to manage
th e matter While trying to get off one small
boat load of supplies to the ship he had been
s topped by a p olice Offi c e r who said that su ch
sh i pme nts could not be permitted He ca m
e to
m e with his troubles and happening to know
w ell the Acting Governor General Wilson s
Black a typical old Scotchman of the best
class I went to see hi m regarding this mat t er
”
“
General I said
the Zafi r o is in port for
less tha n a twenty four hours stay in accord
ance with the neu trality r ules b u t before re
turning the captain would l ike to purchase a
f e w delicacies for th e Admiral a n d his staff
”
9
Have you any O bj ecti ons
T he genial bu t shrewd Governor looked at
me intently and smile d in a knowing sort of
way
D elicacies for th e Ad miral
h e repeated
“
Why certainly I ha v e n o obj ections Of
course he m u st have them — and j ust a f e w
too for his staff and O ffi cers I suppose That
i s all right I will give instructi ons for the m
”
—
to b e passed bu t of course only delicacies l
Standing on Pe d da rs Wharf a little later I
saw a nu mber of large lighters or j unks bei n g
towed out towards th e Zafir o
S u ddenly a
Spanish consular O fficer ca me ru shing up to a
harbor Ofli c i a l who was standing the u sual
guard and excla i med
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68
C ON
GOV ERNOR AND
SUL
“
Stop th ose boats ! T h ey are taking off
s u pplies for the American fleet at Manila—I
”
protes t l
Th e offi cer wh o was a ta ll strappi ng Irish
man look ed down on the little Spaniard with
a benign smile and said with a drawl :
Pl ease don t b e disturbed or troubled
T h is is al l right ;th ose b oats are only taking
”
Off a few delicacies for th e American Admiral
I was impressed wi th th e strict execu tion of
th e letter of th e G overnor s instru ctions and
walke d away admiring h o w well th e thing was
d one ;bu t t his i s not the end of th e story A l
th ough I was not present at its conclu sion I
h eard on good auth ority that th e Spanish con
sul on l earning wh at was going on ru she d u p
to G o v ernm ent H ou se and violently protested
The G overnor with characteristic tact and u r
b a ni ty imm ediately quieted this earnest ser
vant of th e Spanish G overnm ent by saying :
Mr C onsul do not be troubl ed What you
refer to are only a f e w d el icacies for Admiral
D ewey and you cert ainly cannot O bj ect b e
cau se it i s al togeth er probabl e that h e i s taking
along a s mall extra supply i n order to sen d
some to General Augu stine and Admiral Von
”
Diederich s
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Possibly the esteem for D ewey in Ho ng
Kong may ha v e had i ts influence i n persu e d
69
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
ing the Governor that it was not agains t th e
neutrality laws that several hu ndred tons of
“ delicacies ” for he Admiral shoul d be shippe d
t
every few weeks from Hong Kong to Man i la !
a n coul d
By careful compariso n of what one m
consume wit h the total export of delicacies
o n Unite d S ta tes despatch boats d uring th e
t i me of war every man in D ewey s squadron
mu st have been an Admiral ! T his assisted
by some other notable incid ents certainly had
th e effect to make e v ery Jackie at Manila an
advocate Of an Anglo American alliance
I t i s often sai d that th e way to get at an
Asiatic is through hi s stomach ;from what I
saw at Man ila I think that rul e applies even to
A merica n s and E uropeans To go farther and
still continu e chronicling h istory : When A d
miral D e w ey wanted to mak e Admiral Von D ie
d e r i c hs the German commande r penitent h e
s ent him over a leg of frozen m u tton and
straigh tway there was a temporary lull in Ger
man activity ;wh en h e wanted to sho w hi s a p
preciation of th e hearty sympathy of C aptai n
C hichester h e sent hi m over a leg of m utton
and forthwith Sir E dward strode from his cabin
a n d took h is beari n gs to see if th e I m
mor ta li té
lay between the K a i ser Wi lhelmand the Olym
All of which at th e same time goes to
p ia !
prove that D e w ey was an eminently practical
as well as a theoretical d ipl omatist
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70
II
TH E
T O R Y OF T H E B A TT LE T O L D I N
A D M I RAL S OWN RE P O R T
T HE
S
’
T HE
best story of the battle of Manila Bay
that has ever been written i s th e report which
Admiral D ewey made to the government thre e
d ays after h e had destroyed the Spanish fleet
He had su fficient time to consider th e d etails
of th e conflict and yet s o short a period elapsed
that hi s min d was fresh with every feature of
importa nce I t is a historical docu ment and
i s in some respects typi cal of th e Admiral s
ch aracter It is brief and to th e point in its
description yet suffici ently comprehe n sive to
give a correct conception of the great combat
Its narrative has the precisi on of a trained
naval o fficer
T h ere is not a word waste d
b ut each principal phase i s bro u ght ou t with
u niqu e clearness With characteristic m od
esty h e takes littl e or no credi t to himself bu t
speak s in h ighest terms of hi s captains sta ff
an d men There are however many incident s
c onnected with th e battl e which the Admiral s
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71
ADMI RAL GEORGE DEWEY
sh or t story does not bring ou t and in his d e
sire not to weight his report d own with u nne c
essary descriptions h e omits som e particulars
which in the light of later develop m
e n ts and
wi de spread interest in everythi ng conne cte d
with the event have assume d a degree of i m
portance an d are touch ed upon in other parts
of this work
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I well rememb er when , as a result of a dis
which arose betwee n the Ad miral and
C aptain Lamberto n as to th e h ou r wh en th e
conflict began a nd wh en certain incidents in
connection with i t occurre d th e A d miral aske d
m e to fi nd B r u mby and get his opinion Bru m
by was not quite sure and so brought out a
copy of th e report itself and gave it to th e
Admiral H e consulted it and after satisfy
ing hi mself and L amberton as to th e p oint at
issu e remarked in an off hand way
“
Y o u see L amberton that we are already
co mmenc i ng to go back to this report T his
is the permanent record of th e battle and I
suppose will al w ays b e referred to to settle
d ispute d p oints Y ou know when I was writ
ing it the though t came to my m i n d of the
responsibility resting on m e to tell th e story
truthf u lly and briefly because I knew it must
become a historical paper I am glad I had
t w o or three days i n whic h to collect my
c u ssi o n
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72
,
A D MI R A L GE O R G E D E WE Y
I hav e the honor to sub m
i t the fo ll ow i ng r ep ort of
ma nd
t he op e ra t i o ns o f the sq ua dr o n und e r m
y c om
me d i
1 T he squ a dr on l e f t Mi rs B a y on A p r i l 2 7 th i m
s U ni t e d Sta t e s
a t e ly on the a rr i v a l o f Mr O F Wi ll i a m
a t i on
C onsu l at Ma ni l a w ho b rou g h t i m
p o rt a nt i nfor m
a nd w h o a cc o m
p a ni e d the squ a dron
2 A rr i ved off B ol i na o on t he m
o rni ng of A p r i l 3
oth
a nd fi nd i ng no ve sse l s t he r e p r oce e d e d d o w n th e c oas t
e
a nd a rr i ve d off th e e ntr a nce t o Ma ni l a B a y on th e sa m
a f t e r no on
3 T he B oston a nd Conc or d w e r e se nt t o re conno i tr e
Po i nt Su b i g I hav i ng b ee n i nfo r m
y in
e d t h a t the e ne m
t e nd e d to ta k e posi t i on the re A thoroug h se a rch of the
a d e b y th e B osto n a nd Concor d b u t t he Spa n
p o rt w as m
i sh fl e e t w a s not fou nd a lt houg h f r oma l e tt e r a f te r
w a rd s found i a the arse na l ! i nc l osed w i t h tra nsl a t i on)
i t a pp ear s t ha t i t h a d be e n the i r inte nt i on t o g o the re
4 E nte r e d the B oca G r ande or s o u th c ha nne l a t
n a t d i s ta nc e a t e i g h t
s teami ng i n c o l u m
P M
k nots A ft e r ha l f t he squa dro n had p asse d a b a tte ry
o n th e s o u th s i d e o f t he ch a nne l o p e ne d fire no ne o f t he
shots t a ki ng e ff e ct T he B oston a nd Mc Ca l loch re tur ne d
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t he fi re
.
s qu a dron p r oce ede d ac ross the ba y a t sl ow
sp ee d a nd a r ri ve d Off Ma ni l a a t d a y b r e a k a nd w a s fi r e d
u p o n at
A M b y t h r e e b a tte r i e s a t Ma ni l a a nd t w o
ne a r C a v i t é a nd b y the Spa ni sh fl e e t a nch or e d i n a n
a p p rox i m
a te ly e as t a nd w e s t l i ne a c r o ss t he m
o ut h o f
B ak o r B a y w i t h t h e i r l e f t i n shoa l w a t e r i n C a na cao
5
T he
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B ay
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qua dr on the n p roce e d e d to the a tt a ck the
fl a g shi p Olym
p i a u nd e r m
y p e r sona l d i r e ct i on l e a d i ng
f oll owe d a t d i st a nc e b y the B a l ti m
o r e Ra lei g h P e tr e l
a
e d w h i ch f orm
Concor d a nd B osto n i n t he ord e r na m
t i on w as ma i nta i ne d throu gh o u t t he a c t i on T he squ a d
6
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T he
s
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74
,
T HE
ADMIRAL S RE PORT
’
Wh i l e a d va nc i ng to the
a tta ck t w o mi nes we re ex p l od e d a he a d of t he fl a g shi p
too f a r to b e e ff e c t i ve
a i nt a i ne d a co nt i nuous a nd p r e c i se
7 T he sq u a dr o n m
fire a t ra ng e s v a ry i ng f r om5 000 to 2000 y a rd s cou nt e r
ma rchi ng i n a l i ne a p p rox i ma t e ly p a ra l l e l t o that of the
T he e ne m
y s fi re w as v i g or ous b u t g e n
Spa ni sh fl e e t
o r a lly i ne ff e c t i v e
ent tw o l a u nche s p u t ou t tow
8 E a rly i n the e ng a g e m
ard s the Olym
p i a w i t h the a p p ar e nt i nt e nt i on o f u si ng
t orp e d oe s One w a s sunk a nd the othe r d i sa b l e d by o u r
fire a nd b eac he d b e fo re a n o p p ort u ni ty occu rr ed to fi re
to r p e d oe s At 7 A M the Spa ni sh fl a g shi p Re i na Or i a
ti na m
a d e a d e s p e r a t e a tte m
p t t o l e a ve th e l i ne a nd
ca me o ut to eng a g e at sh ort r a ng e b ut w as re ce i ve d
w i th such g a ll i ng fi re the ent i r e b a tt e ry o f the Olym
pi a
b e i ng conce ntra te d u p on he r t ha t she w a s b a re ly ab l e
to r e t u rn to the she l te r of the p oi nt
T h e fi r e s st a rt e d
i n he r b y o u r s he l l a t t h i s t i m
e w e re not e x t i ng u i she d
u nt i l she sa nk
9 At
A M
i t h a v i ng b een e rr one ously rep orte d t o
me t ha t o nly fifte e n r ound s o f a mmu ni t i on pe r g u n r e
ma i ned f or the fi ve i nc h ra p i d fire b a t te ry I cea se d fir
i ng a nd w i th dr e w the s q u a dron f or c o nsu lt a t i on a nd a
r e d i str i b u t i o n o f a m
muni t i on if necessa ry
10 T he t h r ee b a tt e r i e s a t Ma ni l a h a d ke p t u p a co n
t i nu ou s fire f ro mt he be g i nni ng o f t he e ng a g e m
e nt
whi ch fi re w a s no t re tu rne d b y t hi s s qua dron T he
fi rst of the se b a tt e ri e s w as si tu a te d o n the sou t h mol e
he a d a t the e nt ra nc e to th e Pa si g R i ve r the s e cond on the
sou t h b a st i on o f t he wa ll e d c i ty o f Ma ni l a a nd the t h i rd
a t Ma l a te a b o ut o ne hal f m
i l e f a rthe r sou t h A t t his
e ssa g e to the G o v e r no r G e ne ra l to the
p oi nt I se nt a m
e ff ec t t h a t if t h e b a tt e r i e s d i d no t ce ase fi r i ng the c i ty
wo uld b e she l l ed T hi s ha d the e ff ec t Of s i l enc i ng them
e d
ron Op ne
fi re
at
A
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M
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75
A D MI R A L G E OR G E D E WE Y
fi nd i ng t ha t the re p ort o f the soa rc
muni t ion w a s i ncorre ct I re tu r ne d w i th the
i ty o f a m
B y t hi s t i m
e the fl a g shi p a nd
sq u a dr o n t o t he a ttac k
a lm
ost t he e nt i re Sp ani sh fl e e t w e r e i n fl a m
e s a nd a t
R M th e s q ua dro n c e ase d fi ri ng t he b a tte r i e s b e i ng
s i l e nce d a nd t he sh i ps su nk burne d a nd d e se rt e d
12 A t
R M th e s q u a dr o n r e t u r ned a nd a ncho r e d
Oflf Ma ni l a th e P e tr c l b e i ng l e f t b e hi nd to com
p l e t e th e
d es truct i on of the sm
all e r g un b oat s w hi ch we re be hi nd
Th i s d u ty w a s p e r f o r m
t he p oi nt of C a v i t é
e d by
ma nd e r E P Wood i n the mos t exp ed i tious and
Co m
comp l e te m
a nne r p o ss i b l e
13 T he Sp a ni sh l ost th e f o ll ow i ng v esse l s : Re i na
Cr i sti na Ca sti l la D on A ntoni o de U lloa
B u r ne d —D on
11 At
A H
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Jua n de A ustri a , I sla de L uzon , I sla dc Cu ba , G e ner a l
L ezo Ma r q u es de l D ner o E l Corr eo, Vel a sco, a nd I sla de
,
,
Mi nd a na o ! t ransp ort)
C a p tu r ed — Ra p i do
.
ml l l
a nd
Her cule s ! tu g s)
a nd
se
v er a l
u nche s
14 I a mu na b l e to Ob ta i n co m
p l e te acc ou nt s of th e
e ne my s ki ll e d a nd wou nd e d b u t b e l i e ve th e i r l oss
T h e Re i na Cr isti na a l one ha d 150
t o b e v e ry h e a v y
ki ll e d i nc l u d i ng the c a p ta i n a nd 20 w ound ed
a g e d one t o the
I a mh a pp y to r e p o rt t ha t the d a m
squ a dr on u nd e r
my command w a s i nc onsi d e ra b l e
T h e r e we r e none ki ll e d a nd only se v e n m
e n i n t he
s q u a dr o n v e ry s l i g h tly w ou nd e d
A s w i l l b e se e n b y
r epo rts of the co m
ma nd i ng offi ce r s w h i ch a re he re w i th
i nc l ose d se v e ra l o f the v e sse l s were s truck a nd ev en
a g e w a s o f t h e s l i g h te st a nd the
pe ne tra te d b u t the d a m
s q uadron i s i n a s g ood cond i t i on a s be fo r e th e b a ttl e
I be g to s t a te t o the D e pa rt me nt t ha t I d oub t if a ny
com
ma nd e r ih ch i e f und e r si mi l a r c i rcumstances w a s
e v e r se rv e d b y mor e l oy a l e ffi ci e nt a nd g a ll a nt c a p
t a i ns t ha n those of th e sq ua dron now und e r m
y c om
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76
,
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
i t d of a mod e r n C a ne t 12—
cent i m
etr e B L Rifle be
h i nd i m
p r ov i s e d ea rt hwo r k s
i l i ta ry forces eva cu a te d th e C a v i t é
O u th e 3d the m
A r se na l w h i ch w a s t a k e n p osses si o n o f b y a l a nd i ng
e d ay the Ra l eig h a nd B a l ti m
or e se
On the sa m
p a rty
cu re d th e s u rr e nd e r of the batte r i es on C orre g i d or I sl
a nd p ar ol i ng the g arr i son a nd d es tr oy i ng t he gu ns
orni ng of Ma y 4 th t he tr a ns p o rt Ma ni la
On the m
wh ich ha d be e n a g round i n B a kor Ba y w a s t owed off
ad e a p r i z e
a nd m
G E O R G E D E WE Y
! Si g ne d)
s s e
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III
CO MM E N T O F A D M I RAL D E W E Y O N TH E B A T
T LE A N D I N C I D E N TS CO NN E C T E D W I T H I T
,
A
FE W
days after my first meeting with the
Admiral I asked h im to be good enough to
give m e some impressions of th e great battle
which I might telegraph to th e Am erican press
because I knew the people at home were anxi ou s
to h ear anyth ing and everything h e migh t say
c onnected wi th his extraordinary expl oit H e at
first demurred and expressed dou bt as to w he t h
er papers and people at home would b e su ffi
c i e ntl y intereste d to have what h e might say
incidentally on th e battl e telegraph ed When
I explained to him h owever that th e papers at
tha t time cared little for th e expense incu rre d
provid ed th ey coul d get something direct from
h im and that i t woul d go j ust as h e said it
without u nfort unate editing h e consente d
The following extracts are not the i dentical
words that h e u sed b ut are approximately
c orr ect
and are quote d as they appeared
originally in the New Yor k Jour na l Chi c a g o
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79
A D MI RA L G E O R GE D EWE Y
P hi la delp hi a
T r i bu ne,
Sa n F r a nc i sc o E xa
mi n
P r ess,
B oston
G l obe,
a nd
oth er papers
u nder my name U nfortunately I have not my
original notes of these inter v iews becau se I
wrote what th e Admiral sai d on telegraph
blank s an d sent the m Off after h e ha d looked
th em o v er These observati o n s of th e Ad miral
were th e first extended ones that were cabled
to America an d were extensively copied by
the papers for whi ch I di d not correspond
S ome of th e biographi es which have recently
b een published of Admiral D ewey notably
that written by Mr A M D ewey incl ude
these interviews
T he Admiral made many side statements
which were of passing i nterest bu t th e s ub
stance of what h e said i s as follows
“
My d etailed state ment is in my report bu t
I can mak e so me comment on what happened
T his battl e of Manila Bay was fought in H ong
Kong Harbor T hat is th e hard work was
done there ;the execu tion h ere was not d i ffi
cult With the c o operation of th e ofii c e r s
of the fleet my plans were carefully studied
o u t there and no detail omitted Any man
w h o had a suggestion to make was h eard an d
if it was a good one it was adopted After th e
i ndicati ons of war w ere so strong that it a p
r e d inevi table I devoted my time an d e n
a
e
p
e r gi e s to making every preparation possible
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80
C OMME
NT
ON
“
BATTLE
When we left H ong Kong and anch ored
in Mirs Bay ou tsi de of th e neu tral i ty l imits I
had determine d upon my lin e of action When
we left there a fe w days later we sailed away
ready for battle and expecting i t as soon as we
reach ed th e neighb orhood of Manila
From
that h ou r of d eparture u n til we drew ou t of
acti on Su n day morning May l st af te r d estroy
i ng th e Span i sh squadron we practically d id
not stop the e ngi n es of ou r ships We cam e
directly across from th e C hina coast to that of
L uzon h eaded do w n towards th e entrance of
Manila Bay reconnoitred Su b i g Bay wh ere it
had been rum ored w e woul d find th e enemy
mad e th e entrance to Man ila passed C orregidor
Island by th e south channel in the darkness of
th e nigh t and steamed across th e bay close to
Manila wh ere at break of day we discovered
the Spanish fleet off C a v it é
Signalling to prepare for action an d follow
th e fla g sh ip I ga v e orders to steam past th e
enemy and engage their ships Th e r esult you
can see by looking at the sunken ships in th e
harbor
E very sh i p an d every man did his duty well
and th e ma rvel of it all is that not one man on
our sid e was killed or even seriou sly inj ured ?
T h e only harm inflicte d on th e ships was of a
tri v ial nature al th ou g h the Spaniards k ept u p
a lively fire until their gu n deck s were no
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81
A D MI R A L G E OR GE D EWE Y
longer ou t of water and th ey had no men to
man the guns T he Spanish Admiral and O ffi
cers and crew fought bravely and deserve credit
for their valor ; b ut all their vessels were
either d estroyed or sunk wi th a loss of sev
eral h u n dred killed and nearly as many
wounded
“
T he battle wa s fiercely contested as l ong
as it laste d ;bu t the superiority of our fleet and
ships gu n s men and marksmanship soon won
”
for us the victory
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When I asked hi m in regard to lessons that
might be learne d from this battle he replie d
without giving th e matter m ore than m omen
tary consideratio n as follows :
In my j udg ment I should say that the first
lesson of the battle teach es th e importance of
American gunnery and good guns It confirms
my early experience u n d er Admiral Farragut
that combats are decided m ore by skill i n
g u nnery and the quality of th e guns than all
else
Torpedoes and similar appliances are goo d
in their way b ut are entirely of secondary i m
portance
“
Th e Spaniards wi th their combined fleet
and forts were e qual to u s i n g un power
But they were unable to harm u s because of
bad gunnery
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82
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A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
believe d to day I am sorry to disabuse those
wh o cherish this little apocryphal story b u t
truth will ou t Whether a m
bit i ou s historians
the clever ed itor in the Navy D epartment or
im
aginative n ewspaper correspondents are r e
sponsible for this lege nd I d o not k now b u t
the report of the Ad miral which I saw at
Manila a n d which i s qu ote d literally in th e
pre v i ous chapter says nothi ng about withdraw
ing for breakfast On the oth er h and h e def
“
i ni t e l y states :
A M
At
it ha v ing bee n
erroneou sly reported to m e that only fifteen
rou n ds per gu n remained of the fi v e i nch
rapid fi r e battery I cease d firing and with
drew the squadron for consultation a nd a r e
”
distribution Of amm unitio n if necessary
In view of the many references to th i s sup
posed incident I one day asked th e Admiral
what h e though t of the story that he withdrew
for th e pu rpose of taking breakfast H e smile d
i n th inking of the publicity that had been given
to it and told the facts as outlined i n his r e
port
He said that at abou t a quarter past se v en h e
asked C aptain Lamberton to find ou t ho w ma ny
rou nds of amm unition for th e 5 inch gu n s
were left L amberton sent word to ascertain
and th e reply came back that there were only
a co m
paratively small nu mber—I thi nk fifteen
were reported This seeme d impossible to the
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84
NO B R E AK FA S T
PARTY
Admiral b ut h e thought i t was ad v isable to
wi th draw from acti o n and mak e sure abou t
there being su fli c i e nt amm uniti on left or to
redistribute it among the ships If th ere was
o nly that small amount left on th e Olym
a
i
p
there should be abu n dance on oth er ships or
some m
istak e mu st h ave been made
T h e signal went up to cease firing and with
draw from action The Admiral su mmo n ed
all th e captai n s aboard the fl a g ship and direct
ed the crews i n th e m ean time to get their
breakfast Th e qu estion of amm uniti on was
investi gated and it was fou nd that a very
serious m
istak e indeed had been made When
the inqu iry of th e Admiral rea ch ed th e a m
munition roo m th e man in charge und erstood
How many round s ha v e
t he qu estion to b e
”
“
been fired ? instead of How many are r e
maining and so sent u p the answer t o th e
for mer i nstead of th e latter question T h e
Admiral remark ed that at th e time h e th ough t
this m
ust be an error as h e believed that every
thing had been pu t in th orough readiness on
b oard th e ship and it would have been seriou s
n eglect or carel essness to have gone into bat tl e
with so little reserve amm u nition
The inspiration therefore for this with
d ra w a l from action was not th e pangs of hu n
ger bu t th e fear that th e ammunition reserve
was being too rapidly depleted I t all turne d
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85
ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY
ou t however in the best way possible The
m en enj oyed a good breakfast and were ready
to finish the conflict with th e Spaniards in
perfect form whil e th e Ad miral and his cap
tains knew that th ey had su fli c i e nt ammuniti on
not only to end th e present battle b ut fight
another if necessary later on
I am aware that one published report u ses
th e phrase
At twenty five min utes to eight
A M I ceased fi ring and withdre w the squad
”
ron for breakfast but I do not kno w its origin
or au thority In th e repor t the Admiral showed
me there was no su ch language
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It is sometimes u nfortu nate to destroy prop
e r ty conceptions bu t accu rate history requires
it There have been a great many references
’
to Admiral D ewey s reasons for cu tting the
cable that connected Manila with th e ou ter
world Th e reason th at h e took this step is
not u su ally known
Immediately after the battle was over on
May l st the Admiral commu nicate d with
C aptain General Augu stine and suggeste d
that he sh ould be allowed the u se of the
cable to communicate with his government
General Augustine refused this request T he
Admiral then proposed that the cable should
be made neutral and the o f ficials of bot h gov
e nts coul d communicate wit h he a d q u a r
e r nm
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86
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
behavior when I was with him in the Missi s
sippi campaign
I coul d almost see him
I
th ough t to myself : Ho w would h e act and
what woul d he do u nder these circu mstances ?
I t gave me c ourage and strength L ater on
when we were rou nd ing for th e first attack on
the Spanis h fleet a nd they were firi ng upon us
the same thought came to me and steadied me
at the critical moment H e was my first great
teach er I shall never forget him nor th e ex
r i e n c e I had in fighting du ring the C ivil War
e
p
I got my baptism of fire and my first training
u nder su ch conditio n s that when after the
lapse of thirty six years I again was under fire
here I had th e same feelings and i m
pulses I
even think that I felt as young here as I did
”
there over thirty six years ago
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IV
AIL A WA Y
B A TT LE
WHY A D M I RAL D E W E Y D I D N O T
F R O M M A N ILA A F T E R
I
T HE
S
th ere was any criticism of th e Admiral
and his m
ove ni e nt s implied i n what was writ
ten and sai d in America which annoye d him
a n d those under him it w a s th e repetition of
“
the obser v ation
If D e wey had only sailed
”
”
“
away ! or
Why di d not De wey sail away ?
T h e best answer that can be gi v en in the opi n
ion not only of th ose at Manila b ut of naval
experts e verywhere is that i t was so nearly
impract i cable and impossibl e for hi m to sail
away th at under the conditions it amounted
to a prohibition
I n the first place h e had not sufficient coal
or coal capacity to undertake th e l ong voyage
across the Pacific nor could h e venture th e
hazard of coaling in th e open sea ;h e cou l d
not ha v e coaled at any J apanese port an d i t is
doubtful if at that critical period i n th e early
part of th e war h e woul d have been all owed t o
coal at Hong Kong e v en with the fa v oring
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89
AD M
I RA L GEORGE D EWE Y
feature of British friendliness be cau se only
sh ortly before h e was ordere d away from there
to Mirs Bay ;the fastest speed of his s qu ad
woul d h a v e been that of th e slowest
b ron
vessel th e collie r N a nsha n as a result of which
i t woul d have taken hi m nearly two months to
reach America if h e c ould have gone and in
the meantime anoth er Spanish squadron might
h ave been fitted out c ome to th e Philippines
and completely controlled the Asiatic situ ation
and even prepared to descend on ou r Pacific
coast ci ties I n fact sufficien t gunboats r e
mained u ncaptured in Philippine waters to
h ave sei zed or destroyed all American mer
chant craft in Asiatic waters as th ey would
have done if D ewey had left them free
If h e h ad sa iled away an d met disaster the
whole worl d woul d have condemned h im as a
na v al commander an d strategi st for there was
no other neighb oring haven whatever that h e
could seek and h e woul d have abandone d one
wh ere he was safe and in control If h e had
departed and left not only th e Spanish non
combatants but foreigners to th e m ercy of
conditions wh ich would arise with all naval
protection gone h e would have been likewise
censured or if by going away h e had allowed
the Spaniards to recoup and thereby have
prol onged the war everybody would now say
”
Why did not D ewey stay ?
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90
A DMI R AL GE ORGE D EWEY
with hi s wh ole squ adron on th at long j ourney
with all th e problems of coal supply with h is
speed limi te d to that of his slowest vessel with
no O pportunities and places for repairs and no
preparations for various possibilities no naval
man would state that D ewey coul d have sailed
away
“
Th ere were also th e immediate and nu
a v oi dabl e responsibility of meeting conditions
that d evel oped at Manila after the battle Y o u
can well imagine the cry of Shame and wa i l
of criticis m that w oul d ha v e gone up over
America if D ewey had sailed away with the
S pan ish flag still flying over Manila and left
the Spaniards with an uncaptured point of
rendezvou s in the Pacifi c from which to pro
o ecd against u s had they so chosen or been
able An d yet had h e ruthlessly bombarded
and d estroye d Manila with its hundred s of
foreign residents d efenceless wom e n and ch il
dren non combatants and millions of foreign
capital th e wh ole worl d woul d have cried
sham e and everlasting disgrace woul d have
been on his sh oulders More over there were
a dozen small Spanish gunboats not destroyed
that could have captured all American ships
that came to the Far E ast
“
Y ou and I u nderstand the temper of the
A merican peopl e wel l enough to kno w that
ha d D ewey sailed away with all th e ensuing
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92
A
C
APTA IN S
OP
’
IN ION
d i fli c u l ti e s
that mu st ha v e c onfronted his
squadron with the inevitable complications
that woul d have followed possi bly leading to
i n ternational war with th e inconsistency of
leaving the Spanish flag flyi ng in sigh t of ou r
v ictoriou s ships and wit h Spain suffering o nly
th e loss of a squadron which could be replaced
in abou t thirty days and ha v e saved her from
t he crippling loss of a colonial e mpire wh ich
oth erwise c ou ld ne v er be replaced a wave of
remonstran ce would have swep t over America
that would not only have conde m
ned D ewey
but might have swept th e administra tion from
i ts feet
H e took th e only cou rse O pen to h im H e
awaited the arrival of th e army an d with its
arrival followed all th e oth er conditions from
which h e could not ho n orably withdra w No
D ewey di d not sail away b ecau se D ewey kne w
that i t was neither wise nor poss ible No matter
h o w mu ch critics may look back no w and say
how this that and th e other might ha v e been
d one we wh o were familiar with all th e condi
tions and ci rcu mstances know that the Admiral
”
followed the only cou rse O pen to him
This letter w a s written to m e by a ma n wh o
was an au thority if any one in D ewey s flee t
coul d be so rated and I know that he echoed
the O pinions of the Admiral
New responsibilities more over kept crowd
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A DMI RA L GEORGE DEW EY
ing in up on him at th e time h e w ould have
sa i led away if possible T here were conditions
on lan d and sea wh ich required hi s constant
attention For instance one d a y soon after
the battl e i n a most unexpected manner th e
Ca ll a o an u ncaptu red Spanish gu nboat which
h a d been off wh ere it did not hear of war being
d eclared came sailing prou dly into the bay
It would have been followed by many oth ers
to have formed th e nu cleu s of a n ew squad
ron if h e ha d aban doned th e situation which
reinforced by larger sh ip s that would have
come ou t from Spain woul d have made that
c ountry s position even stronger in th e Pacifi c
than it was before
I n thi s connection D ewey s gentleness and
consi d eration for those who were captured
w ere s o manifest that th ey deserve mention
H e ha d in hi m th e qualities O f a gentleman
whi ch h e never forgot under t he m ost trying
circu mstances His bigness of heart was con
A commander wh o is
t i nu a ll y d emonstrated
always generou s in triumph is not common
bu t from the first to the last of the Admiral s
experi ence in Manila h e treated Spanish
officials with that deference which th ey so
m u ch appreciated After the Ca lla s was capt
u r e d by the Am erican ships
h er commander
was taken on board th e Olym
p i a to be ques
t i one d by the Admiral
When u shered into
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94
A DMI RA L G E OR G E D EWE Y
our people woul d b e perfectly safe from d e
stru cti on or death as long as that good man
was i n control of th e Am erican squadron and
long before th e surrender of Manila I advise d
General Augu stine to su rrender assuring hi m
that h e could not fail t o get generous treat
”
ment from Admiral D ewey
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V
P RI D E
I N T HE C A V I T E N AV Y —
Y AR D B U T
A PP O I N T M E N T I N T H E ST A T U E
,
Di s
E V ER Y f e w
days d uring th e l ong peri od from
th e l st of May to th e 13th of Augu st the A d
miral was accu stome d to take walks on shor e
at C avit é He w ou ld go through the n avy
yard arsenal s grounds and eve n ou t i n to th e
t own n oticing carefully everything that w a s
to b e seen H e took particular i nterest in th e
navy ya rd becau se h e regarded it as his own
particular pet H is sq uadron had capt ured it
all al one and it was their prize I t sh owed
th e results of his attention and care E very
thing was kept scrupulou sly clean and ther e
was everywhere the sign of indu stry wh en
a force of me n from the ship s starte d work
assisted by nati v es who gradually in time r e
turne d after their first flight and fright Wh en
th e army cam e and occupie d the grounds i t
was s omewhat d ifficult to keep them in such
n eat trim b ut they soon learned that th e A d
miral expected them to tak e good care of thei r
temporary h eadqua rters
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97
ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWE Y
When Aguinaldo first began to bring in pris
oners t h e Admiral was particularly interested
i n seeing that they were give n good care
He
went personally to visit th e prisons and i n
formed hi mt hat h e expected hi m to gi v e th e
captured Spaniard s wholesom e food and quar
ters
Agui naldo complie d with th e Adm i
ral s recommendatio n s When any particularly
promi n e nt Spani sh offi cers l i ke go v ernors and
brigadier generals were brough t i n the Ad mi
ral se nt one of his sta ff to see that they were
not s u ffer i ng and even at times gave th em
so me delicacies of food which th ey a pp r e
While cre dit mu st b e given Agui
c i a te d
anity i n d eali ng with the
n aldo for his h u m
Spanish priso n ers which everybo d y compl i
me nt e d and appreciated th ere i s n o doubt
that the influ enc e of the Admiral had some
thi ng to do with it
iral i n for mally
On one occasion th e Ad m
called on Agu inaldo at his h eadquarters in
C av i t é a n d surprised the Filipi n o lea d er a nd
h is associates by the qu iet way in which h e
ca me T hey expected that if he called h e
woul d be atte n ded by a detachm e n t of mari n es
ber of officers arrayed
a n d a consid erable nu m
iral
i n full u n i for m I n stead of that t h e Ad m
walked qu ietly dow n the n arrow streets of
C a v it é with only one st a fi o ffi cer j ostli n g na
ti y es and Spanish prisoners a nd F ilipino sol
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98
S TATU E
THE W OODEN
diers as h e passed and walke d up into th e
house i n which Aguinald o was staying as if i t
w ere an every day occu rre nce T his m odest
easy way on th e par t of th e Admiral made a
very distinct impressi on u pon Aguinald o a n d
hi s associates T hey even considered it very
brave on his part to come with out any escort
and afterwards spok e of it to me Thi s was
one of th e many things which h elped th e Fili
pinos to develop su ch a profou nd respect for
Admiral D ewey which as far as I can l earn
has never lessened
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L i eutenant H odges wh o had charge of the
navy yard had been planning for some time to
get possession of a statue of E leano which was
standing in th e plaza of an old Spanish na v al
hero and send i t to Memphis T e nnessee as a
present to th e mu nicipal ity One day h e w a s
s tandi ng in front of i t telling m e h is plans
when the Admiral came walking down th e
shaded path which runs through the yar d
Seeing u s gazing at th e statue h e stopped
and much to the ch agrin and surprise of
Hodges remark e d
“
Hodges I am going to ha v e t hat statu e
tak e n down an d sh ippe d to Wash ington or
M ontpelier as a present from m e I am n o t
quite su re to which city I will send it but I
am incl i ned to give i t to my native town as
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99
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
the first souvenir of ou r v ictory in the P hilip
pines I don t know whether i t i s best to ha v e
it taken down i mmediately and sent or wait
until I go h ome bu t that is the only thing that
I wa nt in this na v y yard That is to be my
pri v ate
Hodges face fell and h e looked at me with
an expression of despair as he sa w all of his
pla ns spoiled His naval di scipline h owever
ca m
e to his rescu e and withou t hesitati on he
repli ed
“
Very well sir I will attend to it whene v er
”
yo u gi v e m e orders
Just at that moment L ieu tenant W Kirk
patrick B rice wh o by th e —
way has the dis
ti nctio n of being the first man connected with
the army to arrive in th e Philippines after th e
beginni ng of war j oi n ed the group and as to n
i she d u s all with the observation :
“
Admiral pardon me bu t did you know
t hat that statu e is made of wood carefully
painted o v er and not c ut out of sto ne
The Admiral was as m u ch surprised in turn
and even chagrined as was Hodges when th e
A d miral destroye d his hOp e
”
“
Made of wood
rej oined th e Admiral
“
the n I don t wa n t it It can b e thrown into
the sea or b urne d up for all I care Bu t what
a pity
Th e work m
anship is e xcellent and at
this distance it looks like stone I a mreally
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100
A DMI R A L GEOR G E D EWE Y
T hat statu e might remain th ere for a hu ndre d
years but if it got one good blo w i t would go
to pieces That has b een the e xperi ence with
Spai n so far in this war and I think you will
see it soon end ed becau se sh e has not the
”
stre ngth and thoroughness to resist
C aptain C hich ester ch u ckled i n his sea dog
fashi on wi nked his eye at m e and agreed wi th
what th e Admiral had sai d The comparison
w a s so apt and good that I made particu lar
note of it wh en a few minutes later I went
down in th e wardroom to tell L ieu tenant Rees
”
and C olonel Smith of both the Admiral and
Hodges disappoint ment in th e wooden statue
Montpelier may know no w for the first time
why th e Admiral has not sent them any par
t i c u l a r so uvenir of th e battle of Manila
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VI
A D M I RAL D E W E Y A N D
T HE
GE RMA NS
T HE
American people cannot be too grate
fu l to Admiral D e w ey for his su ccessful d i r e c
ti on of relations with the German Admir al
Von D iederich s at Manil a Those of u s wh o
were th ere will ne v er forget hi s mingle d diplo
macy and courage in dealing with a trouble
some situation t hat might h ave led to war with
a less brave and tactful man in charge T here
were ti mes wh en h is patience was sorely taxed
and to th ose wh om he c oul d tr ust h e made oh
se r va t i ons that cannot be published
It may
cover th e grou nd if I say that I know that he
was vexed by the m ovements of th e ships of
the German squ adron and th e attitu de of th e
German Admiral bu t I mu st ad d that h e was
invariably confident as to th e ou tcome and
believed that if left to himself and ha mpered
by no instru cti ons from Washington h e cou ld
settle th e little unpleasantness to th e c ompl ete
satisfaction of all concerned
Fr om th e beginning to the end of th e Ger
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103
ADMIRAL GEORGE D EWE Y
man episode h e endea v ored in e v ery dignifie d
way to a v oid a collision a n d woul d seek in
h i s considerat i on of the acti v i ty of t he German
ships som e oth er m oti v e than i nten tional hos
t i l i ty to h i m
self an d the U ni ted States Wh ile
h e d eplored t heir seemi n g disregard of th e
courtesies du e a blockad ing squadro n h e
n e v er to my k n owl edge said that h e belie ved
that they were really planning a nd hopi ng for
trouble with him When any discu ssion arose
i n a gath ering of persons or o ffi cers where h e
w a s prese n t o v er the condu ct of th e German
ships h e strove to min i miz e the matter and
allay any excitem ent
Th ere was a certain
li mi t beyon d which the German Adm i ral cou ld
not h ave gone U p to that limit D ewey ch ose
to u se diplomatic methods to check his rest
less v isitor rather than foster a feeli ng of resent
m en t at h ome towards the Ger man s w hich
might develop i n to a wave of popular rem on
stra nce and bri ng unfortunate co mplic a ti ons
J u d gi ng from n otes wh ich I made at th e
time Admiral D ewey apparently r e a sone d a s
follows :
“
T he United States do not wa n t w a r with
Germa ny a nd Ger m
a ny does n ot wan t war with
the United States War might result from
co nditio n s h ere in th e Philippin es bu t it can
be avoided War will not com e on our part
except on my initiati v e It is therefore my
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104
ADMI RAL GEORGE D EWE Y
ing a Spa n ish garrison on Isle d c Grande at the
m outh of Su b ig Bay After h e had h eard all
the details the Filipino ofii c e r could give him
h e ordered with ou t any sign of exciteme n t
Bru mby to signal Captains C oghlan and Walk
er of th e R a leigh and Conc or d to come aboard
for instru ctions and for their ships to get up
steam as quickly as possible
Shortly afte r
wards they were headed for Su bi g Bay
As
they approach ed the entrance or as soon as
they came i n sight the I r ene weigh ed anch or
withou t delay and mak ing a long d é tour ou t
to sea plainly to avoid th e American ships r e
tu rned to Manila Bay The R a leig h and Conc or d
continued on th eir course took possessi on of the
i slan d practi cally turned o v er th e garrison t o
the Fil i pino O ffi cers in charge of that section
It tu rned ou t later
a n d returned to Manila
that the German ship had not interfered direct
l y with th e Filipino vessel bu t had h owe v er
acted in a manner towards it and towards th e
Spaniards on the island for which it had n o ex
cu se withou t permission of Admi ral D ewey For
instance it not only sailed around th e bay in a
way to intimidate the Filipi n o vessel whi ch was
prepari ng to attack the Spaniards but anch ored
off the island and took on board a nu mber of
pri ests and other Spaniards and brought th em
back to Manila delivering them on sh ore with
ou t again getti ng auth ority from the Admiral
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106
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
nila can rem ember th e excitement that a o
c ompanied thi s S a big incident and the com
o
s
u
r
with
wh
ich
the
Admiral
treated
it
H
e
e
p
counselled th em n ot to send exaggerated r e
ports or statements no t actually confirmed by
facts saying that the affa i r migh t be easily
misunderstood or overcolored in Am erica and
cau se undu e excitement ad ding as h e O ften
di d in giving advice on such points
L eave this matter to m e and do not t r ou
ble yoursel v es u nnecessarily abou t it I m
y
self will settl e all d i ffic u l ti e s with the Germans
if you do not get th e O ffi cials and people i n
America by the ears and arou se the m to do all
”
sorts of th i ngs that will embarrass me Then
in order to qu iet any exciteme nt h e said :
“
There i s noth ing to fear from what has
happened i n S a big Bay No trouble will r e
”
sul t from it
What occu rred was in a m easure actually
seriou s bu t there was no firing whatever on
th e part of th e American ships upon th e Ger
man vessel T hey fired a t the Spanish fort on
th e island and that is all Th e I r ene steamed
away so speedily that sh e never w a s i n range
of th e American gu ns even if there had been
occasion to fire on h er L ater th e German
Admiral endeav ored to explain to Adm i ral
D ewey that the actio n of the I r ene was not
inte n ded as a reflection in any respect u p on
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108
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ON
GE RMAN LA U N C H FIR ED
th e American blockade but was si m
ply an act
of kindness towards som e non combatants wh o
were on the island Whatever was th e real
German p urpose Admiral Dewey managed th e
a ffair in th e only and b est way possible under
th e ci rcu m
stances
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Possibly the incident th at arou sed at th e
m oment the most excite m
ent on th e Olym
pia
and th rough out th e American fleet du ring th e
unpleasantness with th e Germans was the nu
fortunate e ff ort of a steam lau nch from th e
German Admiral s fl a g ship to com e to th e
after
dark
T
hose
fam
iliar
wit
h
i
a
Olym
p
methods of warfare know that for any smal l
craft to approach a war vessel at nigh t with
ou t the password or c ou nt e r s i g na ll i ng means
that it will surely be fire d upon a nd if possibl e
sunk If a search light is thrown upon su ch a
boat i t is also the ru le of warfare if it is not
the enemy to stop immediately In fact n o
friend l y boat would attempt t o approach a
foreign w a r vessel at nigh t wi th out eit her b eing
escorted or having special permission
One eveni ng when the relations with the Ger
mans were most strained a lau nch was d i sc ov
ered by the l ook out abou t half past seven com
i ng directly towards th e Olym
H e calle d
pi a
out Boat ah oy
N 0 answer came He r e
n
e
a
t
e
d
Again
no
a
swer came This shou t
p
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109
A D MI R A L GE OR G E D EWE Y
ing ha d attracted th e attention of the Admiral
an d C aptain Lamberton The Admiral j umped
u p went to th e side of th e deck peered ou t
i nt o the darkness an d called to th e Officer on
the deck :
”
“
Why don t you fire ? I t doesn t stop !
T h ere rang out th e report of th e 6 pou nder
bu t th e lau nch k ept coming T hen the Ad
miral ordered with an angry tone
Fire again a n d fire to hit
T h e search ligh t of the Olym
p i a was tu rne d
full on th e b ol d intru der and d i splayed a
b oat flyi ng th e German colors The second
sh ot was well aimed
I t stru ck the wate r
withi n thre e feet of the launch and splash ed
water all over it I t had th e necessary e ff ect
The boat stopped A launch which had been
sent ou t to meet i t then e scorted it to the
Up the ladder walked one of A d
Olym
pia
m iral Von D i e d e r i c hs s staff offi c e r s in full
unif o rm and shaking with excitement or fear
i
a
h e had said to E n
On his way to the Olym
p
sig n B utler wh o had been sent to meet him :
“
Why d o you fire u pon m e
T his i s a
launch from th e German Admiral s fl a g ship
flying th e German colors and I am a German
O f ficer Wh y sh oul d you fire
Y o u cou ld see
”
th e flag in the light
B utler discreetly made
iral as soon
no reply l eaving that for th e Ad m
a s h e sh oul d see th e German visitor
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110
G E OR G E D E WE Y
AD MIRAL
miral D ewey before i t was too late he sent
this sta fi ofii c e r to attend to th e erra n d
There is little doubt of th e good i n tent i on of
the German Admiral and officer i n this affair
b ut the ignora nce i t displaye d of the rules of
war may help to explain m u ch of the general
activi ty of the G erman squadron in a block
a d e d harbor
Possibly their moti v es were all
right but from lack of experience th ey di d
not appreciate what were the courtesies du e
the blockading squadron and its com m
an der
This in cident was really a m ost serious one
at th e tim e and provoked exte n ded discussio n
throughout the squadron for many days As
we look back to it no w it may not seem of
mu ch importance but from th e special stress
that was lai d on it at the time I believe that
it is worthy of this detaile d description
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Th e qu estion has often been asked : Why
did the Admiral s uggest to th e Navy D epart
m e nt the imperative need of being reinforced
by one or two battle ships such a s the Or eg on
With ou t v iolat i ng any state se
a nd I ow a
e rets I can say that the Admiral wanted them
for th e plai n and simple reason that he wished
to be prepared in th e event of G ermany or a ny
other E uropean power becoming complicated
with America i n the settlement of t he Philip
pine question All those who were intimately
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112
N E E D E D MO R E S H I P S
associated with h i m h ear d h im express many
ti mes th e O pi n ion that the Go v ern me n t sh ou l d
send hi mat least one and if practicable two Of
our best battle ships becau se it was impossible
to foretell wh at might happen The attitude
of th e Germa ns i n Manila Bay ha d b een a
surpri se he argue d and th ere migh t be still
greater surprises in store
At that time the
fleets of Great Britain Ru ssia Ger many a n d
Japan were stronger than ours C onsidering
th e tremendou s responsibilities that we had
assumed i n th e Philippines larger and better
vessel s were needed for ou r naval force
In
th e sa me way that th e Admiral prepared for
every other contingency h e wished to b e ready
for this one There was no dou bt in his min d
that if the Monter ey and Mona dnoc lc had ar
rived a t Manila wh en h e most wanted th em
th ere woul d never have b een any German dem
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onstra ti on.
Hal e and h earty C aptain Sir E dward C hich
ester of the I m
mor ta li te sai d to m e last N o
b e r in Hong K ong
ve m
“
plish ed by tact fir m
Y ou r Admiral acco m
ness and good j udgment in Manila Bay what
many naval m en would have thought only pos
sible by war D e w ey i s a natural fighter but
tru e fighter that h e i s h e prefers to win a
”
peaceful victory H e is a great man
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H
113
A D MI R A L G E OR G E D E W EY
’
That is th e testi mo ny of one of Briton s
noblest Ol d sea dogs and no man is better
au th ori ty When the accu rate history of th e
l ong period of waiting at Manila is fully
known to ou r people they will no t only find
that all their praise and love of D ewey are de
served b u t that their thanks are d ue C aptain
C hich ester for th e tangibl e moral support that
his un i qu e personali ty gave D ewey during th e
most discouraging days of the summer when
nobody kne w what th e next week or month
had i n store
My co n cl usio n in regard to D ewey s e xp e r i
e n ce with V o n D iederich s i s this ; I t pro v ed
beyond qu ibbl e or dou bt that he is a great
diplomatist a nd statesman as well as naval
mander H e accomplish ed what is a de
c om
si d e ra t u mof true diplomacy — th e achie v ement
of th e obj ect or pu rpose withou t entailing
cou n ter responsibilities or develop i ng condi
t i o ns more seriou s than those originally i n
volved
Ad miral D ewey was u ndoubtedly move d
more tha n O nce to speak in th e plainest terms
to representatives of Admiral Von Diederichs
b ut th ere was so mu ch moral force and logic of
positio n in what h e sai d that the German com
mander cou ld not possibly take offe nce
The n th e Ad miral knew as Others abou t hi m
did that the Germans in the F ar E ast and
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114
VII
A D M I RAL D E W E Y
’
S
T REA T M E N T O F N E W SP A P ER
MEN
’
P O SSI B L Y i n no way di d Admiral D ewey s
traits of character sh o w to better ad v antage
than in his treatm ent of newspaper men
Never s eeki ng their attention or suggesting
any references to h imself he was both cour
t e o u s and fi r m and often more considerate
of them and th eir wishes than they had a
right to expect I never heard a newspaper
man at Manila—and I kne w them all well
Speak oth er even in pri v ate than in most r e
sp e c tf u l ter m
s of th e Admiral They agreed
that h e personally was th e fairest and best
press censor of all th ose wh o hel d sway o v er
their telegrams from th e opening of hostilities
to the present
I would cast no reflection on L ieu tenant
B ru mby to wh o m the Ad miral soo n turned
over the responsibilities of censorship but
neither h e nor any one else in na v y or army
could rival th e Adm iral in quick perception
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116
PRES S
CE
NSORS HI P
of what was permissible news and what was
not togeth er wi th th e rare facu lty of show
i ng to th e correspondent with unf ailing a r
b a ni ty why this or that sentence sh oul d b e
change d or omi tted B u t h e di d not stop
there If h e saw that an important item was
missing either from lack of information or fear
of its being cu t ou t h e would suggest that it
be inserte d thu s saving many correspondents
”
“
the u nhappy experience of being scooped
He wa s not harsh in hi s restrictions ;i n fact
h e was inclined to be more liberal than Bru m
by and certainly more tolerant than C olonel
Thompson of th e army
T h e colonel was a
genial companion a n d a brilliant signal offi c e r
bu t h e was not cu t out for a press censor
E ven General Otis alth ough personally r e
sp e c t e d by them
never quite u nderstood the
newspaper men and h ow to get on with th em
Admiral D ewey m et th em and managed th em
as if th ey were hi s Ol d friends of th e M etro
politan C lub — and yet it was his first extende d
experience in that line of responsibility which
th e conditions of m odern times have imposed
on those who are first in war as well as on
th ose who are first in peace
The best evidence of the success of hi s m eth
od i s that during t he long period from May
l st to August 13t h wh en the censorship was
controlled on th e Olym
a
not
one
c
orrespond
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1 17
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D EW E Y
ent took unfair a dvantage of th e simple rules
that governed despatches It woul d ha v e been
possibl e at any ti me to have sent difi e r e nt tel
e g ra m
s than those which were inspected for
t w o reasons : first the despatch es w ere never
visaed by any mark or stamp bu t merely read
second th ey were all se n t u n der personal cover
to H o ng Kong there to b e forwarded
T h e Ad miral s code for newspaper men was
brief b u t comprehensive and expressive He
sai d
“
Gentlemen you are left largely to your
ow n good and experienced j udgment not only
as correspondents bu t as American citizens
bu t yo u wil l al ways bear i n m ind that you
must n ot send what will gi v e actual ai d and
comfort to th e enemy or that whi ch will nu
”
duly excite and disturb th e people at h ome
If h e made u p his mind that certain state
ments should not be wired there was nothing
to be gaine d by arguing th e qu estion ;b ut if h e
entertained the slightest dou bt h e would listen
caref u lly to th e correspondent s prayer and if
convinced pass th e despatch It may surprise
L i eutenant Bru mby to r ead here that i t was
n ot uncommon for the Admiral on th e qu iet
appeal of the correspo n dents to allow messages
to be sent wh ich th e former had disappro v ed
This did not reflect on Brumby or destroy
discipline b u t meant that the A dmi ral in th e
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118
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
influence that will inspire them to demand
action on the part of th e govern m
ent that
woul d not only seriously embarrass it at Wash
i ng ton bu t me righ t h ere and might lead to
further co m
plications and war Now if you
w i ll l et th e matter alone a nd lea v e it to m e
I will settle i t all righ t we will save great ex
and a v oid all chances of
c i te m
e nt at home
”
war D O j ust as you think best
It is n eedless to add that there w a s no further
argu ment
Here th e Ad miral s one nobl e desire to serve
his country to th e best of his ability eve n to
the extent of removi ng cau ses of irritati on that
in th eir development might have brought him
greater laurels was uppermost in hi s mind
an d i m
pelled him to u se arguments wh ich
in his accurate knowledge of h uman nature
he recog nized wou ld keep every newspaper
man from disregardi ng hi s wi shes
Th e correspondents at Manila while not
as well know n to th e general public as those
who we n t to C uba were a high class of men
They will I thi nk unanimou sly agree with
my op i ni on of the Admiral— not becau se i t is
th e fashi on to praise him b u t because their
o w n indi v idual experie n ce prompts th e m
T h e list of newspaper men at Ma nila whom
I had the pl easu re of kn owing well and wh o
were brough t into contact with th e Admiral
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120
OF
LIST
C OR
RES P ON DENT S
m ore or l ess included : Mc C u t c he on Chi cag o
R ec or d ;Harden N ew Yor k Wor l d ;Stickney
N ew Yor k Her a l d ;E ga n Sa n F r a nc i sc o Chr oni
c l e ;Davis N e w Yor k Su n and L a fi a n s Agency ;
Bass a n d M i llet H AR P ER S W EE K L Y Sheridan
a n d B oe r i ng e r
Sa n F r a nc i sc o Ca ll ; White
K night C r e e l m
a n Wil dman a n d myself Ne w
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Yor k Jou r na l, Chi c a go T r i bu ne, B oston G l obe,
P hi la delp hi a P r ess, and Sa n F r a nc i sc o B wa i
ne r ;J ones an d Brooks , Associated Press ;
C ow
’
an , Re nte r s Agency ;Mc D onne l l , N ew Yor k
Jou r na l and Hang K ong P r ess ;Rei d , L ondon
m
m
-
Ma i l ;Fay and Palmer N ew
Yor k Wor l d ; Peters L esli e s ; Wells E veni ng
P ost ;Skeen s S cripps Mc Ra e L eagu e
Th e most and best that I can say of them is
that every one serve d his respective paper to
th e full extent of his ability that not one e v er
sh owed signs of fear or cowardice under th e m ost
trying circumstances and th at i n everything
they did and everywh ere they wen t th ey wer e
trusted and respecte d alik e by army and navy
I am prou d to have been intimately associated
as a fellow correspondent with such men
Ti
es
Chi na
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Th e Admiral coul d have made a small fortune
in wr i ting articles for magazines and newspapers
if h e had accepted only a part of th e o ff ers made
to hi m He steadfastly refused from th e very
first to consider any of them and sai d in most
.
,
121
ADMIRAL GEORGE DE WEY
pronounc e d terms that u nder n o circum stances
woul d h e write any arti cle for a magazine or
newspaper He collected the num erou s l etters
and telegrams that cam e to hi mfrom pu blishers
all over th e world and calli ng togeth er one day
a nu m
b e r of th e newspaper correspondents r e
marked j ocosely in an Ofl hand way :
Here is an opport unity for you e nte rp r i s
ing j ou rnalists With your array of br i l l i a n
c y I know that you will be preferred to me
I will distribu te among yo u th ese di ff erent
requ ests for articles and wh en you get paid
yo u can divide th e profits with m e Yo u can
wr ite mu ch better than I can and your names
signe d to th e arti cles will carry m ore weight
than mine becau se everybody woul d say if my
nam e was signed that I was bl owing my own
h orn D on t you think I a m generou s
If I remember correctly there were or d ers
i n thi s bunch of letters and telegrams for ar
t i c l e s wh ose val ue in payment would aggregate
over
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Th e Ad miral always appreciated th e hu mor
ou s side of even the m ost seriou s matters pro
v i d e d the time was sui table for j oki ng
One
day h e told several of u s that h e had new
names for the Ca lla o and L ey te th e two little
Spanish gu n boats that had been captu red
He sa id
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122
x
A D M I R A L GE OR G E D E WE Y
th e Admiral had give n them th e orderly would
come back and inform h im that th e correspond
ents were coming alongside He always wanted
to know so that if h e desired h e coul d send for
them They often had valuabl e information
wh ich th ey had gathere d on land One day
an abl e seaman wh o was acting temporarily as
orderly came back saluted the Admi ral and
said with th e u tmost dignity and sincerity
The c c respondents are coming aboard
”
i
sir
Th e Adm iral l ooked up and said
The what
The c c respondents sir— them newspaper
”
fellows
Th e Ad miral restraine d himsel f until th e
orderly had departed and then called L amber
ton to tell him an d have a go od laugh abou t
th e new nam e that had been given the news
paper m
en
E ver afterwards th ey were spok en
“
of on the Olym
i
by
the
O
ffi
cers
as
the
c
a
c
p
”
respondents
This applied particularly to th e
little corps of m en wh o faithfully represented
the Am erican press before they were reinforced
by th e larger number that followed later a n d
incl u ded Mc C u tc he on Harden E gan Stick
ney and m
yself
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On account of the newspaper men making
th eir head quarters on di fferent ships of the
124
MO C U T C HE O N A N D
“C E
RVERA
”
squa d ron it was necessary for them to get a
b oat of their own to go about the harbor and
from ship to ship Whenever they could they
caught a ride on the lau nches passing back an d
forth bu t these coul d not be depende d upon
Th e Admiral was therefore asked to give th em
one of the b oats which the Spaniards had left
He readily consented with his characteristi c
interest in ou r welfare and we soon h ad as
trim a little craft as there was on th e bay
T he crew were F ilipinos wh om we secu re d
from Aguinaldo by special order I still have
in my possessi on the permit signe d by th e i n
surge nt chief on which h e wrote
Senor Barrett can have five men as a crew
for his boat and th ey shall be allowed to com e
”
and go with ou t m olestati on
It is in Tagalog dialect but this i s a literal
t ranslati on Ou r captain had seen service on
the R ei na Cr i sti na of which nearly half th e
crew were natives We na me d him
Mon
”
toj o
He did not lik e it at first bu t finally
accepted i t philosophically L ater on he r e
sig ned His s uccessor wh o came after th e bat
”
“
tle of Santiago w e named C ervera
When
th e crew was disbanded after the fall of Ma
nila C ervera remained the faithful servant of
Joh n Mc C u tc he on One day when John lost
his watch h e concluded to do away wit h C e r
vera
C olonel C harles J e w e tt J u dg e A d vo
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125
-
A DMI RAL GEORGE DEWEY
ate G eneral wh o by the way was one of th e
abl est an d most popular men at Manila lent
his valuabl e j u dicial assistance in helping John
recover h is stolen property bu t even his e f
forts were unavailing T h e colonel therefore
i n hi s ini mitable style gave Harden E gan Mc
C utch eon Da vis and myself wh o occupi ed
“
th e sam e m
ansion together called Casa To
”
dos by the genial colonel mu ch valuable a d
vice on placing too m u ch tru st in th e wily
native If I remember corr ectly th e colonel
h imself was imposed u pon to some degree by
a tru s ted employ é so that h e found that even
j u d ges were not respected in the matter of
personal profit for the nativ e individual wh o
saw an opportunity to take advantage of his
c onfi d i ng master
c
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D u ring th e long period of waiting for th e
army to come when th ere was little excite
m ent in Manila Bay the newspaper men O ften
a mu sed themselves by working off j okes on
each other
Two of th e brightest spirits in
this respect were John Mc C u t c he on and Mar
tin E gan
S oon after E gan arrived h e was
going over the list of captains with Mc C u t c h
e on to see if h e knew the m all and would be
Th ey went down
a ble to recognize them
th rough th e list u ntil they came to C aptain
Walker of the Conc or d
N ow it happens
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126
S OME N A V A L W H I S K E R S
that Walker wears a tremendously bu shy
mu stache that flares ou t in every directi on
and it is th e most noticeable featu re of his
face John said :
”
“
You don t know C aptain Walker E gan ?
”
“
“
No answered E gan eagerly
I haven t
th e slightest i dea what h e looks like Tell
”
me
”
“
Well said John with his u sual drawl
“
whe n yo u see a m
a n w ho looks like an ex
plosio n in a mattress factory then you ll know
”
it s C aptain Walker
Th e j oke may ha v e been on C aptain Walker
bu t the laugh wa s on E gan for having hi s c u
r i os i t
so
explicitly
satisfied
y
E ga n lai d l o w for revenge
He thought ove r
the whiskers proposition and finally settle d on
Martin th e popular paymaster of th e B oston
wh o wore a tremendou s red di s h bushy beard
which at ti mes when h is ha t was pulled down
over his eyes almost obscured hi s countenan ce
One day as we were sitting on the poop of th e
Mc Cu lloc h E gan cam e u p to Mc C u tc he on and
said
D o you know John I don t thi nk i t s
really fair for u s to figh t the Spa niards with
such men as Marti n of the B oston do you
Mc C u t c he on in his bland innocent way
and forgetful of his Walker story immediately
said
I don t know why not
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127
A DMI RA L GEORGE DEW EY
’
Well don t you see John Martin is all the
”
time in amb ush l
There was a mom ent s hesitation before Mc
C utch eo n sa w the poi nt bu t when he did h e
acknowledge d that th e laugh w a s on him a l
though the j oke was on Martin with envelop
ing growth of b u shy whiskers
This i s only o ne of th e many pleasantries
that were exchanged am ong the newspaper
m en in the l ong weary days
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Th e men on all th e ships were so kind to
th e correspondents that it is difficul t to se
lect any wh o were more so than o thers bu t
aside from the captain and staff ofli c e r s of
th e Olym
p i a L amberton Bru mby C ald well
Scott we cann ot forget Rees C alkins Nelson
M organ S trite T aylor Upham Kavanagh
B utler D r Price a nd his assistant D r Page
Pay master S mith and h is j olly helpers L ong
and R ightmire C hief E ngineer E ntwi stle and
his assistants Kaemmerl i ng D e L a ny D unn
and Marshall togeth er with C aptain B iddle and
on th e B a l ti m
or e aside fro m
C hapla i n Reaney ;
C aptain Dyer were Briggs Holmes F ord Hol
i c k E lli
combe Kellogg Hayward Mc C or m
cott B ellows D r Smith C one and L i e u te n
ant William s ;on th e B oston C aptain Wildes
L ieutena n t C o mmander Norris L ieu tenant
G ibson Scott E verhart D oddridge Dr Blake
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128
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V III
A D M IRAL D E W E Y D I SC U SSE S A P O SSI B LE B A TT LE
W I T H C A M A RA S SQU A D R O N
’
T HE
Admiral prepared for all conti ngencies
H e never intended to be surprised From th e
first to th e last of the discu ssi on i n regard to
C amara s possible coming from Spain with a
stro ng squadron t o undertak e th e destruction
of th e American fleet and the recapture of
Manila Bay h e w a s in readiness for th e issue
When the first word came that C amara had
sailed eastward and it was known th at h e had
actually started th e Admiral expressed con
fi d e n c e at the o u tset that the Spanish com
mander would never get beyond the S uez
C an al b u t remarked that if h e d id come he
had no fear of the result I often h eard Admiral
D ewey debating the conditions that s urrou nd
e d C amara in his s upposed intentions to come
to th e Philippi n es wit h C aptai n L a m
berton of
the Olym
p i a C aptain C hichester of th e I m
mor ta li té and groups of newspaper men In
a l l that was said the opinion was prevalent
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130
NO
F EA R
C
OF
AMA RA
that with th e very best squadron that C amara
could get together h e woul d be at a d i sa d va n
tage in figh t ing the Ameri cans after su ch a
l ong cruise half way rou nd th e earth
Al
th ough h e had in th e P ela yo one of the best
battle ships i n th e worl d and several other
armored vessels th eir advantage would be
O ffset by their lack of condition wh en they ar
ri ved T he Admiral i n su mming u p th e situa
tion one day said
“
When you consider on the on e side our
perfect c onditio n th e skilled gunnery and
practice of ou r men th e prestige gained from
th e first v ictory as well as th e co nfidence that
i s born of the fight on May l et th e power to
select ou r place for fighting ou r capacity to fit
ou t a large nu m
ber of small craft as torp edo
boats ;an d when on th e oth er hand you con
sider the c fl e c t on th e Spaniards and th eir
Ships of the l ong crui se alm ost e ntirely through
th e tropics from C adiz to Manila th e lack of
training of th e men on the ships th eir natural
respect for u s as enemi es wh o h a v e al ready won
one victory t he necessity of their being pre
pared for surprise not knowing wh en and
where th ey would b e attacked and th e ge neral
inferiori ty which we are all confident charac
t e r i z e s th e Spanish sailorman i n comparison
with the American th e odds are certainly i n
our fa v or At th e same time I recognize the
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131
A D MI RA L GE ORG E D EWE Y
stre ngth of battl e ships and armored cru isers
i n combat with our v essels which are entirely
u narmored I t is a great pity t hat th ere is not
mu ch prospect of the Monter ey and Mona d noc k
getting h ere before the Span i sh fleet can if
they really intend to carry ou t their announced
pla ns I t is n ot probable that we wou ld have
a ny such v ic t ory as we had before
T he chances
would be that s ome of our v essels would be su nk
any of ou r men would be kille d bu t in
a nd m
the end th e triu m
ph would surely be with u s
”
I have no d oubt of that whate v er
When it w a s suggested to hi mthat i n su ch a
m
co nflict the Olym
a
ight be the centre of
i
p
the enemy s fire and h e himself k i l led b e i m
mediately remarked
Oh that would not mak e the slightest
Wit h su ch captains as Wildes
d i fi e re n c e
Dyer C oghla n and the others equally bra v e
a n d masters of strategy the fight would go on
with n o i nterruption When w e came d own to
Ma nila tha t w a s all arra nged as a possi bility in
t he first battle and I never worried a m oment
as to the e ffect of my being killed T hat s the
advantage of ha v i ng stro ng men u nder you
”
whom you can trust
Alth ough it was evide nt that th e Ad miral
a n d h is captains were satisfie d to a large degree
ara would n ot
i n th e i r own mi n ds t h at C a m
come t he Admiral made his preparatio ns for
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132
A D MI R A L G EORG E D EWE Y
not go to sleep until I h ad gone all over i n my
th oughts 8 plan of battle fro mbeg i nning to
end It is so m uch on my mind that it of
t e n k eeps m e awake or at least distu rbs my
”
sleep
”
I t is not h owever w orry h e continu ed
“
bu t Simply profound i nterest in the matter
and a desire to be prepared for anythi ng that
may c ome T here is nothi ng m ore fasc i nating
than studying ou t all the details Of a battle
and then agai n there i s nothi ng so fortunate
when the battle comes as fi nding t ha t yo u are
ready for e v ery turn in the tide or new condi
tion that arises I n the sa m
e way before we
left H o ng Kong we arranged for every possi
b ili ty a nd were able to carry o ut ou r plans to
”
the letter
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Abou t a week after this last conversation o c
curred I happe n ed to be aboard the Mc Cu lloc h
Spending a f e w h ours wi t h J ohn Mc C u t c he on
of the C hicago R ecor d E d Harden of th e
New Y ork Wor ld a nd Mart E gan of the San
Francisco Chr oni c le three as fine all round
n ewspaper men as ever li v ed S uddenly th e
M
sig nal w ent up on the Olym
for
the
c Cu l
i
a
p
l oc h to prepare to get under way as the A d
miral was com i ng aboard I n a few mi n u tes
the barge pu t Ofl from the Olym
H e came
p ia
aboard the Mc Cu lloch a nd directed the captain
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13
4
A T R I P D OW N
T HE
BAY
to r u n down to C orregidor a n d Ma r i v a l e s H e
was feeli ng in v ery good sp i rits that morning
took a co m
fortabl e seat aft on th e poop an d
began to laugh and j o k e with u s as if he were
ou t for a holiday A good strong breeze was
blowi ng i n from the sea th e Mc Cu l loc h sped
al ong l i k e a torped o ch aser an d t he ozo n e
flooding th e Admiral s lungs gave a zest to h i s
appeara nce a n d re m
arks which mad e u s all
feel that we were ha v ing an opportunity to se e
th e great man at hi s best and with ou t any res
He asked qu estions lik e
e r va t i ons of dig n ity
a sch ool boy a nd answered oth ers with as
m u ch readiness as if h e w e r e a teacher H e
did not even suggest to th e newspaper men
that they were not to take advantage of what
h e was saying beca use h e knew that the y
would not This confid ence and tru st of t he
Admiral in them was always n oticeabl e a n d
I d o n o t think h e had o ccasion to regre t it
“
H e seldom if ever w oul d say :
Rem ember
”
now this i s not for publicati on bu t woul d
go on talki ng on seriou s and ligh t matters
leaving it to hi s compani ons t o u nderstand
that his co n fidence was n ot to be violated
T he real obj ect of th e A d miral s vi sit to
Ma r i va l e s that day w a s twofol d : first to tak e
a look around the entrance to th e bay an d con
firm some of h is plans as to th e possibilities
of fighting C amara there if h e came and sec
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135
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
e nd ,
to see what the German ships were doi ng
i n Ma r i va l e s Bay
T his occu rred so l o ng ago
that I am at liberty to speak of the Ad mi ral s
moti v e for this little side trip H e pla i nly
state d hi s obj ect and h e had good reaso n for
wishi ng to go there
T his was j ust at the
ti m
e wh e n the G erma n Ships were goi ng back
a nd for t h t w o or three times a d a
y t o Mari
v ales and whe n the indicatio n s really p oi nted
to C a m
ara s comi ng to the Phil i pp i nes We
fou n d three German sh i ps in Mariv e les H arbor
or i nlet on e of which was be i ng coal ed fro ma
G erm
an coll i er which had come i n th e night
before We stea med in and arou n d th e Ger
mans sa w no special Sig ns of acti v ity b e
yo n d coali ng a nd the n took a tur n arou n d
C orregidor Isla n d o ff towards E l Fra i le a nd
the n ca m
e back to C avit é Po i nt A S we were
cruisi ng slowly past th e western end of C orre
gidor t he Ad mi ral stood u p from hi s chair a nd
looki ng slowly arou nd o v er th e sce ne ga v e hi s
h an d a lo n g s w eep a nd said
“
I ofte n thi nk that this would be th e best
place to fight C a mara He woul d n o t n atural
l y expect that I would e ngage hi mhere b e
cause i t is not a place that woul d usually be
selected for a naval battle b ut with his strength
of battle ships and ar mored cruisers it would
a ff ord me special adva ntages For i n stan ce I
could get great help from the protection of C or
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136
,
A DMI RA L GEORG E DEWE Y
u p Y ou had better mak e th e most of t he
”
present and be prepared for what may come
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A s we were returning th at day to the anch
orage all of u s were impressed with that r e
markabl e simplicity of manner and character
of th e Admiral mingled with an eleme n t of
dign ity wh ich forbad e any act of fam i liarity on
th e part of those abou t him Still this impres
sion of dignity was almost an unconsciou s one
E verybody talked with him in a free and easy
man n er with out embarrassment or u n easiness
There was a li mi t of remark and argu ment b e
yond whi ch n o one v entu red bu t the Admiral
said or di d nothing wh ich exercised a restrain
ing e ff ect There was an ind escribable i nfl u
ence about him that made those in his presence
feel perfectly at hom e and well acqu ainted and
yet not intimate E verybody left hi mwith r e
spect and i m
pressed with his a fi a b il i ty and
geniality Th ere were times wh en h e coul d
freeze u p so hard and tigh t that no one dared
to trespass upo n his presence or time Such
occasions were rare a nd only occu rred when
h e was very mu ch displeased at something
which had happe ned
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As one steams thro ugh Manila Bay wh en th e
air i s clear his eye reaches over a magnificent
landscape where the l ow beach gradually rises
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13
8
REMIN DE D
OF
V E RM O N T
i nto l ong fertile sl e p e s and these i n turn Sl ip
away i nto the woode d and cultivate d foot hills
It is as fine a stretch Of cou n try as can be seen
anywhere in the w orld T his view is away to
th e sou th and back of i t rises th e great m
ou n
tain in the middl e of L ake T aal L ooki ng
towards Manila a nd to th e east can be see n
the d o m
es and spires of p ublic bu ildings and
church es th e mass of saili ng vessels an d war
ships al o ng the water fro nt o r in th e Pasig th e
long l ow fro w ning walls of ol d Manila and
back of the city rise pretty hills which grad
n
u a ll
n
grow
into
high
m
ou
tains
gi
v
i
g a pleas
y
i ng a n d pi cturesque e ff ect to the town a n d its
s urroundings
T he Ad miral was never tired of l ooking ou t
u pon th e l ong rising rolling reach es of culti
va t e d fi eld s to th e south back e d up by lofty
peaks and upon the hills and mountai n s tower
ing abo v e a nd behi n d th e city of Manila He
was a m
a n wh o fully appreciated the beautiful
in nature Gazing upo n this scene from the
poop deck of th e Mc Cu lloc h b e enl arge d u pon
its attractiveness saying that it remi nded h im
i n the sweep of the hills of parts of V ermont
and in th e exten t of the slopi ng h ill sides of
sections of Massachu setts a nd Ne w Y ork C on
ad e o ne remark
t i nu i ng his observations h e m
of which I took part i cular note at the time
“
Whenever I look ou t upon these beau tiful
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139
A DMI RAL GE OR GE D E W EY
stretches of tropical country I am con v ince d
m ore than e v er of the won d erful riches of
these island s What m ore beau tiful panoram a
coul d be spread before one s eyes as showing
variety of la ndscape than that which we can
see from this ship E verybody wh o has been
in the interior tells me that even what we see
around Manila is not equal to the other greater
portions of L u zon and th e lesser islands In my
O pinion the peopl e i n America and E uropean
countries have no appreciation of the v alu e and
resou rces of these i sland s What a future th ere
i s before them with th e appli cation of A meri
can i n dustry
,
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’
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,
.
As th e A d miral was going down th e ladder
of th e Mc Cu lloc h to get i n to his barge to r e
M
c C u tc he o n
tu r n to th e Oly m
he
turned
to
a
i
p
H arde n a n d E gan and said
Gentl emen I thank you very much for th e
pleasu re Of a trip on th e press boat a n d I h ope
”
you have enj oyed i t as mu ch as I have
This j oking allu sio n will be u nderstood by
everybody who was at Ma nila during the first
two mo nth s Of th e Ad miral s presence th ere
I t was necessary for the newspaper correspond
ents to be qu artered so mewhere Sti ckney was
on th e B a lti m
I was on diff ere nt ships
or e
mostly th e Zafir o and the N a nsha n wh i le
Mc C u tc h e on H arden and E ga n were aboard
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140
AD MI RA L
G E OR G E
DEWEY
tu de P oliteness and whole souled hospita lity
characteriz ed every ship and there was not a
n ewspaper m
a n wh o d i d n ot love th e na v y and
everybody in it I am confident that all th e
c orrespon d ents will confirm what I say in this
regard
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,
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Before closing this reference to th e possible
comi ng of C amara I woul d add that I heard
the Admiral speak of se v eral d ifferent plans
for figh ting hi mif h e cam e
H e mentioned
th e ad v isability of meeti ng hi m i n th e open
sea of su rprisi ng hi mat some poi nt between
S i ngapore a n d Ma nila a n d pre v enting hi mfrom
maki ng a rendezvous at 110 110 or a ny other
point in th e i slands to the south T he f e a si
b i l i ty of captu ring Man ila and figh ting the
battle in Manila Bay with the help of the L n
n eta s heavy gu n s togeth er wi th th e necessity
o n th e part of C amara of d estroying Spanis h
property if he fired on Manila was also con
Th e fact is th e Admiral and hi s cap
si d e r e d
tains were ready for any emergency and if an
other battle had been fought another victory
would have been to th e credit of the A merica n
navy
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I!
RELA T I O N S W I T H
A R MY A N D C A PT U RE
M A N ILA
T HE
,
0F
T H E Ad m
iral s forbearance u nder most try
ing circums tances aroused th e respect of a l l
who witnessed his self co ntrol wh ere a ny man
would have been forgiven for losing his temper
I would not imply that the Admiral did not
eve r give way to t he i mpulses of righ te o u s
wrath He yielde d at times as he h i mself
often acknowledged and as th ose with and
u nder hi m were no w and then kee nly aware
”
“
H e had th e quality of getting m
ad
bu t
th e same temperament which fostered s uc h
a Spirit mad e him in the supreme h ou r of
battle a most dangerou s and powerful e nemy
On the other hand if he ever was actuated by
anger h e n ever allowed his expression of it to
interfere in any way with the individual d isci
pline of the s quadro n or with its general inter
ests in connection with oth er forces either
our army or th ose of foreign navies at Ma nila
There is no denying the fact that b e employed
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143
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
l
on certain occasi ons vigorou s l a ng u a g e i n r e
ferring to the tac tics of those whose meth ods
were irritating bu t at the mo men t when fir m
ness of purpos e had to accomplish its chief
end and nothi ng mu st interfere with su ccessful
achie v ement h is calmness and forbearance were
extraordinary These qualit i es were m
anifest
ed a t th e critical h our with ou t weak e n ing his
strength as a great commander or lessening the
respect of those wh o tried his patience th e
most
,
.
.
At thi s point I mu st relate a histori cal fac t
which may ha v e been tol d b ut which I hav e
not seen before in print I t is conclu sive illus
t ra ti on of t h e u nse l fishne ss and self restraint
of the Admiral which th ose wh o witnessed
what I describe will never forget Before th e
fall of Manila on August 13 18 98 the navy
u nder th e Admiral and th e army u nder General
Merritt made e l aborate preparations for t he
capture of th e city
Negotiations followed
with General Ja u d e ne s for th e su rrender bu t
a compromise was finally arranged with th e
u nderstanding that the American lan d a n d sea
forces sh ould make a mil d attack on the sou th
“
ern defences of Manila to satisfy Spa nish
h onor before th e white flag was raised D u e
notice was given of th e proposed engagement
so that there need be no loss of life amon g
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144
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
Jacki e l n th e squadron b u t of the Admira l
wh o was compelled to withdra w his order
What was th e matter
All we knew w as that
General Merritt had been alongside a f e w min
u tes before the last ord er was given It di d
not take long to ascertain the truth—the army
was not ready
Had this occu rred only once i t might not
have made a lasting impression upon u s who
sa w it b ut the feeli ngs of th e o fli c e r s and men
of the navy from Admiral d own can be a pp re
c i a te d when i t is known that the next day this
remarkable experience was repeated in most
of its details and not until two days later was
the army formally announced as ready Then
after the unfortunate delays of the p a st few
days th e Ad miral i n suprem e patience and for
bearance ordered his ships to prepare for a c
tio n weighed anchor and steame d over oppo
site th e defences of Man ila
By mentioning this i nciden t I woul d have
it u nderstoo d that i t is not my d esire or pur
pose to reflect in th e slightest degree on the
army i n general or upon General Merritt and
General Greene in particular
Their record
as successful c omma n ders a nd men of ability
speaks for itself Nor would I wish to do
o ther than give well deserved cred it to s u ch
competent and trustworthy o ffi cers as Generals
Anderso n Ma c Arthu r and Ove nshi ne The
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146
.
AD MI RAL G E OR GE D EWE Y
h om e the lo ng wearisome j ou rney acr oss
the sea th e ne w experie n ce of a tropica l cli
mate th e limite d supply of fresh food th e
sh ort tim e for perfect i on i n drill in campaign
i ng a n d associated di fficulties both th e o ffi cers
and t he rank an d file are to be co ngratulate d
a n d thank ed by th e people and t h e govern
ment for t h eir persiste n cy a nd patriotism My
exte nded opportu n ity of watchi ng th e ar my
b oth i n camp a n d at th e fro nt sincerely
pro m
pts m e to give the m thi s credi t T h e
praises of th e navy have been sung a nd r e sung
so conti nu ously that this word for the army
may not be inappropriate T he navy deser v es
all the praise i t receives b u t the ar m
y should
not be forgotten
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T he qu estion that natu rally follows the con
sideration of this page of history for t he truth
of whi ch I c a n vouch from personal prese n ce
: H ow did the
on th e Olym
at
the
t
i
me
is
i
a
p
Admiral act u n der such aggravating circ um
stan ces
H is behavior at this climax of vexation wh ich
w oul d ha v e taxed the patie nce of a phalanx of
Jobs did m ore than any other exper i e n ce since
the battle of Man i la with the possible e x c e p
tion of h is manageme nt of th e Germans to
convince th ose w ho learned to k n ow hi mwell
that h e was a truly great man It is o nly a
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NO
B L A ME
FOR
ONE
ANY
thorou ghly great man that can keep himself
w ell in hand in su ch temptation H e was r e
strained a nd guided by th e one though t that i t
w a s for th e best interests of his country to
check hi s feeli ngs Wh en i n a fortunate m o
ment I was discu ssi ng th e ge n eral situation
with th e Admiral not m ore th an half a n h our
af t er h e had re v oked a secon d time his order
to prepare for acti on I ask ed hi m directly
what was the cau se of th e extraordinary delay
Withou t th e slightest sign of passion or dis
pleasure bu t w ith extre me composure h e r e
plied a t once
“
Becau se th e army after d oing its best i s
not quite ready and of course we mu st act to
”
geth er
”
“
“
Is i t not I continu ed rather disap point
i ng in the sigh t of all th ese foreign vessels to
prepare for action and th en take no further
steps
“
T hat d oes not matter : we are not m
aki ng
war for th em If they care to watch u s they
”
mu st take thi ngs as they find th e m
By this conversati on it can be seen that h e
compl etely forgot hi mself an d blamed no one
I say h e forgot himself
He cou ld not i n his
own m ind — that would not be h uman— bu t h e
would not show to any one h is true fe el ings for
fear that they might be misinterpreted or cau se
harm to t h e su ccess of th e one idea of taki ng
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149
ADMIRAL GE ORG E D E W EY
Manila
He would n ot e v en ad mit that th e
army officers whose bus iness i t was to d o such
things should have at least i nfor m
ed hi m a f e w
hours earlier that th ey would not be ready and
s o ha v e save d hi m th e necessity of recalli ng
h is orders on two separate following occasions
Although e v ery other officer on th e Olym
or e R a le i g h B os
p i a as well as on the B a l ti m
ton Conc or d Cha r l eston Monter ey P etr ol a n d
even l ittle Ca lla o was indignant at the delay
a n d s o expre ss ed hi m
self without reser v e the
Admiral ne v er u ttered one word of co m
plaint
unless he may have given voice to his feelings
in pri v ate to C aptain L amberton L ieute na n t
Bru mby and E nsign C aldwell
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,
T h e diplomacy of th e Ad miral w as plainly
show n by th e correspondence wh ich h e and
General Merri t t co nd ucted with General J au
d enes in the negotiation s for th e surre nder of
Ma n ila In the original deman d m
ad e up on
the Spanish general drafted by General Mer
ritt there was the veiled threat of bombarding
or destroying th e city When the Ad miral
read this over h e suggested that th e phrases
which covere d this po i nt be c u t out and the
”
“
words attack th e defences of Ma nil a su b
stituted I n one l in e therefore h e not only
showe d to the Spa nish officials th e h umane
pu rp ose of our warfare b ut he prove d to the
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150
!
T A FF O FF I C E R S A N D C A PT AI N S T R U ST E D F O R
V A RI O U S RE SP O N SI B ILI T IE S
S
-
A SU CC E SSFU L commander in na v y or ar m
y
is on e wh o understands getting th e most and
best ou t of his su bor d i nates
The greater
the abili ty of the leader to direct simply th e
con trolling m o v ements and lea v e the perform
ance of lesser duties t o others the m ore h e
acco mplish es From th e day A d miral Dewey
assum ed co mmand of th e Asiatic squadron in
Jan uary 18 98 u ntil h e left behind him th e
respo n s i bilities of Manila in May of this year
h e stu died th e q ualities of staff offi c e r s a n d
captains a n d i ntru sted to them every r e sp on
h
si b i l i t
whic
h
t
ey could su ccessfully direct
y
L ieute nant Bru m
by his fl a g l ieu tenant and
E nsign C ald w ell his fl a g secretary were two
of th e b usiest men in t he wh ole American
squadron If th ey took a ny rest i t was o nly
becau se they delayed some work which they
wou l d have to atte n d to later Whenever he
sent any of his captains cruising thr o ugh the
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152
TRUST IN HIS
OFFIC
ERS
upper end of the bay o ut t o Su bi g do w n t o
Batangas Il o Ilo C eb u or arou n d th e island s
h e ga v e them almost plenipotentiary or disere
t i ona r y powers to d o whate v e r they th ought
best T hey appreciated th eir responsibility and
they ne v er faile d to act upon lines which met
the Ad m
iral s appro v al
For th e grea t m ultitude of duties con
ne c t e d with th e ma n age m
e nt of t he fleet and
the navy yard at C a v it é h e selec ted special
offi cers a nd told the m to d o th e best th ey
coul d co nsulti ng with him wh enever necessary
F or i nstance h e chose three su ch good men as
C aptai n Wood E ngi n eer Hall of the P etr el
and L ieutenant H odges wh o was ordere d down
from th e Monoc a c y at Shangha i a nd who had
charge of the coll i er N a nsha n d uri ng the battle
to take entire control of a nd run th e navy yard
at C a v it é
H e came e v ery few days to see how
th ey were ge tting along compl imente d them
if they were d oi ng th e r i ght thi ng and correct
ed them if h e wishe d things d o n e on di ffer
e n t l i nes
L ieu te nant Mc L e a n wh o was also
brought down from th e Monoc a cy was th e fl a g
ofii c e r wh o u sually had charge of the Za r o i n
fi
h er many trips to Hong Kong H e left to him
largely the responsibility of getting in and ou t
of Hong Ko ng successfully and obtaining large
supplies of provisions without v iolati ng the
sacred neutrality laws
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15 3
A D M I R A L G E ORG E D E WE Y
L ater on after the occu pation of Manila b e
delegated C aptain Glass of th e Cha r leston to
be captain of the port a very important posi
tion which had to d o with th e management of
all the shippi ng that cam e in a nd out of the
harbor and th e Pasig River Instead of dic
tati ng to him j u st what he should do he i n
v ariably told h im to follow h is own j udgm ent
as to what wa s wises t Perhaps th e very best
illu strat i on of th e confidence which th e Ad
m iral reposed in his subordi nates is sh own by
th e instru ctions he gave L ieutenant Brumby
on th e occasion of the su rrender of Manila
After th e white flag went up General Merritt
sel ecte d General Whittier as his representative
and Admiral D ewey appointed L ie ute nant
Brumby as his to m ee t th e Spanish official s
and arrange for the term s of surrender G en
eral Whi ttier was later reinforced by General
Merritt in person and was also assiste d by
General Greene Wh en Bru mby was l eaving
in th e launch he turne d to th e Admiral and
said
“
What are you r i nstructions sir ? Yo u
”
have gi v en m e no n e as ye t
The Admiral who w a s standing at the top
of the ladder si mply swung his hand through
th e air in a careless sort of way a nd said
I l ea v e that all to you
D o whatever you
think is best Talk it o v er with General M er
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154
‘
A DMI RA L GE ORG E D EWE Y
and even becam e qui te happy before th e even
i ng was over — i n fact near ly everybo dy was
happy that night and th e nex t day th e Admiral
w a s very l enient when Brumby and C ald w ell
got some thi ngs t wisted and had to ask a
second time for orders
I t i s not every day that the sta ff offi c e r s of a n
Ad m
i ral can participate in th e surrender of a
powerful foe a nd raise th e flag over ne w terri
tory I t is not every day eith er that the rest
of us ha v e an opportunity to witness th e cl os
ing scenes of a great conflict of thi s kind S o
we all ha d s om e excu se for being happy on thi s
occas i on I w i ll not go i nto all th e d etails b e
cau se I might get some of th em wrong My
note book for that nigh t and th e next day i s
somewhat blurred
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In th e Admiral s correspondence h e left
m uch discret i on to Bru mby an d C ald well
H e allowed th em to write most of his o ffi cial
an d general letters T hey became so fa m
iliar
with th e Ad miral s ways of thinki ng and ex
pressing himself that they seem ed i nvariably
to catch his idea In th e g reat mass of corre
sp o n d e nc e which pressed u pon hi m he was
fortu nate in ha v i ng me n of this quality I r e
member h eari ng hi msay to C aldwell
Y oung
ma n yo u are getti ng good training now for the
days when you will be Ad miral and ha v e to fight
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15 6
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D EWE Y
It i s to th e credit moreover of C aptai n
Lamberto n tha t he always sh owed great c on
sideration for th e newspaper men and did
what he coul d to facilitate their work and
mak e the mcomfortable i f they e v er h ad to
stay on board ship any l ength of tim e More
than once h e h elped th em ou t in getting th eir
despatch es off by se n ding the m in a special
lau nch to th e mail stea mer Lieu tena n t R ees
th e executi v e ofli c e r Navigator C alkins and
C h i ef E ngineer E ntwistle were th e same stamp
of m en and there were Paymaster Smith com
”
“
m o u ly kn own as the
Lieu tenants
C ol onel
Nelson S tokely Morga n Upham S tri te Tay
l or D rs Price and Page L ong Assistant
E ngi n eer Kemmerli ng Scott B utler D u n n
R igh tmire and oth er gay young spirits in th e
steerage whom we all loved I t would be dif
fi c u l t i n goi ng among the offi cers of any na v y
to find a fi ner lot of men than surrou nded t he
Admiral on the Olym
I m
ight speak also
pi a
of th ose on th e other ships All of u s wh o were
t h ere as gu ests of th e navy will never forget
their unl imited kindnesses and h ospitality
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A ma n w ho took h old of some d i fficult work
and carried i t through su ccessfully i nv ariably
receive d cred i t from th e Admiral There might
be n o particular words of praise but th e officer
could always tell if th e Admiral was pleased
.
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158
T HE
TAPPAN AND
CA L L A O
If h e was disappointed there would b e n o
doubt of it ;h is language would in su ch cases
demonstrate his displeasu re beyond qu estion
Wh en the Spanish gunboat Ca lla o was over
hauled and prepared for u se u nder th e Ameri
can fl a g h e selected L ieutenant Ben Tappan
of th e R a le ig h to comman d h er T here was
not a better man in all th e squadron for this
work than Ben Tappan and th e Ad miral knew
it The way T appan cared for th e Ca lla o fixe d
her up i n prime condition a nd execu ted th e
Admiral s orders delighted him Tappan woul d
run right i n under th e Spanish batteries at Ma
n ila in th e m ost saucy way whenever h e was
sent fr om C avit é on a reconnoissance up th e
bay On th e day Manila was captured sh e did
mag ni ficent work getting so close i n sh ore that
sh e coul d rak e the Spanis h intrenchments In
the m idst of this atta ck th e Admiral was afrai d
that Tappan would keep at i t too long a nd not
”
“
s top wh en Spanish h onor was satisfied so
he signalled the Ca l la o to cease firing and r e
turn al ongsid e th e Olym
Tappan
was
B
u
t
i
a
p
too occupied working all th e guns of his little
ship to see any signal I h eard th e Ad miral
say to Brumby :
“
D id you signal the Ca l la o to cease firing
”
and with draw ?
”
I did sir replie d Brumby ; bu t h e d oes
”
not seem to see the si g nal
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159
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
“
Y ou mean h e does not want to see it !
”
interrupted the Admiral
T appan ha s been
waiting for this chance ever since I ga v e hi m
co m
mand two m onth s ago Y ou know I r e a l ly
believe if th e P e la yo were h ere now h e would
”
figh t h er si ngle handed l
A little later when th e figh t was over an d
th e Ca lla o circled arou nd th e Olym
p i a the
Admiral sai d to se v eral of u s standi ng abou t
l isteni ng to hi m co m
m ent on t he day s
work :
“
L ook th ere goes Tappan and his battle
ship H e i s th e prou dest man i n the navy to
day I don t suppose h e would change places
with m e if h e cou ld
When I told T appan what the Admiral had
sai d h e was im m
ensely pleased b u t of course
woul d not admit that h e had purposely faile d
to see the signal If i t i s remembered that
th e Ca lla o was littl e m ore than a good sized
tugboat and dre w only six or seven feet of
water th e j ok e of th e Admiral s references
”
to battl e ship can be better appreciated I t
is tru e h owever that she did excellent w ork
then and later wh en trouble with the i nsu r
gents began ;and th ere was no braver and
m ore popular skipper in th e squadro n than
B en T appan H e eve n mingled fun with r e
sponsibility When th e Admiral signalled that
vessels going into actio n on th e 13th of A u
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160
p a rt I
CHARACTE
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RI STI CS HABIT S AND
M I S C E L L A N E OU S I N C I D E N T S
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A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
He i s a man of greater breadth and d epth
than he is u sually gi v en credi t for being The
stranger or ne w acquaintance migh t not at first
co n sider hi m broad and d eep bu t those wh o
had a chance to note close at h an d his methods
of reasoning and hear him express views on
matters that required thought saw that there
was a breadth and depth in his character which
were the resu lt of l ong years of training
D ewey i s not only a figh ter in th e actual
meaning of that word b u t h e is cautiou s in
a way that characterizes th e m ost s uccessfu l
fighters In oth er words h e is not rash H e
may strik e wi th tre m
endou s force and quick
n ess bu t h e does it becau se he sees the weak
ness of his enemy At Manila after the battle
he often ordered his captains to d o things
which to th e u ninitiated seemed bol d and
reckless su ch as ordering them in u nder th e
batteries of th e Spaniards or h aving them
a nchor th eir ships where one shot from th e
enemy could blow them ou t of the water H e
k new h owever t hat that shot wou ld neve r be
fire d
There is no de nying t hat th e Ad miral has a
temper We wh o we re at Manila sa w it flash
u p like the striki ng of flint and steel at times
bu t it seemed to show in him that k een edge
which ga v e a zest to hi s deter m
i n ation and
made h im all the more dangerou s an enemy
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166
C ON
SCIOUS
POWER
OF
This temper d epended to a considerable exten t
on hi s physical co n ditio n If he had slept well
th e nigh t before a nd e nj oyed hi s breakfast h e
was as genial as a happy child th at knows n o
worry If h e had had a sleepl ess nigh t and hi s
breakfa st or luncheon did no t agree with him
it might be unfortunate for an ofli c e r to m eet
hi mif h e had made any m istake in carryi ng
ou t th e Admiral s orders S till t h is t e ndency
was not manifested with suffi cie nt frequ e ncy
to be called a pre v ailing characteristic for in
th e face of a long period of indisposition h i s
temper seemed to be un di sturbed and h e w a s
polite and ge nial to all Perhaps h e was like
most men in occasi onally expressing h imself
with severity wh en h e was not feeli ng i n th e
best form
The newspaper m en were always on th e look
ou t to disco v er i n him e v i d e n ces of self esteem
or personal assumption of d ignity resu lting
from h is great achievements T h ey disco v ere d
only that d egree wh ich coul d b e called self
consciou sness of real power I t could b e seen
that h e knew that h e was strong and was aware of
his capabilities of fighting a good naval battle
and managing affairs u nder his j u ri sdiction i n
Manila Bay bu t evid ences of th is appeared only
i n i ndirect ways whic h comm ended th emsel v es
to h is c ri tics Sometimes in a discu ssion of what
w as best h e would come ou t fl a t footed and say :
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167
ADMI RAL GEORG E D EWEY
“
Yo u may think that you are all right a n d
that your op i nio n is correct bu t I know that
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you are wro ng T here is no qu estion of it and
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I a mright i n th e matter
E v e nts later ge n erally pro v ed that h e knew
what h e was talking about
H is j udg m
ent
was not absolutely unerri ng but h e a v eraged
h itti ng t he mark wi t h extraordi n ary accu racy
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T h e Ad miral s ki ndness of heart and his
w i lli ng n ess to grant fa v ors when h e un der
stood th e m otive a nd reaso n left a lasti ng i m
pressio n on those who for good reasons sought
h is assistance A notable experie nce of m
y
o w n i n that respect will confir mthis attitu de
S o many m en were e n dea v ori n g to get passage
d ow n to Ma nila on th e d espatch boats that he
ga v e out the strictest orders that no one with
o u t especial order from Washingto n sh oul d
be al l owe d f e r a certain time to travel on the m
S e v eral m
e n we n t to hi m and begged for ex
c e p t i o ns t o this rul e
simply as favors on his
part H e woul d not grant their re quests It
s udde nly de v el oped that I was unable to a t
te nd to all the work that was o n my shoulders
T hi ngs were li v ely on shore i n th e insurgent
ca m
paig n against the Spa niards a nd I nee d ed
somebo d y to assist m
It was i m
perati v e that
e
I should get a good m
a n but none could be oh
I we nt to th e
t a i ne d except in H o ng Ko ng
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168
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AD MI RA L G EOR G E D EW E Y
of his naval squ adron and did not h esitate to
speak of it , bu t h e did n ot condemn th e arm
y
in consequence
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It was a pleasure to watch him i n the hours
of trial or grave respo ns i bili ty H e was so
calm and yet s al ert that he k ept track o f
everything and missed n othing On the day
that we captured Manila wh en by th e A d
mi ra l s in v itation I had th e h onor of being
on th e Olym
p i a an excellent opportuni ty was
given me to note hi s behavior at cri tical m o
ments T he Olym
p i a fire d as many sh ots that
day as sh e d id on May l st so that to all i h
tents and pu rposes it was a tru e battle scene
The Admiral watch ed th e course of e v ery sh ot
that was aimed to get th e distance a n d noticed
with greatest care whether i t fell short or went
too far ;h e d irected th e fire of the batter i es
of his ship and at the same time kept a close
watch on th e land forces going u p from the
so u th He would give ord ers a nd make r e
marks abou t th e situatio n o u sh ore al most in
th e same moment a n d see med to keep perfect
track of both th e land and sea attack And
a n o n the ship
yet h e was the most composed m
He walk ed up and d own the bridge as if h e were
s mok ing an after dinner cigar a nd though
grave respons i bilities rested on h i mnot to fire
too long or too near ou r advan cing forces or
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170
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
seemed for another section of the bay abo v e
Manila
It was necessary for Filipino ships like
those of foreign navies or merchan t fleets in
going or co mi ng to stop in th e neighborhood
of th e Olym
p i a and gi v e notice of th eir m ove
m ents T his was requ ired by t he Admiral
T he F ilipi n o transport h eaded towards th e
Wh en sh e came near instead of
Olym
p ia
swinging arou nd to on e side she approach ed
apparently dead on at fu l l steam
It looked like an i mpe ndi ng collisi on a n d as
if pla nn ed by th e Filipinos In less time than
i s requires to d escribe it everybody on th e
Olym
p i a fro m Admira l down was preparing
for a most unexpected danger
T he bugles
were so unded and the ord ers given for the
guns to be manned shotted and trained on
the approaching Filipino boat In a moment
fi
e inch broad
e v ery gu n of th e Olym
a
s
i
v
p
si de inclu ding h er eight inch turret r ifl e s
were trained on th e F i lipino ready to blow her
ou t of the water and i n to a billion pieces if
the signal or order were once given In th e
very nick of time the F ilipino ship swung
arou nd al most grazing th e Olym
p i a a n d avoi d
e d ramming her — and her own d estru ction by
the Olym
p i a s gu n s
Shortly afterwards a F ilipino o fli c e r came
aboard Whe n h e sa w th e men sta n ding at
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172
FILIP I N O RAS HNESS
th e gu ns and th e signs of readi ness for a figh t
a look of asto nish m
e n t ca me o v er his face a nd
h e s taggered a n d almost fell from fear H e for
got even to salu te t he officer at th e gangway
and whe n escorted back to the Admiral acted
as if h e were b eing taken as a criminal before
a j u dge Prese n ted to th e Ad miral h e was so
frightened that with difficulty h e mu mbled ou t
a profoun d apology for bad steering of his
boat said that h e had come to get pe rmissi on
to leave C avit é and h oped that the American s
meant him no harm T he Admiral wi th min
gled anger at the carelessness d ispl ayed and
amusement at th e man s terror almost lau gh ed
as he not only ga v e him the permission bu t tol d
him tha t the Filipinos had come within an ace
of being blown ou t of th e water and that if they
or a ny of th ei r fellow o ffi c e r s e v er repeated th e
i ncident he would not again wait for th e mto
get so n ear but woul d fire every gu n of th e
Olym
p i a s broadside into them
T he Admiral remark ed afterwards that th is
was one of the closest calls h e had ever had i n
the momentary e ff ect on his nerves since th e
incident of th e Mi ssi ssipp i in the C i vil War
He was particularly pleased h owever at th e
ext raordinary celerity with which his o ffi cers
and m en prepared themselves for this em er
g e nc y and sai d h e had never se en anyth ing
done better or more quickly I t prove d to
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17 3
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
h im th e excellence of th e training which h is
crew had received and their ability to cope
with any em ergency L ieute nant Stokely Mor
gan who was on d u ty at th e time sai d that he
was impressed n ot o nly with th e m
e n getti ng
ready so expediti ou sly but with th e c o m
pos
ure of the Admiral at a m oment when excite
m ent woul d ha v e been excusable
C aptai n
L amberton also observed th at the Admiral d i d
n o t sh ow th e slightes t sign of fear bu t at the
same time was very angry H ad it not been
for th e almost cl ownish cowardice of the F ili
pino o fficer when h e staggered and trembled
in th e presence of th e Ad m
iral i t is probabl e
that th e latter might have u sed some v ery
strong words i n expressing hi s opinion of Fili
pino rashness Afterwards in talki ng to so me
of u s ab ou t it h e did not mince words a ny
m ore than he sometimes did i n the prese n ce
of his i nti m
a te friends of th e Metropolitan
e
C lu b or i n othe r favored circles when so m
unexpected incident rou sed his feelings
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In dis m
issing th e Admiral s predo mina n t
characte ristics particular m e ntio n shoul d be
m ade of his promptness I never m et a man
who was al w ays on ti me for everyt h i ng wit h
so little effort In big and littl e things i t was
j u st the sa me H is staff offi c e r s were kept
busy planning to ha v e all hi s or d ers executed
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17 4
A DMI RA L G E OR G E D E WEY
afterward s pro v ed to have been put up almost
u pon th e mi n u te that th e Ad m
iral expected
it Possibly Andre had told th e Spaniards of
D ewey s i deas on promptness
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QU I E T
I I T S T O M A N I LA O N E O F WH I C H
N EA RL Y RE SU L T E D D I SA ST R O U SL Y
V S
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T H E Admiral s desire to avoid u nnecessary
pomp an d display was sh own i n his repeate d
visits to Ma nil a Once or twice a week h e
would come on sh ore for a drive or to mak e
some calls N ow an d then he dropped i n ou
G eneral Otis or s ome oth er ar m
y officer and
occasionally lu nche d at th e h om es of di ff er
ent British merch ants wh o were always glad
to entertain him When h e landed fro mhi s
lau nch opposite the C u sto m h ou se or office
of captai n of th e port there w ere never any
”
“
guards or side boys to salute him because
he did not want any a nd woul d not ha v e th em
Usually h e was accompanied by Bru mby C al d
well or Scott They woul d get into an ordi
nary two horse veh icl e hired off hand at th e
m oment and th en drive eith er for pleasure
or for calling T h ere were n o extra attend
ants or liveried coachmen to draw attention
to th e conveyance A s h e rode al ong th e
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177
A D MI RA L G E OR G E D EWE Y
streets h e returned th e sal utes of o fficers pri
vate sol diers Filipinos and coolies who hap
pe ned to recogniz e him with the same u niform
polite ness and characteristic s m
ile on his face
T his attention to all had no appearance of
patro n izing
I t was sincere not superficial
E very man to whom he bo w ed believe d that
the Admiral s nod was a mark of special recog
n i t i on and we n t on his way pleased at su ch
atte n tio n from t he distinguished hero Were
the Ad m
iral a candidate for th e people s su f
frage and not a n on political naval man h e
woul d be a most success f ul winner of v otes
E v ery o n e to whom h e spoke would be i n
fl u e nc e d to cast hi s ballot for the man who
had su ch a ki n d and pl easing way He had
a characteristic habit of bendi ng h is head for
war d a trifle O pening his eyes wide and gen
t l y smiling wheneve r he bowed or spok e to a
perso n which seemed to indicate a particular
interest and always left its impression upon
th ose to whom h e was speaking One of C olo
nel Sto tse nbu r g s privates of the Nebraska
regi ment who was doing du ty at the C ustom
h ou se ca m
e rushing u p to m e one day j ust
after th e Admiral had passed and said with
great eagerness :
“
Say I wish you would d o m e a favor
Next t i m
e yo u see Admiral Dewey please tell
name
and
ask
hi
m
if
h
e
ever
knew
or
hi mm
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17 8
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
gets part way th rou gh the entrance before we
actu ally appreciate that h e i s th e Ad miral
T hen we straighten u p for all we are worth
H e gives u s a cheerful little b ow a nd sal ute
as if to say : T his is really very kind of you
gentl emen Thank you and passe s on H e
ne v er seems to act as if h e e xpected spec i al
ho n ors to be sh own hi m That s what I like
”
i n a great man
R emarks and i n cide n ts of this kind so i m
pressed me in my stu dy of the Admiral that I
made note of the m a n d now draw on my rec
ords for these bits of side ac tion that help sh ed
additio nal ligh t on the Ad m
i ral s character
Whe n ever he accepted an i nvitat i on to lunch
at the home of any promi nent E nglis h resi
dent he pu t everybo d y at ease by the evide n t
inte n tio n on his part to enj oy th e occasion
without any formality T here was never th e
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slightest i n dicat i o n of what is termed side
a nn er and strangers who were invited
in h i s m
to mee t hi mwere su rprise d to fin d ho w quickly
they were talki ng to hi m like a n old acquaint
a nce His favor i te place for t i fii n as l u n cheon
is called througho u t the tropics was at the
h ome of Mr H D C J ones ma nager of the
H ong Kong a nd Shanghai Banking C orpora
t i on Mr Jo n es was fortunate i n havi ng a
charmi ng wife wh o was th e daughter of a
prominent E nglish resident an d a nati v e wom
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180
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O N T HE
FIRING LINE
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an of th e high est class She was an agreeabl e
h ostess pret ty vivaciou s a nd u nderstood th e
art of pro v iding a good tabl e Sh e made th e
Ad miral feel at h ome and ga v e him an op p or
t u ni ty to enj oy a change of diet on sh ore an d
to m eet other people wh ose attentions to him
were entirely u nselfish a nd social Among t he
guests that ofte n gathered arou n d that table was
Mrs J one s s sister wh o was noted thro u gh ou t
th e Far E ast for h er beau ty and attracti v eness
It is of her that th e story is told that when
sh e h eard of th e Admiral s wish that h e coul d
g et some good fresh milk sh e sen t hi me v ery
day a bottle from her fath er s h erd of Jersey s
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Fe w
peopl e i n America reali ze h o w nearly
th ey came to ha v ing n o Ad miral D ewey wh om
th ey could welcome home on accou nt of a little
incident that occu rred out on th e fir i ng line at
San Pedro Ma c a ti last F ebruary Th e Ad miral
hi mself did not appreciate it u ntil i t was all
over Otherwise h e would n o t have bee n so
rash in exposing himself Moreo v er h e had
ladies i n his charge One can imagine th e
sensation which would h ave bee n created a nd
th e story th at would have flown from one he m
i sp he re to th e other if t w o or three E nglish
wom e n th e g u ests of th e Admiral on a little
pic nic party had b een sho t by F ilipinos while
u nder his special charge
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18 1
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
S oon after General King arrived at Manila
h e called in his usual punctilious way u pon
the Admiral T he latter wished to retu rn th i s
attention as soon as possible Th e following
S unday h e went to l uncheon with Mr Jones
t he bank er whose house is well up the Pasig
River beyon d Ma l a c a n and i s a beau tiful spot
j ust on the outskirts of the city As usual
the Admiral w a s con veye d th ere in his steam
launch D uring th e course of ti fli n h e sug
gested to his h ost and hostess as well as to the
other guests tha t later th ey sh oul d ride u p the
river as far as San Pedro Ma c a ti and call upon
General Ki ng at h is h ead quarters
T his was after th e outbreak bu t there had
been n o firing for a consid erable t ime and it
w a s d eem ed qu i t e safe for any one to go there
T he party proceede d up the ri v er landed at
General King s h ou se whic h i s a big stone
building on th e river side overlooking not only
the strea m but all the surrou nding country
T he party were m et by one of th e general s
aides who showed the m to a comfortable r e
c e p ti on room u p stairs and informed General
King of the arri v al of his disting u ish ed visitor
The general wh o was always very particular
abou t his personal appearance took a c onsi d
e t able time to properly cloth e himself
S u ddenly withou t any warning there came
a sound of a rifle v olley a nd of bullets goi ng
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182
A NA R R O W
E S CAP E
through th e zi n c roofing o v er th e head s of the
Admiral and his fellow callers Hardly had
this e n ded wh e n th ere ca me the crash of anoth
er volley which struck the sto n ework abou t
th e bu ilding T h e surpri se of th e A d miral
a n d his friend s can be easily conceived bu t his
composu re kept t he ladies from screaming a nd
mediately recog
th e men fro mru nni ng He i m
ni z e d the danger and folly of re m
aining bu t
believi ng that the firi ng was chance sh ots a n d
that they coul d lea v e by the way th ey came
condu cted th e party back to th e lau nch I n
the meantime Ge neral King appeared apol o
g i z e d for hi s delay a nd did th e most h e coul d
in h is h ospitabl e and generou s m
anner to make
h i s gu ests feel at ease telling th em that th e
sh ots were probably haphazard ones a n d were
the first that had been fire d for several days
The party h owe v er did not delay departure
a n d getti ng into th e l au n ch started back d own
th e river As th ey did so a nu mber of other
sh ots were fired which stru ck the water around
th e launch and even spattered so me of the oc
c u p a n ts
Th e Admiral k ept as cool as if h e
had been on th e bridge of the Olym
p i a in a
n aval battle all the time assuring th e ladies
both by hi s word s and by hi s example that
they were perfectly safe Viewed in any light
i t was a ve ry narrow escape
Shots stru ck
above below and arou n d them and it was good
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183
A D MI R AL G E O R G E D E WE Y
fortu ne that none did harm to the A d miral or
his gu ests Just ou tside of the hou se or not
more than twenty fi v e feet fro mwh ere th e Ad
m i ral was sitti ng two me n were ba d ly woun d ed
by th e same firing A big burly sentry from
th e Wash i ngto n regi m
ent who wit ness ed th e
scene sai d to me
That Ad m
iral has got ner v e He ha n dle d
those ladies as if h e were out on a su m
mer pic
n i c i n Ver mo nt a n d not at a place where bul
l ets were falli ng li v ely There were a wh ole lot
of u s that forgot all ab out ou rsel ves a n d ou r
chances of being hi t i n watching the A d miral
By George ! if a ny of th ose Filip i n o bullets had
struck the Ad m
i ral what would n t ha v e hap
pened ! We woul d ha v e all started chasing
the d e v i ls until w e d kille d e v ery o ne of em
or d rive n em i nto the sea on the other side ;
but I d rath er ha v e o ne Ad miral De w ey than
”
t e n millio n Filipi nos
On e of th e ladies of th e party sai d after
w ar d s that sh e ne v er really appreciated to
what danger th ey had been exposed u n til the
matter w a s explained to her later She said
that th e Ad miral maintained hi s co mposure to
su ch a d egree that they d id not really think
that any bullets stru ck anywhere near the m
after all ! One of General King s a i d es wh o
co n fir med th e i ncident said that it was the
m ost a nxiou s t w enty mi nutes through which
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184
III
RELI G I O U S I N ST I N C T S M O RAL V IE WS A N D
P E R SO N A L H A B I T S
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T HE
qu estion ha s been often asked m e wh eth er
th e Admiral was a religi ou s man This is a
delicate s ubj ect to handle becau se there are so
many di ff ere nt ways of looking at i t My ow n
impression of Admiral D ewey w ou ld b e that
h e is a man who has always bee n gui d ed and
strength ened by the rel i giou s principles which
were taught hi m as a young man by h is fath er
who was th e best type of a practical C hristian
man Th e A d m
iral may not be one wh o carries
his beliefs on his sle e v e but he has th ose d eep
religiou s instincts and that faith in a S upre me
Being which are the essential quali t ies i n de
If n o
v e l op i ng a tru e C hristian character
b i l i ty of manh ood d evotion to du ty fait hfu l
ness to th e pu rpose i n ha nd u n se l fishne ss i n
relations with his fellow men gi v ing credit to
those t o wh om credit is d ue cou rage i n right
i
d oi ng a nd in th e executio n of his d e te r m
natio n tru e and natu ral patriotism deep r e
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186
A
PRAC
TICAL
C
HRISTIAN
gar d for th e tru th generosity of h ea r t an d i m
pulse and love of h is fellow men are qualities
that make a C hristian character then th e A d
miral can b e classed among th e ideal C hristians
He had th e frailties of men to a degree wh ich
made others lo v e and respect him all the more
He was li ke and of them not above them
Moreover if one were to j udge from th e Ad
mi ra l s comments upon th e ways of th e world
upon those with wh om h e was brou gh t into as
sociation an d upon the shaping of the events
of th e worl d s h istory the conclu sion would
be that h e i s one of th ose religiou s men wh o
make ou r cou ntry strong and guide i t success
fully throu gh dangerou s places a t the sam e
tim e setting a noble exampl e to generation s
c o ming on
Vi ewing h is religiou s beli efs from a technical
standpoint it can be said that h e has been
both baptized and c onfirmed in the E piscopal
He was ch ristened as a boy at Mont
C hurch
pelier in the churc h which his father had
h elped to found and of which h e had al ways
been a strong pillar of support L ater wh en
the Admiral was married to th e beautiful Miss
Goodwin daughter of the ol d war Governor of
Ne w Hampshire h e was confirmed at the sam e
time with her in th e E piscopal C hurch while
on duty at Annapol is The Ad miral s wife
was a type of the purest C hristian character
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187
A DMI RA L GE OR GE DEWE Y
and there i s no doubt that sh e had great i n
fl u e nc e over h er hu sband
She had th at kin d
sympathetic bright nature which carried su n
shine into h is life as long as she lived bu t
brough t hi m sadness in her death of which he
has always b orne traces Th ere i s j u st a touch
in the Admiral s eyes and expression of the se r
row that brok e h is h eart wh en sh e was tak en
away o nly a few days after the birth of their
only son George His family connecti ons and
intimate friends have always seen present in hi s
soul the influ ence of this good woman Wh il e
Admiral D e wey is a man of th e world in th e
best and high est m eaning of th e term h e is
never u nmindful of t he beh avior and attitu de
of a true gentleman — and a true gentleman is
th e best kind of a C hristian
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L iars are an abomination to th e Adm iral
No man l ivi ng hates a liar m ore than h e Th e
naval ofli c e r or subordinate on any one of his
ships wh o woul d l ie to him even with seem i ng
good excu se wou ld never afterwards have hi s
co n fidence Once when h e was d escribing th e
character of a certain man to a number of u s
he su dd enly became qu ite excited thre w hi s
arms about arose qu ickly from h i s chair
strode back and forth across th e deck saying :
That man was a liar if there ever was a
liar on earth I despised him for that reason
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188
AD MI R A L GE OR GE D E WE Y
possession of m oney as m oney or any partien
lar ambiti on to b e a rich man in th e present
acceptance of th e term All tha t h e d esired
was su fli c i e nt to li v e comfortably b e abl e t o
take care of h is family return c ourtesi es and
h ospitalities sh own hi m and n ot b e worried
with th e fear of bei ng l eft with ou t su fli c i e nt to
enj oy his later years L amberton and Brumby
both tol d me th at they thought th e Admi ral s
chief satisfaction in getting th e large salary of
full Ad miral was to b e able to provi de for hi s
son and secon d ly not to b e limited in th e ex
penses that woul d arise i n hi s later years This
certainly is th e way that th e w orl d like s to see
a great man appreciate a goo d income At th e
same tim e it sh ould not b e forgotten that th e
Admiral has never been e xtra v agant H e has
not only lived well wi thin his inco m
e bu t h e
ha s made som e good investmen ts
His father
D octor D ewey was a man of m eans according
to the Ver mont standard and did not stint his
son Therefore th e Admiral was brought up
as a boy in comparative comfort al though n ot
in l u x ury
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Th e Admiral lik es a good cigar After h e
had u sed u p th e stock of Havanas which h e
brough t with h im h e trie d th e variou s kinds
of Manilas until h e found th e one that suited
H e i s not a constant smoker bu t
hi mbest
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190
TEMPE RATE I N HAB ITS
limits himself to a certain num ber each day
He seem ed to be at h is best in his social inter
course w ith the ofii c e r s of hi s sta ff and with
th e newspaper m en when h e was enj oying a
s mok e
If there were any around hi m not
smoking h e always invited th em t o have a
cigar with him
T he Admiral is th oroughly temperate in his
habits He does things in a m odera te way h old
ing back from temptati ons and excess even
u nder the m ost trying con d iti ons This i s one
reason why he was able t o stand so well the
responsibility and worry of th e long stay at
Manila with ou t an absence to recoup in
northern climates
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The Admiral had littl e opportunity at Ma
nila t o indulge in those amu sements which a p
peal ed to hi mwhen h e was in America H e is
fond of riding h orseback of h unting and fish
ing H e often looked ou t upon th e slopes and
h ills of th e P hilippines and expressed the wish
that conditions were such that h e coul d relax
from his responsibilities and enj oy himself i n
th e cou ntry districts
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If music in a man s soul sh ows a d elicacy
of natu re which make s up th e well rounded
man th e Admiral woul d certainly com e under
tha t cl ass He is fond of good singing and
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191
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
skilful playi ng upon any instrum ent At one
time h e himself s ung especially in h is younger
years ;now h e co nten t s h imself with liste n
ing D uring th e long days at Manila when
his th ough ts woul d wande r back to America
h e woul d express a longing to hear a good
opera again
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A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
ships
C aptain
Chichester ,
in visiting th e
Olym
p i a after some E nglish women had r e
turned from one of these calls woul d banter
th e Adm i ral with remarks to th e e ff ect that
the I m
mor ta li té and himself were no longer an
attraction
”
That may b e tru e rej oined th e Admiral
“
but I can t take you r word for it Y ou have
the advantage of me Y o u c a n tell who calls
on me bu t I have no idea ho w many come to
see yo u an d h ow many you go to see in
Ma n ila
This at least shows h o w in the mid st of
grave responsibilities these t w o life l ong sail
ors could get fun ou t of the simplest incidents
This habit undoub tedly was one influence
that kept th e Admiral in good spirits d uring
most depressing conditions
L ater after th e fal l of Man ila when there
came a great inru sh of army otfi c e r s wives i t was
necessary for him to set some l imit on th e nu m
ber he could see but those who were fortunate
enough to meet hi mretu rn ed with reports that
made their less fortunate sis te rs most enviou s
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H e enj oyed t he society of interesting women
as well as a nybody else One day wh en I asked
a
him if I coul d bring aboard th e Olym
to
i
p
meet hi mthe wives of two pro m
i n ent army
e
o fli c e r s wh o were very anxious to write h o m
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194
,
C
W O ME N
TO
H I VA L R OU S
to th eir friends and relatives i n America that
they had call ed on the Admiral and wh o had
importune d m e to assi st them he replie d
Why certa inly ;but by the way are th ey
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pretty and cle v er
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Assu redly I made an swer ; th e pret
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t i e st and cleverest women in Manila
“
Very good ! Y ou tell the captain of th e
port th at I say you can have a lau nch to bring
”
o ff two pretty women l
As C aptai n Gl ass of th e Cha r l eston was cap
tain of th e port and alm ost as good a j u dge as
th e Ad m
iral i n su ch matters I had no d iffi
culty in getting th e lau nch Thi s and oth er
si milar stories do not i n dicate any su pe r fic i a l
ity or snobbish ness whatever but that u na f
f e c t e d e very day simplicity of his charac ter
and man ner wh ich pleased all wh o knew him
well H e was seri ous wh en necessary bu t
could j oke with ease and with ou t l oss of nat
ural dig ni ty whene v er conditi ons favored
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On
an other occasion I had taken Mrs John
F Bass a n d her h u sban d the well known cor
responde nt of HA R P E R S W EE K L Y to call on
th e Ad m
iral Mrs Bass had th e distinc t ion of
being the first Ameri can w oman to come t o
Manila after the war brok e ou t a nd rode into
th e city on August 13th with the troops a s
cou rageou sly as if sh e had been on G eneral
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195
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
’
Anderson s sta ff
While we were there C a p
tain C hichester came aboard and j oi ned ou r
par t y a f t Presently he aske d Mrs Bass if
she would not j oin Mr Bass and myself and
lunch with hi mon the I m
mor ta li té I mme di
ately the Admiral laughingly re m
arked
“
There yo u are again captain ahead of
me wherever a lady is concerned I was ab ou t
”
to ask her myself 1
And how the chivalrous British com mander
d i d regale u s that day w i th mos t excellent c old
l eg of mu tton and good British bottle d beer
mingled with reminiscences and stories we
shall not soon forget
I may be pardoned for mentioning nam es
and going into so mu ch detail of qu o t ed con
versation but wh en tru e th ey often add an i n
t e r e s t to an i n cid ent that wou ld otherwise be
lacki ng
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T he truth of th e story about th e admiration
which he ma nifested for th e photograph of a
young woman which rested on his dressing
case with many others was this : He recei v e d
a letter from th e young lady or girl i n ques
tion in which sh e went into a most i n teresti ng
description of the impression made o n h er
m ind by his great victory and conclu ded with
a n inge n iou s requ est for his au tograph and the
state m
ent that sh e enclosed her photograph in
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196
A D M I R A L G E O R GE D E WE Y
’
natured and ambitiou s for h er hu sband s su c
c e ssf u l advancement
He never referred to her
excep t in terms of utmost respect and then
wit h a touc h of sadness in his v oice that i ndi
c a te d how fresh in h is mind was the memory
of he r
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V
G E N E RAL F EA T U RE S O F P ER SO N A N D M A NN E R
P HY SI C ALL Y th e Admiral i s not an im pres
s i ve m
a n i n th e sense that som e of ou r other
noted na v al and mili ta ry men are bu t h e ha s a
poise of body a nd h ead wh en standing or sitting
that attracts th e eye of the stranger He has
dignity with absol u te ease H e carries himself
gracefully for a man wh ose legs are trained to th e
sea and h e is not aff ec t e d in manner or move
ment Hi s step i s u sually light and q ui ck but
not especially hu rried He i s not tall and is a
little under the a v erage h eight of naval m en
bu t hi s sho uld ers are fairly broad and i n good
condition he has th e appearance of being fairly
well rounded T h e bones of his hands are small
and his fingers long and slight Th ey are often
employed in n ervou s gestures — not in the
French but th e New E ngland styl e— emphatic
and seriou s bu t no t gymnastic H e has an
i nteresting habit of drawing his fingers over
h is eyes wh en abou t to express som e th ought
or consider a new suggestion When a little
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199
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
a g i ta ted or disturbed he will pull and rol l the
ends of his l ong white m ustache
As h e talks he shakes h i s head to g i ve em
phasis to what he is sayi ng If h e is specially
i nterested h is eyes move quickly abou t watch
ing your own expression and possibly those of
others l ooking brigh t and cheerfu l one m o
me nt and har d and severe the next according
to your answers or comment Still his eyes
are not sh ifting in a weak sense He has a
fi r m earnest controlling l ook in th em when
he has orders to give or hears reports on i m
p ortant matters
He coul d not be Called exactly hand som e
because h e i s not su fli c i e ntl y tall bu t h e has
a prepossessing clear cu t interesting almost
classical face that seems e qual to th e respons i
b i l i ty of giving e xpression to the thoughts that
have birth in h i s active brain He i s m uch
better looking than the average photograph or
sk etch No n e of his pictu res bri ng out th e best
that is i n his face nor the strong li n es which one
notices in h is actual presence T he ordinary
portrait that is se en all over the land gives
no conception of the real force an d strength
that h e possesses and is therefore disappoi n t
ing to th e man who has been accu stomed to
seeing h im in person His hair is a frosty gray
amounting almost to wh iteness which becomes
his compose d but earnest visage The nose
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200
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
Ad miral D ewey i s a remarkable illu stration
of the adap tability of men of our race t o th e
conditions and circum stances that u nexpect
e dl y surround an d m eet th em
H e sh ows the
ability of ou r leaders to cope su ccessfully with
new an d broad responsibilities But with thi s
natural tendency of hi s American blood and
training and th e inspiration which h e received
from birth and early childhood in Vermont
there were certain indispensabl e latent qu ali
ties su ch as consummate leadership executive
capacity indomitabl e cou rage strength of con
common sense which were not only
v i c t i on
brough t ou t by th e battle of Manila but by th e
cares that preceded and followed that engage
ment He had long before shown to hi s large
circle of friends in naval poli tical and busi
n ess circles qualities of diplomacy u rbanity
discri minati on and self possession wh ich pu t
to th ei r full test in th e Manila campaign proved
equal to th e emergency
In m eeting Admiral D ewey the stranger
woul d not from first impressions consider h im
a great man in the tru e meani ng of th e term
bu t h e woul d go away prepossessed invariably
in his favor I never knew a naval or m
ilitary
offi cer a newspaper correspondent traveller or
bu siness man who did not leave his presence
after being introdu ced for th e first time
charmed with his personality h is a fl a b il i ty
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202
,
RESPECTED BY FIL I PI NOS
hi s sa voi r f a i r e and his unaff ecte d bearing
T h ey say fi rst impressions are lasting bu t ex
p e r i e nc e teach es m e that in th e case of th e
Admiral final impressions confirm the first
Added to them h owever are t he full knowl
e d ge and appreciation of the fact that h e i s
really a great man i n th e wide meaning of th e
ter mj udged from h is successful grappli ng with
a thou sand di ff erent responsibilities between
March 18 98 when h e first came to Hong Kong
and May 1899 wh en h e sailed away from Ma
nila Hi s former friends knowing him before
h i s mighty opportunity cam e and th ose per
so ns wh o have only met h im for th e m oment
in passing may not have rememb ered hi m as
a great man bu t th ose wh o saw hi mmonth in
and month ou t for nearly a year and watched
him d eal with every problem in a mas terly
spirit of decision are u nanimou s in according
h im the rank of a great man as well as of a
distingu ish ed naval h ero
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Th ere was no American name that carri ed so
mu ch weigh t in Filipino council s as that of
Admiral D ewey an d I wish to add that I h on
e st l y believe that if plenipotentiary powers and
orders had been given Admiral D ewey after th e
fall of Manila su ch as E ngland gave Kitch ener
in th e Upper Nile basin h e wou ld have suc
c e ssf u l l y solve d th e problem of ou r relations
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203
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
with the natives and pre v ented many of th ose
condition s whi ch have helpe d on the present
warfare — u nl ess th e d evel opm ent of anti r e
sponsibility sentiment an d the failure to rati
f y the treaty u n til after prol ong e d delay would
ha v e proved disastrou s even t o hi s masterful
control of the situation
The profound patience with which he awaite d
th e arrival of troops two m onth s after th e bat
tle of Manila Bay was only su rpassed by the
greater patience with which h e looked fo r th e
arri v al of reinforcements in th e form of th e
Monter ey and Mona dnoc /c Th e former did not
pu t i n an appearance until three months after
th e battl e and th e latter four month s
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O ne
of th e best proofs of his cou rage and
devotion to duty is the fact that he was never
abse n t from Manila Bay for m ore than part
of a day and then only to run ou t to Su b ig
d uring th e entire length of h i s stay of over a
year To make this self ab negation the more
prominent i t will be recalled that every other
offi cer and man in hi s squadron incl udi ng his
own staff ofli c e r s had ma d e trips to H ong
Ko n g by which they were m u ch benefite d a n d
refresh ed Whe n the Olym
p i a we n t to Ho n g
K o ng he transferred his flag to another ship and
remained
He planned for all contingenc i es He n ever
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204
AD MI R A L G E ORGE D EWE Y
fact m ethod of living ac ting and talking
which kept hi m far from being a saint or per
feet man and made him seem at tim es exactly
like scores of oth er a v erage m en wh o have all
in th eir way th eir foibles weaknesses and
petty vices as well as their strong points an d
virtu es
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Th ere is no better term than h orse sense
th ough i t be h omely to express th e strongest
quality in the make u p of th e Admiral He
knew that th e u se of common sense in all acts
was th e greatest influ ence for su ccess and he
never failed to employ the good stock of i t
which he possessed If th e friends a n d a o
q u a i n ta nc e s of t he Admiral wh o h ave known
hi m throu gh long years were asked if h e coul d
be called a brilliant man the maj ority woul d
probably reply that they woul d n ot u se that
term as being truly descripti v e of h im bu t th ey
would say that h e possessed an u n u su al degre e
of common sense After all i n life that i s
what a man needs m ore to meet every emer
genoy than anyt h ing else Repeate dly I heard
th e officers of hi s squadron remark that the
Admiral had goo d horse sense H e was that
kind of a man whom after a person h as met
hi meither once or many times h e wo ul d pick
out as a perfect example of one w ho i s gui ded
by this most esse n tial quality It showed i t
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206
HIS
TOU C HE D
II E A RT
self in hi s dealings with Agui nal do his rela
tio n s with th e G ermans his treat m
ent of th e
army a nd his management of aff airs of all
ki nds at Manila
If I were ask ed finally what had be en th e
m ost marked effect on th e Ad m
iral of his great
victory followed by an appreciation o n the i m
perishabl e fame a n d glory that have com e to
him I would say th at in his supreme realization
of th e deep all preval e n t love of th e American
p eople for him he has beco me gentler in spirit
touched to his in n ermost nature by su ch sin
As he now returns to ou r shores
c ere affection
the American peopl e will no t only be able to
c onfirm all here portrayed of his character b u t
show to him that love which has been waiting
l ong months for its actual expression
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M A R K E D I NF L U E N C E
L OC AL E N V I R O NM E N T
s B O YH OO D
OF
ON D E WE Y
’
i s an ideal town for th e birth
place of a great ma n That impression i s mad e
u pon all wh o v isit i t and indeed it has b e
co me a Mecca of tra v ellers since th e Admiral
became famou s I t i s clean wh olesome pros
Its
residents
are
th
rifty
e r o u s a n d attracti v e
p
well educated and often well to do in th e
Ver m
o nt sense As th e cap i tal of a co m
mon
wealth which has prod uced su ch a large pro
portion of successful men in all States to which
th ey h a v e e migrated as well as within i ts own
borders it is in n o sense disappointing I n
shor t i t i s the class of town or city which we
would select as the youthful h ome of Ad miral
D ewey T h ere i s no degree of d i sappointment
when o ne realizes that h e is walki ng u p a n d
d own th e sa me streets on which George D ewey
played as a boy I t can b e see n that the i nfl u
e n c e s of locality which were brough t to bear
on h i m in his early days were conducive to
M ON T PE L I
ER
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211
A DMI RA L G EORGE DEW EY
future greatness for which h e even began to
prepare as a child a n d sch ool boy
As th e stranger in qu est of the town in whi ch
Dewey w a s bor n trave ls up through Ver mont
h e i s occu pied with speculative th oughts as t o
what natu re of a place i t is If h e has been there
before h e i s glad to go again ;if not h e is
agreeably disappoi nted T he railroad tak es him
into th e v ery h eart of th e town a nd crosses th e
famou s Oni on —n ow called Winooski — River
j u st b ehind th e former location of th e h ou se
i n which the Ad m
iral was born C o m
ing out
of the stati o n th e first th i ng that impresses
the eye i s the handsome solid busi ness stru ct
ure wh ich h olds the great financial insti t ution
the National L ife I nsurance C ompany which
the Ad miral s father Dr Juliu s Y D ewey not
only fou nded bu t n urtu red into a prosperou s
c ondition through mu ch adversity sh owing
that th e Admiral s family i s goo d at finance
and bu siness a s well as at naval tactics and
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Across the wi d e beau tiful street on which
D ewey was born i n a h ou se a few d oors to th e
s outh of th e structu re j u st mentio n ed there
stan ds prou dly at th e foot of a hill which coul d
almost b e called a mountai n th e State C api tol
Set off against th e towering green of the hill
and fronted with terraced steps and a wi d e
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2 12
C
THE
APITOL S I N FLUEN CE
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grassy slope reaching d own to the street i s th e
massi v e granite masonry of th e buildi ng in th e
for mof a Greek cross wi t h an impressi v e por
tico of th e D oric order and sur mounte d by a
d om e and cupola capped by a statu e represent
ing Agricul tu re T he C apitol i s admitted by
experts to b e one of th e m ost perfect illu stra
tio n s of its style of architectu re i n Am eri ca if
not in all the world
Directly O pposite th e fron t entrance of th is
imposing building an d on th e oth er sid e of
th e shaded avenu e upon w hich i t is l ocated
w a s the front d oor of th e h ou se in wh ich
D ewey was born Th e firs t bu ilding that h e
remembers seeing i s th e State C apitol When
ever h e looked ou t of th e front wi nd ows across
th e street or went ou t to play h e gazed at thi s
great stru ctu re before hi m From his earli est
d ays of receiving impressions th e C apitol of
the S ta te with all i ts dignity beauty a nd as
sociations was th ere to develop in hi s mind a
v igorou s sense of patriotism love of govern
ment as sh own i n its tangible form and fill
hi m wi th that awe and respect which would
e v er h elp h im to be a good citi z en The pres
ent b uilding i s enlarged from what i t was wh en
h e first regarded i t with awe and admiratio n
bu t in i ts main outline and i m
pressive features
i t is th e sam e now as i n hi s b oyhood It e v en
gr ew as h e g rew u ntil wh en h e came hom e
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2 13
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
one day from college to find a heroi c statu e of
E than Allen erected behind the tall colu m n s
of the portico and seemingly standing gu ar d
at the entrance to th e mysterious and sacred
halls of legislation h e wondered if h e w oul d
e v er be su ch a great man that a statue like
that would be erecte d in his memory
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The more one reflects on the remarkable lo
cation of th e D ewey h omestead directly oppo
site even by surveyor s measurement th e State
C apitol and th e influence that its strong mas
sive i mmo vable presence as the high est typi
fi e d form in brick and stone of the strength
and po w er of S tate and governm ent m ust have
had on youthful D ewey th e more is h e con
vi nc e d that th e Admiral was born in th e ideal
place and in the ideal su rroundings not only
for Vermont s most distingui shed son b ut for
the country s idol
H e m ust ha v e b een i m
pressed encouraged an d inspired by such i n
fl u e nc e s and what he often sa i d at Manila in
a reflective mood proves beyond qu estion that
it made a lasting impressi on on his life and
j oined with other surro undings of place and
fam i ly to strengthen him in his ambitions
Not only the C apitol but the rolling hills
covered with pasture land and forest th e mead
ows i n the valleys the clear limpid water of
the riv ers the fishing hunting swimming
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II
A D M IRAL D E WE Y s F A T H ER D R J U LI U S Y E
MA N s D E W E Y A M A N O F G REA T A B ILI T Y
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m ore than th e town th e air the hills
and the C apitol were th e bl ood th e example
and th e influ ence of his father D r Juliu s Ye
mans D ewey Here we find a fitti ng sire for
the Admiral T h e m ore we stu dy this w on
d e r f u l father of the nati on s hero th e more
are we i m
pressed with his strong qualities an d
the more readily d o w e understan d where th e
Admiral gets his predominant forcef u l charac
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t e r i st i c s
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D r J uliu s Y e m
a ns D ewey explains the great
ness of his son H e was great b efore him
H e may not have won natio n al fam e bu t his
fellow citi z ens appreciated his sterling worth
D r D e w ey w a s an excepti onal man He was
a rare de v el op ment of th e very best Ver m
ont
stock His life and record on being closely
studied re v eal a character a nd personal ity
tha t are worthy of profound respect In fact
i t woul d be a disappointment in the evolu tion
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216
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A
R
E MA R K A B L E F A T H E R
of one generation from an oth er if h e h ad n ot
produ ced one son wh o woul d be great and
fa mou s T he gratificat i on that the admirer
of A d m
iral D ewey experiences i n fi nding that
a re markable fath er brou gh t h i m u p i n th e
earlier d ays of his life and gave hi m th e v igor
ou s bloo d that ru shes through hi s v eins i s
only measure d b y th e satisfaction of the feel
ing that it ough t to be that way What a dis
appoint me n t to ha v e disco v ered that th e A d
mira l s father was a m an of inferior talents and
qualities
The d octor grew u p as a lusty farm you th
stu died medicine and finally settle d down to
the practice of his profession in Montpelier
S o successf ul was h e t hat his name became
known not only through the i mmediately near
by towns and cou n ties bu t a ll through the
northern section of th e S tate L ater inspired
by a desire to d o good as well as to de v elop a
n e w busi ness h e started a life i nsu rance com
pany which gradually grew to i ts present
stre ngth His eld est son C harle s D e wey as
his fitti ng su ccessor is no w i ts president
Associate d with i t also for a long ti me was
E d ward D ewey another son who has re tired
from active b usiness Th e persistent energetic
and courageous nature of D r D ewey alone e n
abl ed him to make this co m
pa ny prosper an d
to overco me d i fficulties that would have com
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2 17
A D MI R A L G E OR G E D EWE Y
discou raged oth er m
en
Wh en ne c e s
sary h e even ple d ged all his own personal prof
i ts and assets to m eet i ts obligations rather
than see i t be discredited or fail
My grandfath er W R Sanford of Orwell
Ver mo nt now ninety five years of age knew D r
D ewey well H e informs me that th e Admiral s
father was one of th e strongest and be st men in all
Verm o n t a n d if he had so desired could have
recei v ed th e h igh est poli tical honors in the gif t
of the S tate Wh en my fath er C harles Bar
rett of Grafton Verm ont now deceased , was
a member of th e State L egislature he often
m et D r D ewey In hi s letters to my m other
I remember that h e spoke of him as one of
th e m ost interesting and well informed men
that h e k ne w in Montpelier All of th e promi
n ent l egislators that regularly came to th e
capital every f e w years knew him so inti mate
l y a nd fel t hi s v igorou s character so plainly
that h e had important and direct influence on
th e legislation of th e S tate No other man in
M ontpelier in the days of D r D ewey s prim e
was so generally respected by the members of
th e Legislature H e did not try to me ddle
b u t they recognized his ability and commo n
sense and came to hi m for advice of their own
volition
If D r D ewey h owever mad e u p his mind
that certain proposed laws were bad an d should
pl e t el y
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218
A D M I R A L G E OR G E D E WE Y
ou s O pposition S uddenly D r D ewey appears
on the scene H e sees something radically
wrong i n his o p i nion with the qu estion and
goes to th e t own meeting d etermined to de
feat i t He gets u p in the face of its unan
and argues against it
He
im
ou s su pport
says i t sh ould n ot pass i t cannot pass and it
shall n ot pass ! He speaks wi th so mu ch v e
he m
e nc e m oral cou rage and con v iction th at
he carries his hearers w i th him and wh en the
vote i s ta ken it is almost u nan i m ou s in th e
negative an d th e resolu tion is killed
Thi s i s n ot a fanciful picture Incidents
akin to i t happened m ore than once There
w e have th e sam e influ ence that i n spi red his
son w hen h e sa i led into Manila Bay May 1
Th e making of th e fi rst na v al com
18 98
mander of thi s ge neration was in this noble
sire wh o coul d carry not only a tow n;bu t a
State before him if h e m
ad e u p his mind
And n o one will deny that such characteristics
are given to th e o ff spring by th e parent
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T o furth er explain the
whyness of Ad
miral D ewey and demonstrate that h e is n o t
an accid en t bu t a logical sequ ence I will
qu ote what a pro mine n t Vermonter who k n ew
D r D ewey well told m e on th e occasion of a
recent visit to that State
D r Julius Y D ewey was the very typ e of
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220
DR
Fa t he r
of
Ad
mi l
ra
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JU
LIUS
D e “e y ,
Y E M AN S
a nd o ne o f
Ve r
mnt
o
I
th e
DE !VE Y
m t p mi n
n l u s da y
os
ro
e nt
mn
e
of
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
generou s giver and a hard working success
He possessed th e
f u l man i n hi s profession
sam e temper wh ich th e Admiral sometimes
shows bu t it o nly exh ibited itself when there
was good and su ffi cient reason At tim es h e
woul d get out of patience wi th a person wh om
”
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h e knew to be a quack sham or shyster
Woe betide that man if the doctor ran across
him i n pu blic or in private T here was no
stopping th e floo d of feeling H e w ould even
thunder in hi s denunciation and th e l i ght
ni ng woul d flash in hi s eye u ntil th e culpr i t
woul d seem to wilt and sh rink away where h e
cou ld not be seen He therefore had enemies
bu t th ey respected hi m for his ru gged cou rage
and frankness Th e Admiral i nherits his a h
t i pa thy to liars from his father
D r Dewey could ha v e been called a hand
som e m
H e had a manner and prese nce
an
th at would ha v e made him th e central figu re
in m ost any gathering With a large h ead
set on broad shoulders cl ear cut features
pro m
i nent nose ! again th e son follows fath er )
h onest eyes firm m outh and stro ng lines
in h is face h e lo ok e d every bit th e mental
moral a nd physical power that h e was An
impressi ve voice and a hearty shake Of th e
hand h elped to prepossess all in his favor
Those wh o knew him will n ever forget him
any m ore than others will hi s famou s son
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2 22
SO N
SIRE AND
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I d evote this m uch space to the Admiral s
father becau se i t seems to me this ph ase of
the subj ect casts a m ost i mportan t si d e light
on th e Ad miral s character and enables u s to
u nderstand him better To m e the stu dy of
th e sire is next i n interest to stu dy of th e son
Having known th e latter so well at Ma nila I
determined upon my return home to learn
all I could i n regard to hi s fath er I had read
of him and had heard the Ad miral speak of
him in the most respectful terms bu t I wanted
to learn the opi nions of those wh o were asso
elated with him wh en h e was at his best in
My investigati ons are only su m
V ermont
ma riz e d here
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III
F A M IL Y RELA TI O N S A N D N O T A B LE A N C E ST O R S
T H I S l eads th e way to refer incidentally to th e
Admiral s i mm ediate family relatives in Mo nt
pelier H e has two broth ers ol d er C harles
a nd E dward an d a sister younger Mrs Mary
Greel ey all r e sid i ng i n Montpelier no w C harles
D ewey i s on e of th e best known m
e n in th e
State h aving been a member of th e L egi slature
i s president of th e National L ife Insu ra nce
bitiou s
C ompany an d coul d if h e were a m
politically hol d most any positio n to which he
m i gh t aspire
H e has a beau tiful refi ned
h ome a n d a ch arming fa mily E d ward D ewey
i s no w retired from bu siness H e was formerly
vice president of t he sa m
e insu rance com
pany D uring th e C i v il War h e was a captain
in the quar termaster s departme nt a nd sa w
mu ch active ser v ice
He could l i kewise b e
an
class ed as a su ccessful bu siness m
His
h ou se which sta n ds on th e site of the D ewey
h omestead i s one of th e attrac t i v e resid e nces
of Montpelier Lieu te n a nt D ewey his son i s
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2 24
,
A D M I R AL G E OR G E D E WE Y
once relating i n cidents in connection with th e
Admiral at Manila As Mr C harles D ewey
m et m e h e surprise d and yet pleased m e by
remarking in an interested w a y before I h ad
time to say a word abou t th e Ad m
iral : Why
I k n ew you r father well We all remember
”
hi m and I am glad to meet his son
Then he conti nu ed for some ti me to speak of
my father before th e subj ect was changed to
h is broth er Th e personal part of this incident
can be pardoned as illu strating th e u na ff ected
sincerity and th e naturalness of the man
The Ad miral s mother Mary P errin was
also a remarkabl e woman bu t she died when
t h e Ad m
iral was so young that h er influ ence
was not like that of th e father Sh e was a
n obl e character a good mother and wife well
read refined and ambitiou s that h er childre n
sh ould grow up w orthy of their parents The
best blood flowed in her v eins and along th e
line of h er ancestry are ma ny strong men H er
m other was a Mary Talcott who was the sixth
generation from Joh n Talcott wh o arrived
from E ngland in th e ship M on Septe m
ber 1 6
1 6 32
H e was a very promi n e n t m
a n and sat
i n six annual sessions of the General C ourt
of Massachu setts Bay Samu el T alcott of the
same line and son of J ohn was a fa mou s Indian
fighter in th e King Philip War bei ng C aptain
of the We a t he rsfie l d C o nnecticut Trainband
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226
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D E W E Y GE N EALOGY
While discu ssi ng this point of pedigree I t i s
well to note som e featu re s of the direct D ewey
genealogy » T he Adm i ral is th e ninth in line
commencing with T homas D ewey the settler
as h e is co m
mo nly designate d wh o came from
E ngla n d and landed at B osto n i n 1 6 33 Those
wh o are fo n d of traci ng a nci ent lineage clai m
that the A d miral is d ir e c tl v descended from
C harlemag ne and they sh o w a continu ou s line
of a ncestors back to th e great E mperor of the
Middle Age s to support the state ment If this
be tru e th e Ger m
an Ad miral sh oul d have frater
instead of
n i z e d wi th D ewey i n Manila Bay
resorti ng to vexati ou s tactics
William D e w ey th e great gra ndfath er of th e
Admiral was born in 174 6 at L ebanon C o n
ne c t i c u t a n d died at Hanover Ne w Hampshire
i n 1 813 Brough t u p first to be a carpenter h e
became a successful farmer H e married a Re
becca C arrier and had by h er many children
He w as a corporal in the C ontinental army a
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Minu te Man an d was at Saratoga under
General Gates
H is son Simeon D ewey the
Ad m
iral s grandfather was born at Hebron
C onnecti c u t i n 1 770 and died in 1863at Mont
pelier i n th e ripeness of ni nety three years of
age A far mer of th e thrifty type he h el d i m
p ortant positions i n town life su ch as depu ty
H e married
sheri ff and j u stice of the peace
a ns of Norwich Vermont and
P ru dence Y e m
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22 7
,
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
had e i gh t ch ildren by h er He l ived fi rst in
Hano v er New H a m
pshire th e seat of Dart
mou th C ollege and went later to l i v e at Berlin
Vermont W hile at H ano v er h e s i g n ed th e peti
tio n for the location there of Dartmouth which
h as no w grown to b e one of the best a nd largest
colleges i n America a nd subscribed fifty acres
of land for its u se or s upport Dart mouth c a n
therefore feel a direct i nteres t i n th e great A d
miral even if he did atte nd Norwich U ni v ersity
j u st across the C on necticut Ri v er a n d then a
ri v al of Dart m
outh H e also inh erited th e taste
for fighti ng a nd wa s a n e nsig n i n C aptain He n
d r e e s s Re v olutionary C ompany
Th u s it c a n be seen that the Admiral s a n
c e st o r s were not only ready to defend the cou n
try but to peopl e i t — a t least with D eweys
There is room for them all
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D r Julius Y D ewey th e Admiral s father
was born Au gust 2 2 1801 at Berli n Vermont
and passed away after se v e nty fiv e u seful years
He had three wives bu t
o n May 2 9 1 8 7 7
ch ildren only by the first Mary Perrin After
her death he married Su san T arbox of R a n
dol ph and later wh en sh e d i ed Mrs S u san
L illey of Worcester Massach usetts T h ey were
all wo men of the best New E ngland stock and
made good wives T h e latter two cared for
the children as if they were their own It is
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22 8
IV
B I O G RA PH I C AL SK E T C H O F D E W E Y F R O M
M O N T P ELIE R T O M A N ILA
G E OR G E
D E W E Y j ust missed bei ng a C hrist
mas present
He came so near i t however
that h is parents and brothers regarde d him as
su ch H e was born D ecember 2 6 1837 and is
n o w therefor e approach i ng th e co m
pletio n of
h is si xty second year Som e day wh en a grate
ful nation makes h is birthday l i ke that of
Washington a nationa l h oliday we shall link
together the j oys of C hrist m
as and the memo
ries of this hero by celebrating two days in su c
cession
As indicated in th e Preface and i n the O pen
ing paragraph s of thi s work I shall attempt
no detailed biography of Ad m
iral George D ew
ey
Only sufficient will b e recorded here t o
give a connected i dea of his grad ual rise from
a lad in Montpelier to an Ad m
iral at Manila
To his careful biographer Mr Adelbert M
Dewey to the distinguish ed j ou rnalist Mr
Murat Halstead and to my n oted newspaper
friend at Manila Mr J L S tickney I leav e
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230
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,
A D MI R A L G E O R G E D E W E Y
What I write of th e Ad m
iral s boyh ood is
chiefly based on what his brothe rs and sister
ha v e told m
e as well as on th e recollection s of
other associates T hey all agree that h e was
an i n dependent energetic dari ng br i gh t hap
py natu red boy with those te n denci es to fu n
whic h may occas i onally have l e d to fighting
isch ief wh i ch were
a nd w ith inclinatio n s to m
never h owe v er prompted by malice There
is n o better e v i d ence that h e was a lad of
wholesom e qu alities than that h i s sister r e
m embers him so kindly He was always ch iv
T o d a y t here
a l r o u s to her a n d th e o ther girls
is no man more polite cons i d erate a nd chiv
a l r o u s towards women tha n t he A d m i ral
Only
t w o years separated th e ages of George and
Mary Dewey so that th ey were al ways play
mates
Speaki ng Of h is h abi ts a nd a m
u se
m ents she re me m
bers that he played ball rod e
h orses wi th ou t saddles had a th eatre i n th e
bar n or circu s in the yard went for th e cows
a n d was always o n th e alert for a ny n e w sport
He was n o t always cau tious bu t seldom reck
less a nd i nvariably c ourageous Not a brag
gart or bully h e would stand u p f or h is own
rights and occasionally quarrelled with tho se
wh o questio n ed th em
One quality was qu ite noti ceable e ven in
h is youngest days whic h will appeal to all
wh o have fres h m emories of chil d hood H e
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232
P H Y S I QU E A N D M O R A L S
was never afraid of th e d ark Whe n h is sister
e mphas i zed this characteristic I thought of
th e dark nigh t wh e n he took th e lead on th e
n
n
d
a
sailed
i
to Man i la Bay past C or
i
a
Olym
p
regidor with ou t fear or h esitation As h e grew
ol der h e d e v elope d perseveran ce con v ictio n
m orality and patience whi ch e na bled hi m to
figh t not only the battl e of life su ccessfully
bu t th e sh ips of th e enemy a nd the trials Of
h is long stay at Manila with ou t relief
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Physically he wa s not large bu t strong ;
slight i n figu re bu t qu ick i n action H e w a s
considered a very good looki ng boy and was
always popular with his girl frie nds As h e
ca me back later to M o n tpelier from Norwich
and Annapol is he was dee med th e beau id eal
by th e girls th e n growing into young ladies
H e was fond of mu sic and singi ng and was
a graceful dancer Possessing these qualities
attractive in face and manner and wearing a
cadet s unifor m h e mu st have been quite ir
resistibl e i n femi nine circles From what we
k n ow of the Admiral in later years i t can be
sai d that h e has lost none of th at charm w hich
makes a man co ngenial to refined women
There was and is nothing rough a nd coars e
in his moral make u p F rom boyh ood u p h e has
had the i nstincts impulses manners and mor
als of a tru e gentleman
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23
3
,
A DMI RAL GEORGE DEWE Y
H e was brought u p to go to ch u rc h and w as
ba pti zed in th e E pisc o pa l Ch u rch at M ont
pe lier when twenty three yea rs ol d
All t he storie s of De wey s bo yh ood and
sch ool d a ys have be en told a nd reto ld so ma ny
tim es that I wi l l pa s s th em o v er he re H e first
went away to sch ool at J ohn son Ve rmont where
M r Pangbo r n who once gave Ge o rge 3 se vere
punishing went as Principal of th e Aca d emy
afte r lea vi ng Montpe l ier Thi s w ould ind i ca te
either that th e boy l ik ed him d esp ite th e di s
c i p l i ne or that D r D ewey th ough t i t w as th e
be st plac e for h im He ea rly exp re sse d a d e
si re to be a so l die r or sail or bu t as th er e w as
th en no vacancy a t Wes t Point or Annapol is
hi s father se nt hi mto Norwich Univers ity a
mil i ta r y i nstitution in 185 1 wh ere h e remai ned
u n t il 185 4 At No rwich h e w as a n ord ina r y
sch olar He d i d not study har d bu t sti l l was
up to th e a v era ge H e had not th en qui te
l ea rned the art and n ec e ssi ty of ea r nest a ppli
ca ti on
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In Se ptembe r 185 4 h e enter ed th e U ni te d
S ta te s Na val Aca d emy ha v in g sec ur ed thr o ugh
h is fa th er s i nfluence th e n omi n a t i on fr om
Verm ont Wh en h e be ga n hi s co urs e th er e
an d du ri ng th e firs t yea r h e di d not h old high
ra nk In fac t i t w as necessa ry for his fa th er
to ur ge h im to d e v ote h i m
se l f m ore assi du ousl y
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234
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
L ater he j oine d C om mand er Mc C om
b in th e
Jam es R i v er and distinguish ed himself at D on
a l d sv i ll e L ou isiana
H e was then attached for
some time to th e North Atlantic blockadi ng
squ adron a nd was on the B r ooklyn and Ag a
w a m March 3 18 6 5 h e was comm issioned
L ieute nant commander for meritorio us con
du ct at Fort Fi sher In seven years h e gained
a rank that n ow re quires n early s eventeen
years Then h e was ordered to th e K ea r sa rg e
which had sunk th e A la ba m
a and was e ve nt u
ally wreck ed in th e C aribbea n Sea
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While on duty at Portsmou th New Hamp
shire h e met and married Miss S u sie P Good
win dau ghter of th e ol d war Governor of New
Hampshire Ichabod Goodwin T he marriage
took place O ctober 2 4 186 7 bu t th ei r life to
gether was cu t sh ort in 18 73 wh en she d ie d
w ithin a few days after giving birth to a son
G eorge Goodwin He now lives in Ne w Y ork
C i ty where he entered the empl oy of Joy
L angdo n
after graduating from Prince
ton C ollege
D ewey agai n we nt to E urope on th e Col or a d o
in 1 8 6 7 bu t returned i n 186 8 for detail at the
Na v al Academy where h e was fortunate enough
to remain t w o years T his period h e has often
said was th e happ i est of his life becau se h e
had hi s young wife with him Made C om
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236
ON
T H E PAC I F I C S TAT I O N
mander of th e Na r r a g a nsett in 1870 h e was
later assigne d to special services including
charge of the torpedo station at Newport On
April 13 187 2 h e was prom ote d to C ommand
er and again assigne d to the Na r r ag a nsett In
18 7 3 after his wife passed away he went to
th e Pacific where h e had charge of important
sur v eys
Th e risk s and di fli c u l ti e s of this
work were t o u se his own words a godse n d
to h i m to k eep his mind off the though t Of
his beautiful wife s u ntimely end T hose wh o
were then wi th hi m say that h e was never
afraid of any thi ng and often expos ed h imself
to seriou s dangers in his m oments of great
est m elanch oly B u t h e was being preserve d
for th e responsibilities of twenty five years
later
As Light h ou se Inspector fr om 18 7 6 to 187 7
and Secretary of th e L ight h ouse Board from
18 7 7 to 18 82 si x years passed away
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Th i s brings u s to anoth er crit i cal point i n h is
life While en rou te to comman d th e Ju ni a ta
on the Asiatic station in 1882 he was tak en ill
at Malta and only reco v ered after serious su r
At
g i c a l operations and a long convalescence
one time h e was n ot expected to live b u t
again there was some i nflu ence at w ork to
save hi m for migh tier respo nsibilities in Asi
atic waters Part of hi s liver was remove d at
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237
,
A DMI RAL GE OR GE D E W E Y
thi s tim e bu t h e was able to resum e du ty in
th e spring of 1 883
His C aptai n cy cam e September 2 7 1884 or
twenty six years after graduati on Th ere was
therefore if h e lived n o qu estion that som e
day h e woul d b e the ranking officer of th e
na v y H e went imm ediately to th e D olp hi n
one of th e ships of the ne w navy and th e orig
inal White Squadron plann ed by S ecretary
William C Whitney
H is next as sign ment
w a s to t he E u ropean S tatio n wh ere on th e
P e nsa c ol a h e had charge of the squadron
In 18 89 began hi s l ong faith ful service of
special assignme n ts as h ea d of board s an d chief
of bu reau s connected with th e n avy
H is
record for th e ensuing nine years wh en h e had
hi s h ead qu arters m ost of th e tim e at Washing
ton i s u nsurpassed i n variety an d responsi
bil i ty of work and i n extent of achie v eme n t
by any other naval offi cer Th e arch i v es of
th e D epart m
ent will al ways bear evidence of
h is careful atte ntion to du ty hi s th oroughness
of study and his execu tive capaci ty in ma nage
ment Am ong his assignments were C hief of
B u reau of E quipment a nd Recru iting m em
ber of Light h ou se E xamining and Retiring
Boards an d President of th e Board of I nsp e c
tion and Survey When h e becam e C hi ef of the
Bu reau of E quipment and R ecruiting h e had
th e rank e x ofli c i o of C o mmodore On Feb
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238
AD MI RA L GE ORGE D EWE Y
d iscu ss and respect b ut still wh en th e news
of his vi ctory came th ey were n o t su rprised at
his ach ieveme n t Had they known that h e
w a s d estined for su ch great rank th ey woul d
ha v e had confi d ence in his abilities a nd yet
probably would not have picke d h im out as
their first c h oice for su ch extraordi nary under
tak i ngs and responsibil i ties Un d er h is quiet
reserved genial exterior were a force d ecision
and e nergy that f e w real i zed T here was a
spark n ow and th en that b etokened th e l ate n t
fires of the furnace wi thin I t requ ired a great
emerge ncy to bring ou t th e full fire a n d ligh t
that was before hidden N ow that i t is all
over Washi ngton has ma ny men w ho re member
i nd ications of hi s capabilities that at the tim e
di d n ot impress th em and scores of o t h ers on
t h e contrary wh o contend that th ey expected
some such consu mmation of his life a n d freely
“
u se th e I told you so argu ment T h e orig
”
i nal D ewey m
can b e fou n d not o nly in
an
Washington but all o v er the land
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On October 2 1, 18 97 ,
h e w a s appointed to th e
co m
mand of the As i at i c S tation ;on J anuary
e d co m
mand at Nagasaki
3 1898 h e assu m
I n Marc h h e procee d e d to Ho n g Kong where
h e remained over a mo n th practi cally prepar
ing for war On April 24th h e we nt to M irs
Bay ;on April 26 th he sailed for Manila
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240
AR LE S
CH
D E WE Y
Pre s ul e ut
of
,
the
T HE E L D E
Na t i o na l
Li fe
R
B
R O T HE R
I ns ura nc e C o
OF
mp
A D M I R AL
a ny 0 !
DE ! V E Y
Montp e l i e r
A D MI RA L GE OR G E D EWE Y
interested to r e a d thi s v olu me with ample
data to form a comprehensive idea in their
minds of th e gradual rise and development of
the Admi ral fro m th e boy at Montpelier to th e
h e r e w e are now abo ut to welcome h om e
Were
this a h istory or biography my sk etch of hi s
life w ould b e u nsatisfactory ;as i t is onl y a
collection of pages from my note book at Manila
published for the purpose of throwing side
lights on th e Admiral s character and p erson
ality it mu st suffice
1y
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V
A FFE C T I O N O F T H E A D M I RAL F O R
O N L Y SO N G E O R G E G OO D W I N D E W E Y
T HE
HI S
,
A D M I RA L D E WE Y s lo v e of his son i s pro
fou nd It i s a qu ali ty i n h im wh ich every
body wh o cam e t o know him well noticed a n d
admired H is h eart i s set on that boy and
hi s th ough ts were continually on hi m e v en
during hi s greatest responsibilities This char
pression u po n
a c t e r i sti c made a very disti n ct i m
my mind from th e first tim e I met th e Admiral
in May a n d it was strength ened by what h e
said and did at o th er times P erhaps the firs t
occasion which has a story connecte d with it
worth telling and which particularly appealed
to m e was when h e recei v ed th e first batch of
mail from America written after th e news of
his great victory
It requ ired nearly forty
days for letters to reach Manila th en from New
T here were no regular steamers run
Y ork
ning down from H ong Kong an d the despatch
boat only went u p at inter v als of a week or
E veryb ody in the squadron was anxi ou s
t wo
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243
,
A D M I R A L G E O R G E D E WE Y
for letters a nd papers We wanted to know
h o w th e people at h ome had take n th e victory
T h e mul titude of telegrams that had flowed
i n ga v e u s some evidence but we longe d to
read letters fro mfri ends and th e accounts i n
th e n ewspapers
T he Admiral displayed no gr eat anxiety bu t
still he looke d forward with as m uc h quiet
eagerness as did the Jackies for letters from
friends and relations
He told me th e day
before the mail arrive d that th e l etter h e
care d th e most for was from his son
He
wanted to k n ow what the boy th ought of his
victory on May 1st
T he next day th e Mo Ca l loc h came in with th e
mail T h e Admiral s porti on as can be i m
ag
i ne d was a large one
When Bru m
by u nder
took to look it over h e sigh ed at th e labor
before hi m E verybody had come aboard th e
a
for
mail
because
that
was
th
e
general
i
Olym
p
distributing station While it was bei ng open
e d I was sitting aft talking with the Admi ra l
and heard hi msay to C al dwell
In looking over th e mail and picking ou t
my letters find th ose first with my boy s hand
writi ng and bring them to me T he others
”
can com e afterwards
I n a few minutes the orderly came ou t with
a big bunch of letters inclu ding not only those
from his son bu t fro mdistinguished men at
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244
AD MI RA L GEOR GE D EWE Y
tions bu t i t was plai n that no compli ment or
congratulation gave him so much pleasure and
satisfaction as the sincere h eartfelt words of
his boy
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Possibly th e best story which illu strates the
Admiral s love of his s on and his a pp r e c i a
tion of his brightness and cleverness is one
connected with their correspondence on very
serio us s ubj ects
Some time before the Ad
miral left Hong Kong bu t after h e kne w that
a fight was ahead of hi m with th e Spaniards
he wrote a long fou r page l etter to his boy i n
wh ich h e explained to him th e responsibilities
of th e probable conflict and the chance that
he might b e killed in battle advising him not
to be broken hearte d over su ch a contingency
as that was the natural end of a naval officer
w ho went t o war He furth er cou nselle d hi m
to grow u p to be a good strong man and not
to forget his father in the event of the latter s
death H e di scussed his financial s tatus and
alth ough h e was making no will
said tha t
everything that h e left went to him and h e
hope d there was suffi cient to assist h im in his
lif e s work Nine tenths of this four page let
ter w as devoted to consideration of very seriou s
subj ects Just as th e Admiral was closing the
letter and there were a few lines of space left
on the l ast page h e remembered that he was
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246
' ‘
I ll E
U S S
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OL YMPI A
ON T HE
A
M N I L A W I TH
Pho to
AD M I RAL
g ph
ra
M O R N I NG O F
ed
by
DE WE Y
m
Wi ll iam
T IIE
ON
u
d d ie
DA Y SI I E
B OA R D
L E FT
AD MI RA L G EOR GE D EWE Y
“
B ut you see here is a dash a nd then he says
I ha v e been to th e s tore you nam ed and got
th e d ozen boxes of s hoe polish whic h you de
sire a n d ha v e forwarded the m by express to
day H ope they reach you all right Y our
a ff ectionate son
”
“
N o w continu ed th e Admiral
i sn t that
pre tty good P When h e receive d my letter i t
stru ck him as rather odd and ye t cool h eaded
to pu t on th e e nd of a letter that talked abou t
death will and finances a refere nce to sh oe
dress i ng—so h e thought h e wou l d sh ow to me
that h e coul d d o the same thi ng with j u st as
mu ch ease and equanimity and he has su c
c e e d e d hasn t h e
T his touch of h u mor and pleasant way of
having a little j oke at hi s father s expense
pleased the Ad m
iral e xtremely
It sh owed
hi mthat the son had a cle v er ness at turn ing
a good poi n t which a father likes to d iscover
in his b oy When th e Admiral read thi s to
me I coul d not keep back th e remark that
the fir m in Ne w Y ork where he d irected h is
son to get the sh oe dressing would gi v e most
any su m h e might name for a copy of that
letter or the part of i t which co n taine d th e
closi ng sentences wri tten by th e A d m i ral H e
smiled and replied that it m
igh t not be a bad
idea if th ey would b e willi ng to give the money
to his son— and yet in reality th e last thing
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248
P R OU D
Y O U N G GE OR G E
OF
that the Admiral would do woul d be to lend
his nam e to a ny kind of cheap advertising
.
The Admiral was thoroughly prou d of his
son a n d n aturally liked to talk abou t him A
nu mber of th e n ewspaper men d iscovered this
pardo nable weakness and more than once when
they had so me special favor to ask of h i m
would prepare the way for a kind reception on
hi s part of their proposition by telling him
som e good story abou t young George which
t hey had read in the papers I t was v ery
seldo mthat this method of approach failed of
i ts p u rpose
At th e sam e time the newspaper
men were si n cere in a way They in turn a d
mired the offspring of the sire for his good
j udg m
e n t in n o t being spoil ed by all the atten
tions sh own h im in New Y ork as th e son of a
an
a n d they respected the sire
great m
the
more becau se he took particular pl eas ure in
his offspring s efforts to avoid notoriety or
make any capital out of his fath er s achie v e
ment Nothing that young George coul d have
done would have pl ease d his fath er more than
the quiet reserved manner in whi ch b e viewed
th e Admiral s victory and refused to b e inter
v i ewed or to be lioni zed
It sh owed c o n
el usively that th e b oy had the same stu ff i n
hi mas th e fath er and th ere is nothing that
delights a father m ore than to see his child
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249
ADMI RA L GEORGE DEWE Y
taking after him as i t were In all th is dis
qualities the Admiral
c u ssi on of th e son s
never forgot to refer to the influ ence of th e
m oth e r He would emphasiz e that the boy
possessed many of his mother s best qu alities
and went so far as to say that h e resembled
her m ore than h e did him On one occasion
when the Admiral was quite confidential h e
sai d :
George i s a thoroughly good boy H e has
never given m e a minute s trouble or worry
He is not perfect b ut his faults are not suffi
cient to cause m e any th ough t He was always
well b ehaved as a young child at St P aul s
school an d later a t Princeton When I so m
e
ti mes heard oth er fathers e xpressing regret
that their boys di d not seem to u ndersta n d
the seriou s side of life I coul d not sympathize
wi th them b ecause George seemed to me to be
”
j ust what a typical son ough t to be
Then with a twinkle in hi s eye h e added
“
Y ou see t here are som e ways possibly in
which h e does not take after m e
Now if
I remember correctly I gave my fath er con
si d e r a b l e both er and worry when I was a boy
and even during part of my college course I
wasn t malicious or classe d in any sense as
bad and I think that I uniformly tried to
mak e the most ou t of my opportunities and
behaved myself b ut I wasn t as qu iet conserva
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250
AP PENDI !
APPENDI!
the officers rescued fro m the M i ssi ssipp i
w he n C apta i n Me l a nc to n S m
i th set fire t o he r i n
186 2 rat her tha n al l ow he r capture by the C o nf e d
crates H e w a s the n a ss i g ne d t o duty o n t he
Jam
es R i ver u nd er C apta i n Mc C omb a nd d i s t i n
h
ngage m
ui she d hi m
sel
f
at
t
e
e
n
t
below
Do
al
d
s
e
n
g
v i ll e La J uly 18 6 3 H e w a s co m
mi ss i one d l i eu
te na nt A pr i l 19 186 1 I n 1 86 4 he w as or d ered
t o t he Ag a w a mof t he Nort h Atla nt i c blocka d i ng
squa d ron a nd took part i n the attack o n F ort
Fi s her a nd here he d i d v al i a nt serv i ce
H e w a s mad e L i eute nant C o mm
and er i n 1 8 6 5
a nd w a s o rd e r e d t o t he o l d K ea r sa rg e i n 1 8 6 6
T he fol l ow i ng y e a r he w a s tra ns f erred t o t he fla g
s hi p Col or a d o o f t he Euro pe a n squa d ro n H e w a s
d eta i l e d to t he Nava l Aca d e my i n 18 6 8 where he
re m
a i ne d u nt i l 18 7 0 w he n he w a s m
a d e co m
mand
e r o f t he N a r r a g a nse tt a nd ass i g ne d to spec i a l s e r
v i ce f or more t ha n t w o y ear s Thi s w a s f o ll owed
b y anothe r y e a r a s hore at a torpedo stati o n I n
1 8 7 3 he w a s p l a ce d i n c ha r g e of t he Pac i fic sur
nt a nd d i fficu l t
n
v ey s a v e ry i m
or
t
a
os
i
t
i
o
t o fi ll
p
p
H e w a s l i g ht ho use i ns pecto r 1 8 7 6 —7 7 a nd s e c
r e ta r y o f t he boa rd f r o m1 8 7 7 u nti l 1 88 2 w he n he
mand o f the Ju ni a ta t o the As i ati c
w a s se nt i n co m
squa d ro n He w a s pro m
ote d c a pta i n Se pte mb e r
mand o f t he D olp hin
1 8 8 4 a nd w a s p l ace d i n co m
“
n
a
l W hi te
o ne of
the f our vesse l s o f t he o r i g i
”
Squa d ro n
I n 1 8 8 5 he w a s t rans f e rr e d t o t he
P ensa col a a nd se nt t o E ur o pe i n c ha rg e o f the
squa dr o n H e r e ma i ne d there u nt i l 1 8 8 8 w he n
He w a s
he ha d a short pe r i o d o f s hore l eav e
o ne
of
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256
DE W E Y
AS
Ab
A
o ut
L I E U T E NA N T C O M M AN D E R
1865
—a ge d
tw e nty
e
i g ht
II
A D M I R AL
!B
i og ra p h i ca l
D E WE Y
GE ORGE
r c t from
e xt a
Wh o s Who
’
in
Am i c
er
a ”
)
DE W E Y GE O R G E A d m
i ra l U S N ;b Mo nt
pel i er V t D e c 2 6 1 8 37 ;a ppt d t o Nava l Aca d
Se pt 2 3 1 8 5 4 ;gra d 18 5 8 as mi d s hi pm
an ;a t
t a c he d t o steam f r i g ate Wa ba sh Me d i terra nean
sq ua d ro n u nt i l outbreak o f w a r the n t o steam
s l o o p M i ssi ssipp i o f W est Gu l f squ a d ro n ;c o m
mi ss i o ne d Lt Apri l 1 9 1 8 6 1 ;w a s i n Fa r ra gu t s
squadro n whi ch f orce d t he p assage of Fort St
P hi l i p a nd Fo r t Jacks o n Apr i l 1 86 2 a nd par ti c i
pate d i n a ttack o n Fo r t S t P hi l i p a nd t he f o ll ow
i ng fights w i th g unboats a nd i r o ncl a d s w hic h gav e
Fa rragut p o sses s i o n o f Ne w Orl eans I n t he s m
oke
o f t he b a tt l e t he M i ssi ssip p i l ost he r b e ar i ngs a nd
r a n as hore u nd er t he
u
n
s
o f t he l a nd batter i es
g
a n d t he o fficers a nd m
e n took t o t he boats a f te r
sett i ng the v esse l o n fire Wa s a f t e r ward s o n s e v
e ra l vesse l s i n N o r th At l ant i c b l ocka d i ng squa d r on
a nd l ater o n v a r i o u s d u t i e s a nd at d iff e r e nt sta t i o n s
be i ng p r o m
ote d co m
mand e r Apr i l 18 7 2 ;c a p t
I n Ja n
Se pt 1 8 8 4 ;co mm
o d ore Fe b
9 1 8 96
1 8 98 w a s a pp o i nte d t o c o m
ma nd o f As i a ti c squa d
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25 8
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,
C O MM O D O R E G EO R G E
DE WE Y
III
DR
! E xtra
JU L I U S
.
ct f m n
ro
s
a
Y E MA NS
i
ob t ua ry
D E WE Y
b y D r Su
.
mn
er
Put na
m)
J U L I U S YE M A NS D E W E Y w a s born i n Be rl i n Ver
mont A ug 2 2 1801 ;his f ather S i me on Dewey
be i ng a m
o ng t he first t o set tl e i n t ha t to w n co mi ng
f r o mHa no v er N H nearl y 100 years a g o Ju l i us
w a s o ne o f a f a m
i ly o f e i g ht c hi ld r e n a nd v e r y ac t i v e
w he n a la d not o nl y wo r k i ng u p o n t he f a r mb u t tra v
e ll i ng abo ut the cou ntry both o n f o o t a nd o n horse
back as a h ass i stant d r o ver B u t i n hi s ni ne t ee nth
me r o ne ha l f d ay s work w hi c h co ns i ste d i n
su m
l oa d i ng a nd pi tchi ng se v e ntee n l oa d s o f ha y d eter
mine d his cho i ce o f a pro f ess i on f ro mt he f act
t hat f o r a l o ng t i m
e a f terwar d he w a s s i ck w i th
n
a nd i nfla m
m
n
n
h
a
i
at
i
o
i
t
e he at i c re i o n f ro m
p
p
g
w hi ch howe v er he fi na ll y recov e re d a nd o u tl i ve d
a ll t he m
em
bers o f hi s father s fa m
i l y H av i ng s e
qu i re d a g oo d pre l i mi nary e d uca t i o n at the W ash
mar Schoo l he st u d i e d me d i
i ng t on C ou nty Gra m
c i ne w i t h D r Lam
b a ce l eb r a te d prac t i t i o ner i n
t hose d ay s res i d e nt a t Mo ntpe l i er a nd i n 1 8 2 3 re
c e i ve d hi s d eg r ee f r o mt he m
e d ica l d epartm
e nt o f
o nt U ni vers i ty a nd co m
the Ver m
me nce d pract i ce
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260
APPEN DI!
at Mo ntpe l i e r
t e l li g e nc e ,
I n co nseque nce o f hi s act i v i ty , i h
a nd s k i ll , he soo n a cqu i re d a l arge
r
o
p
.
bus i ness a nd June 9 1 8 2 5 marr i e d Mi ss
Mary Perr i n d au g ht er of Zachari ah Pe rr i n o f B e r
l in
T he f ru i t o f t hi s u ni o n w a s e i g htee n y ea r s of
happy d o m
est i c l if e a nd f our c hi l d ren : C ha rl es a nd
E d war d Dewey o f Mo ntpe l i er G eo rg e Dewe y o f
t he U S N avy a nd Mrs D r G eo r ge P G r ee l e y o f
N as hua N H
F urt herm
o r e t hese y e a r s w e r e
crow ne d w i th pro f ess i o na l a nd fi na nc i a l succ e ss
o t he r w a s
b ut a l l to o soo n the f a i t hf u l w if e a nd m
ca ll e d f r o mhe r eart hly ho m
e a nd t he c i r c l e t hus
a
i
ne d se v ere d abou t t w o ve a rs
a i nf u lly b r oke n re m
p
w he n i t b e cam
e resto r e d by a seco nd ma rri a ge
w i t h Mrs S usa n E Tarbox o f Rand o l p h a n e s
t i ma b l e l ady w ho broug ht w i t h he r a n exce ll e nt
d a ug hte r no w t he w i f e o f his o ld est so n w hi c h
arra ng e me nt p r o ve d v e ry happy i n a ll resp e c t s
T houg h b r oug ht u p i n a f a mi l y t he he a d s o f
w hi c h were r i g i d ly Pur i ta n Dr Dewe y c hose t he
Protes ta nt E pi scop a l C hurch i n w hi c h he w a s
lo ng a f a i t hf u l o fli c e beare r a l i bera l su p port e r
I n po l i t i cs he w a s a r
a nd a n i nfl ue nt i a l a d v i ser
d e nt a nd i nte l l i g e nt a nd t o hi m per ha ps qu i t e a s
much as a ny o t her one i s t o be ascr i be d t he d e fe a t
er i n 1 8 35 a nd t he s u bs e q ue nt
o f G o v e r nor Pa l m
success o f t he W hi g a nd Re pu b l i ca n p a rt i e s i n
Ve r mo nt ;ye t he w a s ne v er a n otfic e s e e ke r b ut
acte d s i mply u po n hi s co nv i c t i o ns o f w hat w a s bes t
f o r t he S ta te a nd t he na t i o n
I n 1 8 5 0 Dr Dewey w i th o t hers org ani z e d t he
Nat i o na l L if e I nsura nce C o m
pa ny o f Mo ntpel i er
f e ssi o na l
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26 1
APPENDI!
soo n b e came i ts p r es i d e nt a nd chi e f m
anag er
a nd s o re m
a i ne d u nt i l his d e a t h
I n 1 8 5 4 be i ng d epr i ve d b y d eat h o f a seco nd
w if e a t fif t t hree y ears o f a e a
y
g
ppare ntly i n t he
e o f l i f e a nd b y na t u r e s t ro ng ly i nc l i ne d t o
pr i m
make the bes t o f l if e a nd i t s b le ssmg s espec i al ly
f o rt s of ho me he f ort
t he e nd e a r m
e nt s a nd co m
u na t e l
a r r i e d Mrs S u sa n E G L i ll e y o f Wo r c e s
ym
a n w ho a l so
t e r Ma s s a be a ut if u l a nd exce ll e nt wo m
brou g ht w i th he r a beaut ifu l d a ug hte r no w the w if e
o f hi s s e co n d s o n a nd f o r t he l a st twe nty y ears
ma d e his ho me a p a r a d i s e u nt i l hi s fina l d ep a r tu r e
s hr ou d e d i t i n mo u r ni ng
D uri ng hi s l as t yea r s hi s re l a t i o ns as husba nd
pare nt a nd grand pa r e nt we r e e mi ne nt ly ha ppy I
ar k t hat f e w me n ha d bee n so
ha v e hea rd hi mr e m
s e l f i n the l oss o f exce ll e nt
u nf ortu nate as hi m
w i ves a nd that no ma n cou l d ha v e b e e n mo r e
f o r tu nat e i n re pl ac i ng t he m H e w a s v e ry st r ong
e a nd i ts e nd e a r me nt s — hi s
ly a ttache d t o ho m
w if e c hi l d re n a nd g ra nd c hi l d re n a nd t he y a l way s
rece i v e d f ro mhi mt he k i nd est atte nt i o n ca re a nd
p r o vi s i o n ;a nd i n r etu r n he rece i ve d f r omt he m
a nd car r i e d w i t h hi m a t hi s d e p a r ture the i r u t
mo st l o ve co nfi d ence a nd respec t
Dr Dewey w a s emi ne ntly a str o ng se l f ma d e
ma n—a pe r son w ho thoug ht c a r e fu l ly i nt e l l i g e nt
ly a nd broa d ly ;co nseque nt ly e v e ry e nte r p r i se t o
w hi ch he put hi s ha nd s p r o v e d a succ e ss E d uca
t i o n t he chur ch a l l f o r m
s o f pub l i c we l f a r e
t own Sta t e a nd nat i o nal a s the f o u nd a t i o n a nd
d e f e nce o f ho me soc i a l or d e r p r o g ress a nd we a lt h
a nd
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26 2
,
IV
DEWE Y
G E NE
ppl ie d by Mr W
!Su
.
.
De w e y
' '
1
D EW E Y l a nd e d
1 T HOM A S
AL O G Y
,
of
Mon pe l i e )
t
r
B osto n M a s sa c h use tts
1633;m a r r i e d M a r c h 2 2 16 38 M rs F r a nc e s C l a r k e
2 Jos i a h D e w e y b a p ti z e d O c t o be r 10 1641 ;m a rr i e d
N o v e m b e r 6 1662 H e p z i b a h L y m a n
3 Jo s i a h D e w e y J r b o r n D e c e m
b e r 24 16 6 6 ;ma r
r i e d Ja nu a ry 15 1691 M e h i t a b l e M i l l e r
4 W i l l i a m D e w e y b or n J a nu a ry 1692 ; m a rr i e d
Ju l y 2 17 13 M e rc y Sa x t on B a il e y
5 Si m e o n D ew e y b or n Ma y 1 17 18 m a rr i e d M a rc h
2 9 17 39 A nna P h e l p s
6 W i lli a m D e w e y 2d b orn J a nu a r y 11 17 45 ;m
ar
r i e d 17 6 8 R e b e c c a C a rr i e r
e o n D e w e y b o r n A u g u s t 2 0 1770;
7 C a p ta i n S i m
ma r ri e d F e b r u a ry 27 17 94 P r u d e nce Ye ma ns
a ne D e w e y
bo r n A u g u s t 22 1801 ;
8 J u l i u s Ye m
m a rr i e d fi r s t June 9 1825 Ma r y P e rr i n ;s e c o nd Au
g u s t 3 1845 S u s a n Ed s on T a r b o x ;t h i rd Ma rc h 9
185 5 S u s a n E G L i l l e y
C h i l d r e n o nl y b y fi r s t w i f e
9 G e o r g e D e w e y t h e p r e s e nt A d m i r a l b o r n D e c e m
b e r 2 6 1837 w ho m a rr i e d S u s i e P G ood w i n d a u g h t er
o f e x G o v I c h a b o d G o od w i n o f N e w Ha m p sh i r e a nd
h a d o ne c h il d G e o rg e G o od w i n D ewe y b or n D e c e m
.
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at
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b e r 2 3 1872
! T h e A d i ra l ha s t w o b r o t h e rs C h a r l es a nd
a nd o ne s i s t e r Mrs M a ry D e we y G r e e l e y )
2 64
,
m
.
,
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.
E d w a rd
,
V
RE P
O RT
OF
B A TT L E
! Fr o m
BY
Offi
i
c al
AD M I R A L M O N T O JO
rs
Rec o d
ON th e 2 5 th o f A pr i l , 18 98 , a t 1 1 P M , I l e f t
th e B a y o f Ma ni l a f o r Sub i g , w i th a s q u a d r o n c o
p o s e d o f th e cru i sers R ei na Cr i sti na , D on Ju a n
de A u str i a , I sl a d e Cu ba , I sl a d e M zon, d esp a tch
.
.
m
b oa t M a r q u es d el D u ero a nd th e w o o d e n cru i ser
Ca sti ll a
T h i s l a st c o u ld m ere l y be c o ns i d ere d a s
a nce u v r i n
a fl o a t i ng b a ttery i nc a p a b l e o f m
g on a c
c o u nt o f th e b a d c o nd i t i o n o f h er h u l l T he f o l
l o w i ng m o r ni ng be i ng a t Sub ig I ha d a c o nf er
e nce w i th C a pta i n d e l Rio w ho th o ugh h e d i d not
re l i e v e my a nx i ety resp e ct i ng t he c o mp l et i o n of
th e d e f e ns iv e w o r k s a ssur e d me th a t they w o u ld
s o o n he fi ni sh e d
I n the me a n wh i l e th e cru i ser Ca stil l a e v e n o n
th i s sh o rt cru i se w a s m a k i ng much w a ter thr o ugh
th e b e a r i ngs o f th e pr o pe ll er a nd the o pe ni ng
a ster n
T hey w o r k e d d a y a nd ni ght to st o p th ese
l e a k s w i th cem e nt fi na ll y m a k i ng th e v esse l ne a r l y
w a ter t i ght b ut a bs o l ute l y i mp o ss i b l e t o use h er
e ng i ne s
O n th e m o r ni ng o f th e 2 7th I s a i l e d w i th th e
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2 65
A
P PE N D
I!
v esse l s t o c o v er the e ntra nce t o th e p ort of Subi g
T h e Ca s ti l l a w a s ta k e n t o the no rthe a st p o i nt o f
the i s l a nd o f G ra nd e t o d e f e nd th e wester n e u
tr a nce s i nce th e e a ster n e ntra nce ha d a l r e a d y
bee n c l ose d Wi th th e hu ll s o f the Sa n Qu i nti n
a nd t w o o l d m erch a nt v esse l s w h i ch
were su nk
there
W i t h m uch d i sgust I f o u nd th e gu ns w h i ch
sh o u ld h a v e bee n m o u nt e d o n th a t i s l a nd were d e
l a ye d a m onth a nd a h a l f T h i s surpr i se d me a s
the sh ore b a tter i es w h i ch th e na v y ha d i nst a ll e d
w
i
th
v
ery
l
i
tt
l
e
d
if
fi
cu
l
ty
a t the e ntr a n ce o f the
!
)
B a y o f Ma ni l a u nd er the i nte l l i ge nt d i rect i o n o f
C o l one l o f N a v a l Art i l l ery S e no r G a rces a nd L i eu
te na nt B e ne a ve nte w ere re a d y t o fi g ht t we uty f o ur
d a ys a f ter th e c o mme nce m
e nt o f the w o r k I w a s
a l s o no l ess d i sguste d th a t th ey c o nfi d e d i n th e
e ffi c a cy o f th e f e w t o rpe d oes wh i ch they ha d f o u nd
f e a s i b l e t o put there
T he e ntr a nce w a s no t d e f e nd e d by t orpe d o es
no r by th e b a tter i es o f th e i s l a n d so th a t th e
s q u a d r o n w o u ld h a v e ha d t o b e a r th e a tta c k o f th e
A mer i c a ns w i th i ts o w n res o urces i n f o rty m etres
w a ter a nd w i th l i tt l e secur i t y O ur v e sse l s
of
c o u l d not o nl y be d estr oye d but they c o u l d no t
s a v e the i r crews
I st i l l h e ld a h o pe th a t th e A mer i c a ns w o u l d n o t
o Sub i
a nd s o g i v e u s t i me f o r m o re prep a r a
o
t
g
g
t i o n b ut the f o ll o w i ng d a y I rec e i v e d f r o mth e
S p a ni sh C o nsu l a t Ho ng K o ng a te l e gr a m w h i ch
s a i d : “ E nemy s s q u a d r o n s a i l e d a t 2 R M f r o m
Mi rs B a y a nd a cc o r d i ng t o r e l i a b l e a cc o u nts i t
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26 6
A
P PEND
I
X
s a i l e d f or Sub ig t o d estr o y o ur s q u a d r on a nd the n
”
w i l l g o t o Ma ni l a
T h i s te l egra m d em o nstr a t e d th a t th e e nemy
k ne w wh ere th ey c o u l d find m y s q u a d r o n a nd
t h a t the p o rt o f Sub i g ha d no d e f e nc e s
T he s a m e d a y t h e 2 8 t h o f A pr i l I c o nv e ne d a
c o u nc i l o f c a p t a i ns a nd a ll w i t h the e x cept i o n o f
D e l Ri o ch i e f o f th e ne w a rse na l th o ught th a t
th e s i tu a t i on w as i nsupp o rta b l e a nd t h a t w e sh o u l d
o t o th e B a
o f Ma ni l a i n o r d er t o a ccept th ere
g
y
th e b a tt l e u nd er l ess u nf a v o r a b l e c ond i t i o ns
I r e f us e d t o h a v e o u r sh i ps ne a r th e c i ty o f
Ma ni l a b e c a use f a r f r o m d e f e nd i ng i t th i s w o u l d
pro v o k e t he e ne m y t o b o mb a r d th e Pl a z a w h i ch
d o ub t l ess w o u l d h a v e bee n d em o l i she d o n a cc o u nt
o f i ts f e w d e f e nces
I t w a s u na ni m o us l y d ec i d e d th a t we sh o u ld t a k e
p o s i t i o n i n th e B a y o f C a na c a o i n th e l e a st w a ter
p o ss i b l e i n o r d er t o c o mb i ne o ur fi re w i th t ha t o f
the b a tteri es of P o i nt S a ng l ey a nd U l l oa
I i m me d i a te l y o r d ere d D e l R i o t o c o nce ntra te
h i s f o rces i n the m o st str a teg i c p o i nt o f th e a r
se na l t a ki ng e v ery d i sp o s i t i on t o b ur n the c o a l
a nd st o res b e f o r e a l l o w i ng th em t o f a l l i nt o th e
p o wer o f th e e nemy I se nt th e D on Ju a n d e
A u s tr i a t o Ma ni l a t o get a l a rge n umber o f l i ght
ers fil l e d w i th s a nd t o d e f e nd th e w a ter l i ne o f
th e Ca sti l l a ! wh i ch c ou ld not m o v e ) a ga i nst th e
e nemy s sh e ll s a nd t o rpe d o es A t 10 A M o n th e
2 9th I l e f t Sub ig w i th th e v e sse l s o f my s q u a d r on
t o w i ng th e Ca s ti ll a by th e tra nsp o rt M a ni l a
I n th e a f ter no o n o f th e s a m e d a y w e a nch ore d
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2 67
A
PPEND
I
X
the gu l f of C a na c a o i n e i gh t metres of w a te r
On the f o l l o w i ng m o r ni ng w e a nch o re d i n l i n e o f
b a tt l e T he Cr i sti na Ca s ti l l a D on Ju a n d e A u str i a
D o n A ntoni o d e U l l oa L u z on Cu ba a nd th e M a r
q u es d el D u er o wh i l e th e tr a nsp ort Ma ni l a w a s
se nt t o th e Roa d s of B a c o o r wh ere th e Ve l a sco a nd
L ez o w ere u nd erg o i ng rep a i rs
At 7 R M I rece i v e d a te l egra m f r o m Sub ig a n
no u nc i ng th a t th e e nemy s s q u a d r o n ha d e ntere d
th e p o rt a t 3 rec o nno i tri ng d o ubt l ess se e k i ng o ur
sh i ps a nd f r o m th ere they s a i l e d w i th c o urse f or
Ma ni l a
T h e m a i l ste a mer I sl a d e Mi nd a na o a rr i v e d i n
th e ba y I a d vi se d h er c a pta i n to s a v e h i s v esse l
by g o i ng t o S i ng a p o re a s the e n emy c o u l d no t get
i nto th e e ntra nce pr ob a b l y b e f o re m i d ni ght A s
h e w a s no t a uth o r i z e d h e d i d not d o so a nd th e n
I t o l d h i m h e sh o u l d a nch o r i n sh a l l o w w a ter a s
ne a r a s p o ss i b l e t o B a c o o r
A t m i d ni ght g un fi re w as h e a r d o ff C o rreg i d o r
a nd a t t w o i n th e m o r ni ng o f the l s t o f Ma
y I
rece iv e d te l egr a ph i c a d vi ces th a t th e Am er i c a n v es
se l s w ere thr o w i ng th e i r se a rch l i ghts a t the b a t
t e ri e s a t the e ntr a n ce w i th w h i ch they ha d e x
ch a nge d se v er a l sh ots I no t i fi e d th e c o mm a nd i ng
ge ner a l o f th e a rse na l S e no r S o st o n a nd th e G o v
e r no r G e ner a l o f th e Pl a z a
C a pt a i n S e nor G a rc i a
P a na th a t th ey sh o u ld prep a re th e m se l v es I d i
r e c t e d a l l th e a rt i ll ery t o b e l o a d e d a nd a l l th e
s a i l o rs a nd s o ld i ers t o g o t o the i r st a t i ons f or b a t
T h i s i s a l l th a t
tl e s o o n t o rece iv e the e nemy
o ccurre d f r o m th e t i me th a t I s a i l e d t o Sub i g u nt i l
in
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-
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2 68
P PE ND
A
I
X
the e ntra nce o f the A mer i c a n s q u a d r on i n the B a y
o f Ma ni l a
T h e s q u a d r o n b e i ng d i sp o se d f or a ct i o n fi res
spre a d a nd e v eryth i ng i n pr o per p l a ce w e a w a i te d
the e nemy s a rr iv a l A l l th e v ess e l s h a vi ng bee n
p a i nte d a d a r k gra y c o l o r a nd t a k e n d o w n th e i r
m a sts a nd y a r d s a nd b o a ts t o a v o rd th e e fi e c ts of
pr o j ect i l es a nd sp l i nters ha d th e i r a nch o rs bu o ye d
a nd c a b l es re a d y t o s l i p i nst a nt l y
At 4 A M I
m a d e s i g na l s t o prep a re f o r a ct i o n a nd a t
th e A u stri a s i g na l l e d th e e nemy s s q u a d r o n a f e w
m i nute s a f ter w h i ch th ey w ere rec og ni z e d w i th
s o me c o nf us i o n i n a c o l um n p a r a ll e l w i t h o urs a nd
a b o ut s i x th o u s a nd m etres d i sta nt ;th e fla g sh i p
Ol y m
or e E u
p i a a h e a d f o l l o w e d by th e B a l ti m
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-
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l eig h, B os ton , Conc or d ,
He l ena P e tr el
,
,
M c Cu l
a nd
th e t w o tra nsp o rts Zafir o a nd N a nsha n
T he f orce o f t h ese v esse l s e x cept i ng tr a nsp o r ts
!
o
n
th a t w ere no n c o mb a ta nt a m o u nt e d t o
t s
h o rse p o wer 1 6 3 gu ns ! m a ny o f w h i ch
w e re r a p i d fire ) 1 7 5 0 me n i n th e i r crews a nd a n
a v er a ge v e l o c i ty o f
Th e
a b o ut se v e ntee n m i l es
p o wer o f ou r o nl y fi v e e ff ect iv e sh i ps f or b a tt l e
w a s represe nte d by
t o ns
h orse
l oc li ,
a nd
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-
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T h e s e fi g ur e s o f M ont oj o a r e not
rre c tly o r fa irly s t a te d
He m
a y no t h a v e i nt e nd e d to e
b u t a s t h e y s ta nd t he c on
c l u sions a e no t a cc u ra te
He i nc l ude s the Helena w h i c h
w a s not p re s e nt a nd t he t w o tr a nsp rt s a nd Mc Culloch
w h i c h did n fig h ti ng a s i de from l e a vi ng o ut i n h i s o w n
li s t a nd e s ti m
e ri ca n offi ce r s
a te so m
e v e ss e l s w h i c h t he Am
sa w p a rti c i p a t e
Hi s d e s c ri p ti on o f t he Sa ngl e y Po i nt b a tte ry
a l s o f a il s t o
gi v e a j u s t i d ea o f its powe r
rr ,
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2 69
,
A
PPEND
I
X
p o wer 7 6 gu ns ! v ery sh o rt o f r a p i d fir e ) 18 7 5
cre w a nd a m a x i mu m sp e e d o f twe l v e m i l es
At fi v e o c l o c k th e b a tter i es o n P o i nt S a ng l ey
T h e fi rst t w o sh o ts f e l l sh o rt a nd t o
o pe ne d fi re
th e l e f t of th e l e a d i ng v ess e l T hese sh o ts w ere
no t a nswere d by th e e nemy wh o se pr i nc i p a l o b j ect
w a s t he s q u a d r o n
T h i s b a ttery ha d o nl y t w o
Or d i ne z gu ns of fi f tee n ce nt i metres m o u nte d a nd
but o ne o f these c o u ld fi re i n th e d i rect i on of the
Opp o s i ng fl eet I n a f ew m i nutes o ne o f th e ba t
I made
t e r i e s o f Ma ni l a o pe ne d fi re a nd a t
s i g na l th a t o u r s q u a d r o n o pe n fi re T he e ne m
v
T h e b a tt l e bec a m e g e n
a nswere d i mm e d i a t e l y
er a l
W e s l i ppe d the spr i ngs a nd c a b l es a nd
sta rte d a he a d w i th th e e ng i nes so a s no t t o be
i nv o l v e d by th e e nemy
T he A mer i c a ns fi re d m o st ra p i dl y T here c a m e
up o n u s numb e r l ess pr oj ect i l es a s th e three cru i sers
a t th e h e a d o f t he l i ne d e v o te d th emse l v es a l m o st
e nt i re l y t o fi ght th e Cr i sti na my fla g sh i p A
sh o rt t i m e a f ter the a ct i on c o mme nce d o ne she ll
e x p l o d e d i n th e f o rec a st l e a nd put o u t o f a ct i on
fir e c a nno n
a l l th o se w ho ser v e d th e f o ur r a p i d
m a k i ng sp l i nters o f the f o rw a r d m a st w h i ch
w o u nd e d th e h e l msm a n o n th e br i d ge w he n L i eu
te na nt Jo s é N u ne z t o o k th e w hee l w i th a c o o l ness
w o rthy o f th e gre a test c o mm e nd a t i on steer i ng
u nt i l the e nd of th e fi ght I n the m e a nwh i l e a n
sett i ng fi re t o
o th er sh e ll e x p l o d e d i n th e o r l o p
the crew s b a gs w h i ch they w ere f o rtu na te l y a b l e
t o c o ntr o l
T he e nemy sh o rte ne d th e d i s t a nce betw ee n us
-
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2 70
PPE ND
A
I
X
rect if y i ng h i s a i m c o v ere d us w i th a r a i n o f
r a p i d fire pr oj ect i l es A t
o ne sh e l l d estr o ye d
c o mp l ete l y the steer i ng ge a r I o r d ere d t o s t eer
by h a n d w h i l e th e ru dd er w a s out o f a ct i o n I n
th e m e a n wh i l e a noth er sh e l l e x p l o d e d o n th e p o o p
a ct i o n ni ne m
a nd put o u t o f
en
A no th er d e
str oye d th e m i zz e n m a st h e a d br i ng i ng d o w n th e
fla g a nd my e ns i g n w h i ch w ere rep l a ce d i m
me d i
a te l y
A f resh sh e ll e x p l o d e d i n the o fli c e r s c a b i n
c o v er i ng th e h o sp i ta l w i th b l o o d a nd d estr oy i ng
th e w o u nd e d w ho w ere be i ng tre a te d there A n
r o o m a ster n
o th e r e x p l o d e d i n th e a mm u n i t i o n
fil l i ng th e q u a rters w i th sm o k e a nd pre v e nt i ng th e
w o r ki ng o f th e h a nd steer i ng ge a r A s i t w a s i m
p o ss i b l e t o c o ntr o l th e fi re I ha d t o fl oo d th e ma g
a z i ne w he n th e c a rtr i d ges w ere beg i nni ng t o e x
a nd ,
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p
A m i d sh i ps
.
se v era l sh e ll s o f sm a ll c a l i br e w e nt
thr o ugh th e s m o k e st a c k a nd o ne o f th e l a rge o ne s
pe netr a t e d th e fire r o o m putt i ng o ut o f a c t i o n o ne
ma st e r gu nne r a nd t we l v e me n s e r vi ng th e gu ns
A noth er re nd ere d u s e l e ss t he st a rb o a r d b o w g u n
W h i l e th e fi re a ster n i ncre a s e d fi re w a s s t a r t e d
f o rw a r d by a no t h e r sh e ll wh i ch w e nt thr o ugh th e
hu l l a nd e x p l o d e d o n th e d e c k
T h e br oa d s i d e gu ns b e i ng u nd a m a ge d c o nt i n
u e d fi r i ng u nt i l th e r e w ere o nl y o ne g u nne r a nd o ne
se a m a n re m a i ni ng u nh ur t f or fi r i ng t h e m a s t h e
gu ns cre ws ha d b e e n f re q u e n t l y c a l l e d u p o n t o
su bs t i tute th o s e ch a rg e d w i th s t e er i ng a ll o f w lmm
w ere o ut o f a ct i o n
T h e sh i p be i ng b e y o nd c o ntr o l th e h u ll sm o k e
-
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27 1
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PPEND
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X
p i pe a nd m a st r i ddl e d w i th sh o t th e c onf us i o n
h a l f th e
o cc a s i o ne d by th e cr i es o f th e w o u nd e d
crew o ut o f a ct i o n a m ong w h o mw ere se v e n ofli
cers I g a v e th e o r d er t o s i nk a nd a b a nd o n th e
sh i p b e f o re th e m a g a z i ne sh o u ld e x p l o d e m a k i ng
s i g na l a t th e s a m e t i m e t o th e I sla d e Cu ba a nd
I sl a d e L u z on t o a ss i st i n s a vi ng th e rest o f th e
cre w w h i ch th ey d i d a i d e d by o th ers f r o m th e
I a b a nd o ne d
M a r q u es d el D u er o a nd th e a rse na l
th e R ei na Cr i sti na d i r e ct i ng be f oreh a nd t o se cure
h er fla g a nd a cc o mp a ni e d by my st a ff a nd w i th
gre a t s o rr o w I h o i ste d my fla g o n th e cru i ser I sl a
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
m a ny me n ha d b ee n s a v e d f r o m th e nu
f o rtu na te v esse l o ne sh e l l d e str o ye d h er h er oi c
c o mm a nd er D o n L u i s d e C a d a r so w ho w a s d i rect
T he D on A n toni o de U ll oa w h i ch
i ng th e rescue
a l s o d e f e nd e d h erse l f fi rm l y u s i ng th e o nl y t w o gu ns
w h i ch w ere a v a i l a b l e w a s su nk by a sh e l l wh i ch eu
t e r e d a t the w a ter l i ne putt i ng o ut o f a ct i on h er
c o mm a nd er a nd h a l f o f h er rem a i ni ng cre w
T he Ca sti ll a w h i ch f o ugh t h er o i c a l l y re m a i ne d
w i th h er a rt i l l ery use l e ss e x cept o ne ster n g un
w i th w h i ch th ey f o ugh t sp i r i te dl y w a s r i ddl e d
w i th sh o t a nd set o n fi re by th e e nemy s she ll s
the n su nk a nd w a s a b a nd o ne d by h er cre w i n g oo d
o r d er wh i ch w a s d i recte d by h er c o mm a nd er D o n
T he c a su a l t i es o n th i s sh i p w ere
A l onz o e l G a r d o
2 3 ki l l e d a nd 80 w o u nd e d
T he D on Ju a n de A u str ia v ery mu ch d a m
a ge d a nd o n fi re w e nt t o the a id o f th e Ca s ti l l a
T h e I sl a ol e L u z on ha d three gu ns d i sm o u nte d
A f ter
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272
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PPEND
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X
gu nners ;th e i na pt i tu d e o f s o m e o f the pr o vi s i ona l
m a ch i ni sts the sc a rc i ty o f r a p i d fire c a nnon the
str o ng crews o f the e nemy a nd the u npr otecte d
ch a r a cter o f th e gre a ter p a rt o f o ur v esse l s a ll
c ontr i b ute d to m a k e m o re d ec i d e d th e sa cr i fi ce
wh i ch w e m a d e f or o u r c o u ntry a nd t o pre v e nt the
p o ss i b i l i ty o f th e h o rr o rs of a b o mb a r d me nt o f th e
c i ty o f Ma ni l a w i th the c o nvi ct i on th a t W i th th e
sc a rc i ty o f our f orce a g a i nst th e super i o r e nemy
w e w ere g o i ng t o certa i n d e a th a nd c o u l d e x pect
a l o ss o f a ll o ur sh i ps
O ur c a su a l t i es i nc l u d i ng th o se o f th e a rse na l
a m o u nte d t o 38 1 m
e n ki ll e d a nd w o u nd e d
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I ND E!
m wit h
mi r l
Ad
A c oun s r
cs
a
D e w e , M , 1- 8
A g a w a , 2 36
A g u na do , 30 37, 98, 12 5
A la ba a , 2 36
A e n,
a n, 2 8
A u e e n , 191
Anc e o , 2 24 2 2 9
A nd e on, G e ne a T M , 14 6
A nd e , M on e u , 1 7 5
A ng o A e c a n a a nc e , 70
A nn a o , 10, 2 34 , 2 36
w
A
e a on
14 3
,
,
15 1
o n, 24 0
A a c
a
As oc a e d P e , 14 1
A e e , 12 9
A u gu
ne , G e ne a , 8 6 , 96
—
A u o no
3
9
41
,
y
y
m
68
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l
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m
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E th
ll
B l a c k,
ms m t s
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ri s
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ll
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t
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m
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s i ti St ti
s i t
r ss
tl
s ti
r l
t my
B a ke a n, 128
B oa d , He a d o f , 2 38, 2 39
B oe r ing e r , 12 1
B oston, 6 5 , 12 7 , 12 9
a
B o oo d of A d
De e ,
2 11, 2 30 2 34
B a d a w , 1 29
o , 8 3, 84
B ea k a
K , 100
B c e , L e u e na n
B g g , 128
B o d c k , 12 9
B r ooklyn, 2 36
B o ok , 12 1
B o w ne , 129
L e u e na n , 66 , 116 ,
B u
,
12 8, 14 5 , 150, 15 5 , 16 9,
17 7, 193
B a n, Mn , 48
de L ,
B u na ,
B u e , 128
yh
-
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58,
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r l
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si r
l mri
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s t rs
rs
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G ene r a l Wil sone
ry
r p Wil r
tl r
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B a l ti or e, 6 2 , 12 9, 140
B a ng kok , 5 , 6
B a rr e tt, C h a rl e s 2 18
B a ss , oh n F , 12 1, 14 1, 195
B a ttl e of Ma y 1st, 5 9, 7 1,
.
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,
J
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.
80
.
C A B L E c u tti ng , 86
Ca l d w e ll , E ns ug n,
137, 1 5 0, 1 7 7
Ca l k i ns , 12 8, 1 5 8
Ca ll, Sa n F r a nc is co, 12 1, 14 1
Ca ll a o , 37 , 94 122 , 12 9, 15 9
Ca a r a , Po ss i b l e b a ttl e w it h ,
130 14 2
.
.
B e ll o w s , 12 8
B e rli n, V e r ont, 2 2 8
B i dd l e , 12 8
B i og r a ph y , 4
B i sh o p , 2 35
m
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m
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-
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.
IND E
X
Ca p ito l b u il d i ng , I nfl ue nc e of , D e w e y , E d a r d , b r o t h e r of
2 13
A d ira l , 2 17 , 2 2 4 , 2 2 9
Ca pps , 1 29
D e e y , G eo r g e G ood w i n, 2 36 ,
Ca p t a i n i n 1884 , 2 38
24 3 25 1
C a r p e nte r , 12 8
D e e y , G r e e l e y, M a ry , s i s t e r
i r a l , 2 2 4 , 2 32
Ca s e , Ca p ta i n, 17 9
of t he A d
C a vit é , 30, 32 , 37 , 6 1
D e w e y , L i e u te na nt , 2 2 4
Ca vit é Na vy - y a r d , P i de i n, D e w e y , Si eon 2 2 7
97
D e w e y, T h o a s , t he s e ttl e r ,
Ce ns o r sh i p , 116 12 8
22 7
C h a r a c te r, Po i nt s o f , 16 5
D e w e y, Willi a , 2 2 7
C h a r a c te ri s ti c s , 199 2 07
T , 2 29
D e w e y, Willi a
C h a rl e a g ne , 2 2 7
D e w e y s i n w a r , 2 2 7 , 2 29
D i e de ri c hs , A d ir a l V o n, 7 0,
Cha r les ton 12 9, 1 5 4
Ch i c h e s te r , C a p ta i n, 2 5 , 2 6 ,
130, D i p l o a c y , 8
7 0, 101,
D od d ri dg e , 12 8
Ch ri s ti a n, D e w e y a , 186
D olp hi n, 2 38
D unn, 12 8, 15 8
Chr onic l e, 12 1, 134
Cog h l a n, Ca p ta i n, 6 6 , 12 8, B utton, 1 2 8
132
D y e r, Ca p ta i n, 6 6 , 12 8, 132
Color a d o, 2 36
Col voc or e sse s, L i e u t e na n t Eo ns ns , G E OR G E E , 2 31
a nd e r , 12 9
Co
Eg a n, M J , 12 1, 134, 14 0
E lli c o tt, 128
Conc or d, 36 , 6 5 , 106 , 129
C o ne , 12 8
E ntw i s tl e , 12 8, 15 8
“
Co re sp o nd e nts ,” Sto ry o f , E nvi ron e nt, I nflue nc e o f ,
w
m
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w
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-
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w
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m
m
m
m
m
m
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m
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mm
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m
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-
124
2 11
.
.
E v e r h a rt
Co rre g i d o r, 6 1
Co w a n, 12 1
Cre e l a n, a e s , 121
C r o d e r , C o l one l , 4 0
m Jm
12 8
i ne r , Sa n Fra nc isco, 80,
E ra m
.
.
w
.
,
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ll
D AR T MOU T H Co e g e , 22 8
D a d o n, 12 9
Da
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D e L a ny, 12 8
D e w e , A M , B ook o f , 8 0, 2 30
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L ong , e c e a , 12 3
L ou d, Co o ne , 6 2
L u ne ta , 142
Na vy , 82, 8 3
Na vy D e p a rt e nt , 6 5 , 84
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P e la yo , 131, 16 0
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S h a ng h a i 6 7
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Wil d a n, d w i n , 12 1
Will i a , C o n u l , 6 2, 15 1
Willi a , L i e u te na nt, 12 8
Wi nde r, L i e u te na nt , 12 9
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T HE
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B Y R U F U S FA I R C HI L D ZOG B A U M
H AN D S
P i c t ures of L i fe i n t h e U nit ed
S t a tes N a v y
L a rg e 4to C l oth O r na me nt a l F u l l
G il t $5 00
I t i s a p l e a s a nt p a s ti m
t h ro ugh the
e to f o ll ow M r Zog b a um
du ti e s tri a l s a nd p l e a s ur e s o f da ily life o n a w a r sh i p
t h r oug h s to r ma nd c a l m i n h ome wa te rs on the h e a vi ng
oc e a n
nd on a li e n s e a s
T he ill us t ra ti ons on s u p e r ca l e n
d e r e d p a p e r a r e c l e a r a nd fine ly p ri n te d a nd a r e a s good a
s ubs titu t e f or the ori g i na l s a s the l a t e st a nd fi ne s t re p rod uc
tiv e p roc e ss wo r k c a n mi ke t h em The fo li o co ul d not we ll
a n a s t u de nt o r a
be s u r p a ss e d a s a gift f or a b oy a y a c h tsm
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l ov e r of the se a —N Y Ti m
T he a rt i s t sh ow s c ons i d e r a b l e i ns i g h t i nt o the w a y s o f t he
known s k ill a s a n a c c u r a te
na v a l s e rvi ce
a nd h i s w e ll
a n e na b l e s himto m
a ke t he life o n d ec k a nd b e
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t w e e n d e c ks o f a w a r sh i p a v e ry re a l t h ing to t h os e w ho a re
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HO R S E FOO T AND D R A G OO N S S ke t c h es of
W i t h I ll us t r a
A rm y L i f e a t H o m e a nd A b roa d
ti ons b y t h e A u t h or S q u a re 8v o C l ot h $2 00
A n a dm
ira b l e s e ri e s of s ke tc h e s o f a rm
y life a t h ome a nd
a b ro a d
mer ci a l B ul leti n B os ton
Com
E v e ry milita ry ma n r e g ul a r or v ol ntee r w il l be de li gh te d
w it h the b ook —N Y Jou r na l of Comm
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B ROT HERS , PUB LI SHE RS
NE W Y ORK A ND
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,
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HARPER
W
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,
a
bove w or ks w il l be
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.
L OND O N
sent
the Uni ted Sta tes ,
by
mi l
a
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Ca na da , or
p osta g e
Mexi co,
B Y P O U L T NE Y B I G E L OW
WH I T E MAN 8 AF R I C A Il l us t ra te d b y
W OO DV I L L E a nd F RE D E R I C R E MI NG T ON
C AT ON
a nd f r o
R
’
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P h o to g r a p h s
P o s t 8 v o C l o t h , O r na
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p oliti c a l in So ut h A fri c a t h a n in t h e s e p a ge s Ce rta i n it i s
now h e r e w ill one find the i nfo r m
a ti o n p r e s e nte d m
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es ti ng l y o r a ttr a c tiv e ly
Chr i sti a n I ntel lig encer N Y
M r B i g e l o w ha s a k e e n e ye a nd a p r a c ti c a l j udgm
ent
wh i c h ma k e s h i s a l wa y s r e a da b l e s to ry b e tte r wo rt h the r e a d
i ng t h a n so m
a ny tra v e l b oo k s w h i c h a r e o nly s u p e rfi c i a lly i h
t e r e st i ng
I t a b ound s i n f a c t s l a rge a nd s m
p l e b ut
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v a l ua b l e s ta ti s ti c s a nd in to uc h e s w h i c h t h r ow p a ss i ng g l e a ms
of li g h t o n m
a ny p o i nt s o f g r e a t i nt e re s t —The A m
e r i ca n
Ph il a de l ph i a
H I S T O R Y OF T H E G E R M AN S T R U GGL E FO R
L I BE R T Y
C o p i o us l y I ll u s t ra t e d w it h D r a w i n s b y
R C A T ON W O O DV I L L E a nd w it h Po r t ra it s a nd ga p s
T w o V o l um e s
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C r o w n 8 vo C l ot h O r na m
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Sound s c h ol a rsh i p a mp l e r e s e a r c h a p a tri oti c pur pos e
a nd the c om
mand of a g ra c e ful a “nd vi gorous lite ra ry s tyl e
an
h a v e g one to the ma ki ng o f the Hi s to ry o f the G e r m
”—
u
r
Str ggl e f o L i b e rty
B oston B ea c on
T HE B O R D E R L AN D OF C ZA R AN D KA I S E R
Notes f ro m B o t h S i d es of t h e R uss i a n F r onti er I l
l u s t ra te d b y F R E D E R I C R E MI NG T ON Post 8v o C l oth
O rna me nt a l $2 00
A t h or oug h ly e nj o y a b l e p i c t u r e o f offi c i a l a nd s oc i a l life
on bo t h s i d e s o f t he fro nti e r a nd t h r ow s i nc i d e nt a lly li gh t
u p on s om
e o f t he g r e a t q ue s ti ons o f E ur o p e a n po liti c s
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,
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,
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,
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,
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.
.
.
,
,
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,
,
,
,
.
Phila delp hi a I
nq u i r er
.
H A RP E R
H
-An
B R O T HE R S PU B L I S HE RS
NEW YOR K AND LO NDO N
w
id
k w ll b
nt by mi l post ge p
e se
y of the a bove or s i
a t of he U ni ted Sta tes, Ca na d a , or
p r
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,
a
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Mex i co, on
a
r ecei
r
pt 0
a
,
to a ny
the p r zce
.
B Y R I C HA R D
HA R D I N G D AV I S
A Y E AR
A R E P O R T E R S N O TE B OO K
D E T HU L
C A T O N W OO D V I L L E
B E B E R I C R E MI N G T O N a nd f r o
P h ot o
ST R O P , a nd
$1 5 0
g ra p hs t a k e n b y t he A u t h o r
F RO M
I l l us t r a te d b R
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m
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.
T H RE E G R I N G O S IN V E N E ZUE L A AND
T R AL A M E R I CA
I l l us t ra te d
$1 50
CEN
A B O UT
$1 25
.
PA R I S
.
Il l ustra ted b y C D
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T HE
P R IN CE S S
G I BSO N
$1 25
AL INE
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T HE E ! I LE S , AND
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I l l ustra t
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V AN
B I BBE R AND O T HE R S
G I BSO N $1 00 ;P a per 60 ce nt s
Il l ust ra te d b y C D
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,
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,
WE S T F RO M A C AR
by FR E DE R I C R E M I N G T ON
O UR E NGL I S H C O U S I NS
T H E R UL E R S OF T HE
I ll us t ra ted
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TH E
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I ll u stra t e d
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.
I l l us t ra te d
$1
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25
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M E D I T E R RAN E A N
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.
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W IN D O W
$1 25
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Post 8190, Cloth, Or na
Mr
.
mnt
a
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.
l
D a vi s has e y e s to se e , i s not a b it a fr a i d to te ll w h a t
’
M r D a vi s s
he s e e s , and i s e ss e nti a lly goo d na t u r e d
fa c u lty of a pp rec i a ti on a nd e n o y e nt i s fr e sh a nd str ong :
Ou tl ook, N Y
he
a k e s v i vi d p i c t u r e s
Ri c h a rd Ha rd i ng D a vi s ne v e r rite s a sh ort s to ry tha t he
a s te r of t he a r t
doe s not p ove h i s e lf a
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B R OT HER S , P U B LI S HE RS
W
L ON D O N
A ny of the a bov e w o r ks wi l l be
p r ep a id , to a ny p a r t of the Uni ted
on r ec eip t o
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w
NE W YORK A ND
Mexi c o,
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the p r ice.
se nt
by
Sta tes,
mil
p osta g e
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