Commodore George Dewey, the Hero of Manilla Bay.
Posted May 2nd, 2012 at 08:53 AM by unclefred
Teddy Roosevelt told a story about George Dewey in his autobiography:
The US and Chile were at odds, and possibly war to break out. Dewey's ship was in Argentina waiting to be supplied with coal, so he could proceed to Chile. Dewey decided to disobey regulations and without authorization, bought the coal himself, and sailed to Chile.
This was the warrior that Roosevelt, as asst. Secretary of the Navy, felt was needed when tensions with Spain began to heat up. He made the 59 year old Dewey the Commander of the 'China Squadron' in Hong Kong, and he was dispatched to Manila to attack the Spanish fleet, if war was declared.
The China Squadron was a fairly motley group, nine ships, of which three were cruisers, and one a Coast Guard cutter. The Spanish fleet was comprised of forty ships, although many had wooden hulls.
As the Americans prepared to leave for Manila, the British held a party for them. "A fine set of fellows", one of the Brits remarked, "but unhappily we shall never see them again". Thus was the American force considered, far inferior to the Spanish.
That view didn't last long, as Dewey sailed across the bay of Manila and sank the entire Spanish fleet in one day, suffering no losses. May 1, 1898.
Dewey was promoted to Admiral.
Right after his victory at Manila Bay, a German fleet sailed in and Dewey fired shots over their bow and they kept coming.
Dewey not only had to worry about Spanish reinforcements, German warships in Manila Bay were causing concern .shortly after the battle, ships from the navies of several nations entered Manila Bay to protect their citizens and property .The German navy increased its strength with the cruisers Irena and Kaiserin Augusta, Prince Wilhelm and others till the German commaner, vice Admiral von Diedrichs had a much larger force than Dewey .The actions of the Germans, such as sailing in and out of Manila Bay, seemed designed to provoke an incident. Finally Dewey asked a german officer of the admiral if he desired war, and if he did he could have it as soon as he liked . Admiral von Diedrich talked to the commander of the British squadron in Manila Bay and concluded that if a battle broke out between the Germans and Americans, the British would support the Americans .After this, the German provocations ceased in Manila Bay .
After the battle, Dewey not only had to worry about Spanish reinforcements, German warships in Manila Bay were causing concern .shortly after the battle, ships from the navies of several nations entered Manila Bay to protect their citizens and property .The German navy increased its strength with the cruisers Irena and Kaiserin Augusta, Prince Wilhelm and others till the German commaner, vice Admiral von Diedrichs had a much larger force than Dewey .The actions of the Germans, such as sailing in and out of Manila Bay, seemed designed to provoke an incident. Finally Dewey asked a german officer of the admiral if he desired war, and if he did he could have it as soon as he liked . Admiral von Diedrich talked to the commander of the British squadron in Manila Bay and concluded that if a battle broke out between the Germans and Americans, the British would support the Americans .After this, the German provocations ceased in Manila Bay .
Following the battle, Dewey fever sprang across the USA. He was again promoted to Rear Admiral in May. The Phillipine War was ended in August and Dewey returned home. He was appointed Admiral of the Navy by Congress in March of 1899. He briefly ran for President, but decided to withdraw.
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The US and Chile were at odds, and possibly war to break out. Dewey's ship was in Argentina waiting to be supplied with coal, so he could proceed to Chile. Dewey decided to disobey regulations and without authorization, bought the coal himself, and sailed to Chile.
This was the warrior that Roosevelt, as asst. Secretary of the Navy, felt was needed when tensions with Spain began to heat up. He made the 59 year old Dewey the Commander of the 'China Squadron' in Hong Kong, and he was dispatched to Manila to attack the Spanish fleet, if war was declared.
The China Squadron was a fairly motley group, nine ships, of which three were cruisers, and one a Coast Guard cutter. The Spanish fleet was comprised of forty ships, although many had wooden hulls.
As the Americans prepared to leave for Manila, the British held a party for them. "A fine set of fellows", one of the Brits remarked, "but unhappily we shall never see them again". Thus was the American force considered, far inferior to the Spanish.
That view didn't last long, as Dewey sailed across the bay of Manila and sank the entire Spanish fleet in one day, suffering no losses. May 1, 1898.
Dewey was promoted to Admiral.
Right after his victory at Manila Bay, a German fleet sailed in and Dewey fired shots over their bow and they kept coming.
Dewey not only had to worry about Spanish reinforcements, German warships in Manila Bay were causing concern .shortly after the battle, ships from the navies of several nations entered Manila Bay to protect their citizens and property .The German navy increased its strength with the cruisers Irena and Kaiserin Augusta, Prince Wilhelm and others till the German commaner, vice Admiral von Diedrichs had a much larger force than Dewey .The actions of the Germans, such as sailing in and out of Manila Bay, seemed designed to provoke an incident. Finally Dewey asked a german officer of the admiral if he desired war, and if he did he could have it as soon as he liked . Admiral von Diedrich talked to the commander of the British squadron in Manila Bay and concluded that if a battle broke out between the Germans and Americans, the British would support the Americans .After this, the German provocations ceased in Manila Bay .
After the battle, Dewey not only had to worry about Spanish reinforcements, German warships in Manila Bay were causing concern .shortly after the battle, ships from the navies of several nations entered Manila Bay to protect their citizens and property .The German navy increased its strength with the cruisers Irena and Kaiserin Augusta, Prince Wilhelm and others till the German commaner, vice Admiral von Diedrichs had a much larger force than Dewey .The actions of the Germans, such as sailing in and out of Manila Bay, seemed designed to provoke an incident. Finally Dewey asked a german officer of the admiral if he desired war, and if he did he could have it as soon as he liked . Admiral von Diedrich talked to the commander of the British squadron in Manila Bay and concluded that if a battle broke out between the Germans and Americans, the British would support the Americans .After this, the German provocations ceased in Manila Bay .
Following the battle, Dewey fever sprang across the USA. He was again promoted to Rear Admiral in May. The Phillipine War was ended in August and Dewey returned home. He was appointed Admiral of the Navy by Congress in March of 1899. He briefly ran for President, but decided to withdraw.
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