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The first major conflict between U.S. and Spain
took place not in Cuba, but 9,750 miles away
in the archipelago of The Philippines. The Battle
of Manila Bay would make the American Commander,
George Dewey, a national hero, and would announce
to the world the arrival of the United States
as a major player in the world. The Battle of
Manila Bay was one of two decisive American
naval victories in the Spanish-American War.
It occurred only days after the declaration
of war, on May 1, 1898.
Years before the actual battle, the American
military had been preparing for a war scenario
with Spain. George Dewey's Asiatic Fleet consisted
of only four ships. His |
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flagship was the cruiser
USS Olympia. The other ships was the USS Boston,
a small cruiser; USS Petrel, a gunboat;
and the USS Monocacy, a paddle wheel
steamer. The Olympia was fairly new,
but wasn't comparable in firepower to newer
U.S. battleships. At the last minute Dewey added the
USS Raleigh, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Huch
McCulloch, the Baltimore, and merchant
vessels Nanshan and the Zafiro as support
vessels. With the declaration of war, Dewey moved his
ships out of neutral Hong Kong to Mirs Bay,
about 30 miles
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away. Dewey knew that the Spanish
fleet could be found at its major Pacific colony,
the Philippine Islands, about 710 miles away.
No U.S. navy vessel had visited the island in
twenty-two years, and there was limited intelligence
available. Some information on Spanish strength
and fortifications was gathered through earlier
commerce, and from the U.S. Consul Oscar Williams,
who remained in Manila until the last minute.
In Hong Kong, Dewey had Ensign F.B. Upham of
the Olympia spy on Spanish forces arriving
from the Philippines, and even pump some Spanish
crew members for information. Finally, Dewey
gathered important intelligence from an American
businessman acquaintance who visited the Philippines.Additionally, Commander Dewey did not even
have an adequate peacetime allotment of ammunition.
Dewey was able to contrive a plan for obtaining
additional supplies, some of which arrived the
night before the squadron sailed from Mirs Bay.
Despite this feat of logistics, Dewey still
went into battle on May 1 with only sixty percent
of his magazines filled. |
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Meanwhile, the Spanish were preparing for the arrival
of the Americans by making various modifications to
their fortifications, and by mining Subic Bay. The
Spanish commander Admiral Montojo initially wanted
to fight at Subic, but with the Americans on their
way and little time to mount an adequate defense of
Subic, Montojo took his squadron back to Manila Bay.
Montojo opted for the shallow waters off Cavite's
Sangley Point rather than the comparative safety of
Manila Bay to avoid the likely bombardment of the
city. The shallow waters meant that the men could
more easily get ashore if their ships sunk.
Dewey falsely believed that the Boca Grande entrance
to Manila Bay had not been mined. He was likely correct
in his reasoning that if the entrance had been mined,
the mines would likely deteriorate rapidly in the
tropical waters. Dewey's squadron entered Boca Grande
at about 11:00 P.M. After passing the El Fraile battery
with little trouble, they continued on across Manila
Bay. Dewey expected to find the Spanish squadron at
Manila, and adjusted the fleet's speed to arrive at
dawn.
Upon arriving, they saw nothing but merchant vessels
at anchor, and so turned toward Cavite. At 5:05 A.M.,
some of the Spanish guns of the Manila batteries opened
fire. Only the Boston and Concord replied
in order to save ammunition. Montojo ordered the Reina
Cristina to begin to move. To clear his path,
he had to detonate several mines. These explosions
were spotted by the American crewmen. The Americans
finally discovered the Spanish vessels. At 5:15 a.m.
the guns of the Cavite fortifications and the Spanish
fleet opened fire. Dewey held his fire until 5:40
A.M. Then, standing on the vessel's open bridge, he
quietly uttered one of the war's most enduring quotes,
telling the Olympia's captain, "You may
fire when ready, Gridley."
Though it was not immediately obvious in the dark
and smoke, the Spanish fleet suffered severe damage
in the early moments of the battle. The American fleet
engaged as they thought the depth of the water would
allow, first passing the Spanish position from west
to east, and then countermarching east to west; a
total of five passes along the two and a half mile
course. At around 7:30 A.M., Commodore Dewey received
an erroneous report that the ships were nearly out
of ammunition. He decided to withdraw to assess the
situation. To avoid having the Spanish realize his precarious
position, Dewey signaled to the fleet that they were
to break off the attack to allow the crew time for
breakfast. Later, the American press would report
this as an example of Dewey's calmness and confidence
under fire. Soon it became clear that the report had
been in error.
Then the battle assessments began to be reported
back to the Olympia. Surprisingly, no Americans
had been killed by the Spanish shells. By 11:16 A.M.Dewey's
fleet resumed the attack. It was clear to the Americans
that the Spanish fleet was severely damaged, and they
wasted little time in finishing it off. Only nine
sailors were injured in the battle. The terminally
ill Captain Gridley of the Olympia died about
a month later, his death probably hastened by the
physical and mental stress of the battle. Admiral
Montojo reported a loss of 381 men killed and wounded
as a result of the battle. |
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As a result of the battle, Admiral George
Dewey became an instant hero to Americans. For the first
time since before the Civil War, the country had a war
hero that all Americans could admire and respect, free
from the sectionalism of that era. Evidence of Dewey's
popularity (and to a lesser extent, Captain Gridley's),
can be found in the wide variety of popular culture
items: |
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Following
Dewey's victory, Manila Bay was filled with the
warships of Britain, Germany, France, and Japan.
The German fleet of eight ships, ostensibly in
Philippine waters to protect German interests
(a single import firm), acted provocatively--cutting
in front of United States ships, refusing to salute
the United States flag (according to naval courtesy),
taking soundings of the harbor, and landing supplies
for the besieged Spanish. Germany, hungry for
the ultimate status symbol, a colonial empire,
was eager to take advantage of whatever opportunities
the conflict in the islands might afford. Dewey
called the bluff of the German admiral, threatening
a fight if his aggressive activities continued,
and the Germans backed down. On August 13, with
American commanders unaware that a peace protocol
had been signed between Spain and the United States
on the previous day, American forces captured
Manila from the Spanish. Commodore Dewey had transported
Emilio Aguinaldo to the Philippines from exile
in Hong Kong in the hope he would rally Filipinos
against the Spanish colonial government. By the
time U.S. land forces had arrived, the Filipinos
had taken control of the entire island of Luzon,
except for the walled city of Intramuros. On June
12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared the independence
of the Philippines. This battle marked an end
of Filipino-American collaboration, as Filipino
forces were prevented from entering the city,
an action the Filipino people deeply resented.
On August 14, |
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1898, 11,000 ground troops were
sent to occupy the Philippines. When U.S. troops
began to take the place of the Spanish in control
of the country, warfare broke out between U.S.
forces and the Filipinos. This conflict is described
in more detail in the Early 1900s section. |
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