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Dewey at Manila Bay

The beautiful islands, known as the Philippines, were the possession of Spain. When war between that country and the United States seemed inevitable, Commodore George Dewey was ordered to collect a fleet at Hong-Kong, and hold it in readiness for instant action.

Nothing suited Dewey better. He purchased a large supply of coal and provisions, called for a few more ships, collected stores of ammunition, and put his men under strict orders. By April, of 1898, he found himself in command of a fleet of nine ships, ready for battle, and quietly awaiting orders.

He had not long to wait. He received a cablegram from the Secretary of the Navy, "War has commenced between the United States and Spain.

Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Capture vessels or destroy them. Use utmost endeavors." Dewey smiled with deep satisfaction. The chance of a lifetime had come, and he was ready.

He issued orders to sail at once, and the very next day the fleet began its long voyage of six hundred miles to the Philippines. For three days and three nights they struggled through a boisterous sea, before they reached the mouth of Manila Bay.

This bay is a very beautiful harbor. Two small islands stand like sentries at its mouth, with their cliffs rising five hundred feet above the water. On those cliffs, as well as on other points of the mainland, were forts bristling with guns. Twenty-five miles up the bay, lay Manila, the capital of the Philippines, with its quarter of a million inhabitants. Its low-lying ground, intersected with many water-ways, made it known as the Venice of the East. It was Dewey's purpose to enter the Bay of Manila and to find the Spanish fleet there.

Night had fallen on April 30, 1898. As silent as ghosts, with all lights out, and in close order, the American battleships crept through the channel under the frowning forts. The moon, rising 66 "I over the eastern waters, gave the ships the appearance of gray spectres gliding in a smooth sea. believe they will not see us," remarked an officer quietly, to the watchful Commander. "Evidently they are not expecting us so soon."

The ships were now half-way in the channel, and opposite the forts. Suddenly, a shot from a shore battery broke the stillness of the night.