CHAPTER II.

FIRST ADMINISTRATION OF MCKINLEY, 1897-1901 (CONTINUED)—OUR WAR WITH SPAIN (CONTINUED) THE CAMPAIGN IN THE PHILIPPINES DEWEY'S GREAT VICTORY.

I

HAVE thought it best to complete my account of the war in our own hemisphere before giving attention to events in the Far East; but in order to keep this account clear in your minds, you must remember that we are now going back to a time-May 1 -which was before the destruction of Cervera's fleet and the decisive operations in Cuba and Porto Rico.

Nobody dreamed, when war was declared between Spain and the United States, that within barely more than a week the most terrific engagement, and one of the most wonderful naval battles in history, would be fought on the other side of the world, in waters where it did not seem likely a hostile shot would be fired.

At the time the war clouds were thickening, Theodore Roosevelt, afterward the colonel of the Rough Riders, was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and insisted upon the appointment of Commodore George Dewey to the command of the Asiatic squadron, although Dewey himself preferred to remain where there appeared to be a better prospect of active service. He accepted the assignment, however; and the Assistant Secretary warned him in a confidential message to remain at Hong Kong, to keep his bunkers filled with coal, and, as soon as war broke out, to prevent the Spanish squadron leaving the Asiatic coast, and to strike the hardest blow he could in the Philippines.

Coal, ammunition, and supplies were hurried across the continent by express trains to San Francisco, whence they were shipped to Hong Kong, where they arrived in due time. Everything was fully prepared, and Commodore Dewey impatiently awaited. orders from his government. They were not long in coming. The ocean telegraphs. were still throbbing with the news of the declaration of war, when another flashed to Commodore Dewey ordering him to attack the Spanish fleet that was believed to be in Manila waters.

Now, when a great war breaks out, it is the custom of the nations which are not concerned to issue proclamations of neutrality, by which they pledge themselves to give no help to either side. Great Britain was prompt with such a proclamation, although, as you remember, she strongly sympathized with us, and by her friendship prevented other European nations from interfering between Spain and the United States.

When news of the neutrality of Great Britain reached Cominodore Dewey he was with his squadron at Hong Kong, which is a British port. By the laws of nations he could not stay there more than twenty-four hours. Accordingly, he steamed to Mirs Bay, not far off, which is a Chinese port, whence, all his preparations being finished by the 27th of April, he started for Manila, which has a population of a quarter of a

million, is on the western coast of Luzon, the principal island of the Philippines, and has for many years been the metropolis and capital of the group which was the most valuable of all of Spain's dependencies.

The city stands on a land-locked sea, facing a beautiful sheet of water, expansive enough to allow all the navies of the world to ride at anchor at the same time. The entrance to the bay is seven miles across and contains several islands, the largest being Corregidor and Caballo. These

islands separate the entrance into two channels, called respectively the Boca Grande, five miles wide, and the Boca Chico, two miles wide. The city of Manila lies twenty-six miles to the northeast. The fortified part, which is the official and ancient city, is on the south, while the modern portion, north of the Pasig River, had no fortifications at all until the certainty of the coming war led the Spanish authorities to strengthen the shore batteries and to mount a number of additional guns. The principal attention was given to those at Cavité, which is a suburb of the city, on a promontory, and ten miles nearer the entrance to the bay than Manila itself. Had this town been in the possession of the Americans no fleet in the world could have captured it--but as to Spain, that "is another story."

The American fleet under the command of Commodore Dewey was as follows:

Olympia-First-class protected cruiser (flagship), 5500 tons. Speed, 22.7 knots.

Complement, 450. Armor, protected deck, 2 inches to 434 inches. Guns: main battery, four 8-inch, ten 5-inch rapid-fire; secondary battery, rapid-fire, fourteen 6-pounders, seven I-pounders, four Gatlings; one field gun and five torpedo tubes. Captain Charles V. Gridley.

Baltimore-Protected cruiser, 4400 tons. Speed, 20.1 knots. Complement, 386. Armor, 21⁄2 inches to 4 inches. Guns: main battery, four 8-inch, six 6-inch slow-fire; secondary battery, rapid-fire, four 6-pounders, two 3-pounders, two I-pounders, four 37-mm. Hotchkiss, two Colts; one field-gun and five torpedo tubes. Captain Nehemiah M. Dyer.

Raleigh-Protected cruiser, 3183 tons. Speed, 19 knots. Armor, 1 inch to 2% inches. Guns: one 6-inch rapid-fire, ten 5-inch; secondary battery, eight 6-pounders, four I-pounders, and two machine guns. Complement, 320. Captain Joseph B. Coghlan.

Boston-Protected cruiser, 3189 tons. Speed, 15.6 knots. Complement, 270. Armor, 11⁄2 inch deck. Guns: main battery, two 8-inch, and six 6-inch rifles; secondary battery, rapid-fire, two 6-pounders and two 3-pounders. Captain Frank Wildes. Petrel-Fourth-rate cruiser, 890 tons. Speed, 13.7 knots. 3-pounder rapid fire, one 1-pounder, and four machine guns. Wood.

Guns: four 6-inch, two Commander Edward P.

Concord-Gunboat, 1700 tons. Speed, 16.8 knots. Armor, 3-8 inch deck. Guns: main battery, six 6-inch rifles. Commander Asa Walker.

Hugh McCulloch-Revenue cutter, light battery of rapid-fire guns.

Zafiro-Auxiliary cruiser; supply vessel.

When Dewey sailed from Mirs Bay he had no actual knowledge of the location of the Spanish fleet, but believed it was at anchor in Manila Bay. At any rate, he determined to hunt first for it there, and sure enough he found it, under the command of Admiral Montojo and composed as follows:

Reina Maria Cristina-Steel cruiser (flagship).

Built in 1887, steel, 3520 tons,

14 to 17.5 knots according to draught, and a main battery of six 6.2-inch rifles. Castilla-Steel cruiser, built in 1881, steel, 3342 tons, 14 knots, and four 5.9 inch Krupps and two 4.7-inch Krupps in her main battery.

Isla de Cuba-Cruiser.

Isla de Luzon-Cruiser.

Each 1030 tons, speed 14 knots, crew 200 men, battery four 4.7 inch, four 6-pounder and two 3-pounder

guns.

Velasco--Small cruiser, built in 1881, iron, 1139 tons, and three 6-inch Armstrongs in her main battery.

Don Juan de Austria-Small cruiser, completed in 1887, iron, 1152 tons, 13 to 14 knots, and four 4.7-inch rifles in her main battery.

Don Antonio de Ulloa-Small cruiser, iron, 1152 tons. Four 4.7-inch Hontoria guns; two 2.7-inch; two quick-firing; two 1.5-inch; five muzzle-loaders.

Gunboats Paragna, Callao, Samar, Pampagna, and Arayat, built 1881-86, steel, 137 tons, 10 knots, and each mounting two quick-firing guns.

Gunboats Mariveles and Mindoro, built in 1886 and 1885, iron, 142 tons, 10 knots, each mounting one 2.7-inch rifle and four machine guns.

Gunboat Manileno, built in 1887, wood, 142 tons, 9 knots, and mounting three 3.5-inch rifles.

Gunboats El Cano and General Lezo, built in 1885, iron, 528 tons, 10 to nearly 12 knots, and each mounting three 3.5-inch rifles.

Gunboat Marquis del Duero, built in 1875, iron, 500 tons, 10 knots, and mounting one 6.2-inch and two 4.7-inch rifles.

A comparison of these two fleets shows that the American was superior in guns. and caliber, but this advantage was far outweighed, as the Spanish viewed it, by the shore batteries, and the mines and torpedoes that had been laid in the bay. I have told you before that in every test between ships and shore batteries it has been proven. that the latter have much the best of it.

You must not think Admiral Montojo was not aware of the coming of the

American fleet. There had been rumors for days in Manila that it would soon be before the city; but one of the strangest facts connected with the late war is the contempt in which the Spaniards held the American " pigs," as they were fond of calling them. They expressed the hope again and again that they would come nigh enough to give the proud Dons a chance to sweep them from the sea or the face of the earth. The governor-general isssued the following bombastic proclamation:

"The North American people, composed of all the social excrescences, have

exhausted our patience and provoked war with perfidious machinations, acts of treachery, and outrages against the law of nations and international conventions.

"A squadron, manned by foreigners and possessing neither instructions nor discipline, is preparing to come to this archipelago with the ruffianly intention of robbing us of all that means life, honor, and liberty.

"The aggressors shall not profane the tombs of your fathers, shall not gratify their