A few months prior to this action, one would have been thought beside
himself if he had predicted that the first serious encounter between
Spain and the United States would take place at the very antipodes--in
the Philippine Islands. And this is what did occur, and with perfect
success on the part of the American Squadron, the after events in that
region having nothing to do with the history of the naval engagement of
the First of May.
Commodore Dewey was ordered to “capture or destroy” the Spanish
men-of-war in the East, and this he did most effectually; but before
giving any relation of his engagement, it would perhaps be well to give
some account of the Island in which it occurred.
On this side of the globe, we are little given to considering the
great extent of the Philippine group, the total area of which is
about 120,000 square miles, and Luzon alone is three times as large
as Cuba. The natives of these islands are of very diverse origin.
Wild tribes, some of them ferocious, still inhabit the mountains of
the interior--some of which are active volcanoes. Among them are the
Negritos--black dwarfs, and Malay tribes much akin to the Dyaks of
Borneo. But the whole may be generally divided into Tagalos of Luzon,
and the Bisayans, inhabiting the great chain to the South. Then there
are a very large number of Chinese--who have great influence from their
wealth and commercial ability, and Mestizos of Spanish and Chinese
origin, numbering two or three hundred thousand in Luzon alone. The
whole population is about six or seven millions.
The Philippines were discovered by Magellan in 1520, and, after
repeated expeditions, several of which proved most disastrous, were
finally annexed to the Spanish dominions, and were called after
Philip the Second. They were, at that time, looked upon as a field of
missionary, rather than commercial enterprise, and it was publicly
given out that this was to be an atonement, if possible, for unheard of
cruelties practiced by the Spaniards in America, and which had, in a
very few years, wiped off the earth the tribes which inhabited Cuba on
its discovery.
On this account the religious orders have had great influence in the
establishments and institutions of the colony, from the very first. To
them a great part of the cultivated land belongs, and monks, priests
and friars are seen everywhere. In 1762 Manila was taken by a British
fleet, and held for some time, but eventually restored. With the loss
of her great possessions on the continent of America--North and South,
the Philippines have been of increasing importance to Spain; as from
them she draws a large portion of her revenue. The weather is always
hot in these islands, and cholera frequently makes itself felt. There
are also earthquakes, some of which are very destructive. They occur
more frequently upon Luzon than upon the more southern islands. The
city of Manila lies near a bay of the same name which opens westward
into the China Sea, 14.30 S. 121 East Longitude. The city proper is in
the shape of the segment of a circle, on one side of the River Pasig.
The old city is walled, in the style of three hundred years ago, and
above the walls appear the roofs and towers of churches and monasteries
and nunneries, quite in the mediæval style. An American could hardly be
landed in a more thoroughly foreign scene than that afforded by Manila,
with its old fortified towns on one hand and the Binondo suburb on the
other.
On the other side of the Pasig, which forms a broad canal for
mercantile purposes, but which cannot be approached by vessels of any
great draft, is the Binondo, a suburb where most of the foreigners
live, especially those in business. This suburb is much more populous
than the city proper. The Pasig has many smaller branches by which
it enters the bay, on which are placed the houses of the natives or
Tagalos, very generally built on piles, over the water, or partly so,
in the manner that experience has taught the whole Eastern people to be
the best for them.
In these branches of the Pasig are to be seen, in the early morning
especially, men, women and children bathing and washing their long,
jet-black hair with a bark, which has the effect of soap. They are
a very clean people, and their cotton and piña clothing is always
beautifully neat.
It was not until 1810 that foreigners had a right to reside and trade
in Manila or in the other Islands. The Spaniards always carried on a
most lucrative trade, however, in sugar, tobacco, indigo, the fiber
known as Manila hemp, gold dust, birds-nest, coffee, sapan-wood, hats,
mats, hides, cotton and many other things. The beautiful stuff called
piña, from the fiber of the pineapple, has no equal in the world as a
tissue. The bay of Manila is very large, but very shoal in some parts,
so vessels of draft lie some two miles from the mouth of the Pasig. The
entrance of the Bay is open to the westward, or the China Sea. Almost
in the middle of the entrance, rather to the north, is Corregidor
Island, the head-quarters for the coast guard, and with batteries,
lately of some power, but formerly merely meant to bring to merchant
vessels.
When the bay begins to open out, Cavite is seen to the right, a town
of respectable size, sought after by many in Manila on account of its
comparative healthfulness, on a sort of peninsula, jetting into the
Bay, and the seat of all naval activity of the Spanish East Indies,
for it has an arsenal and a small dock, besides a marine railway. In a
military point of view it is much more important than Manila itself.
As for the engagement at Manila, we may first say that never in
the history of naval battles, was a whole squadron more completely
destroyed.
Even at the battle of the Nile, where the French ships were moored in
line, two ships got away. At the Manila fight the American vessels,
though fighting in foreign waters which were shoal, and which were
particularly fitted for torpedo work, had a certain advantage over the
Spanish forces for several reasons:
1st. The Spanish were at anchor (under the protection of the Cavité
batteries, to be sure,) but they would have been much more effective
under way. In other words, they were surprised. There were many heavy
guns at Corregidor, which should have disputed the passage, and should
have warned the people of Cavité of the approach of the enemy.
[Illustration: MANILA BAY, THE SCENE OF ADMIRAL DEWEY’S VICTORY.]
2d. They surprised the Spanish squadron, the commander of which
probably supposed that they would not come in without some preliminary
reconnoitering. Although there were heavy guns on Corregidor, they ran
into the bay in the night, without regard to torpedoes, and appeared at
daylight in front of Cavité.
3d. When the engagement began they shot straight and true, in
consequence of long drill, and every shot told somewhere, while those
of the Spanish ships and batteries seem to have been very wild.
The history of the engagement is rendered more curious by the fact that
Dewey’s squadron retired for a time, after partial destruction had been
effected, to the other side of the bay, for the purpose of giving his
men breakfast, as they had been at quarters for twelve hours or more.
Although he does not say so in his report, it was also probable that he
wished to give the opposing force an opportunity to realize that they
were beaten and should surrender. As they did not do so he resumed the
engagement and finished the matter--destroying the rest of the vessels
and compelling the surrender of Cavité.
That evening he sent the following dispatch:
MANILA, May 1st.
“The squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this morning, immediately
engaged the enemy and destroyed the following vessels: Reina
Christina, Castilla, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla de Luzon, Isla de
Cuba, General Lezo, Marques de Duero, El Cano, Velasco, Transport
Isla de Mindinao and another vessel, and water battery at Cavite.
Squadron is uninjured. Only few men slightly wounded.”