(Born 1837)
[Illustration: George Dewey. [TN]]
Every occasion finds a _man_ to meet the exigencies of the hour, every
conflict brings forth its hero, and every war educates soldiers for a
war to come. War begets the warrior. Washington came out of the French
and Indian wars, Jackson from the Creek wars; Scott and Taylor both
emerged from Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, Grant and Lee from Mexico. So,
George Dewey came out of the fierce internecine strife of our Civil
War. He came, too, from one of the great sources of the best elements
of our American population. The Puritans of New England and the
Cavaliers of Virginia sprung from the same soil and a common ancestry,
worked side by side, in a widely different manner, but to the same
end; and from these two classes have sprung nearly all our great
soldiers, statesmen, and authors. From the former came the great naval
hero of the Spanish-American War.
[Illustration: Admiral Dewey at Manila Bay.]
George Dewey was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on December 26, 1837, of
direct descent, in the ninth generation, from Thomas Dewey, who came
from Sandwich, England, to Dorchester, in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony, in 1633.
His father, Dr. Julius Dewey, was a physician, eminent in his
profession, and loved and respected, not only for his ability but for
his innate nobility of character; and his mother was Mary Perrin. His
ancestors on both sides were patriots in the days that tried men's
souls, the hard and bitter days of the Colonial and Revolutionary
Wars. He was the third of four children, and even in his boyhood he
was a leader among his fellows. His breaches of discipline culminated
in his heading an insurrection against the village school-master; but
the pedagogue came off victorious, and administered a severe flogging
to the young rebel, which punishment his father is said to have
reinforced with some home-brewed medicine. The lesson was well
learned, for we hear of no more insurrections.
George Dewey entered the Naval Academy September 23, 1854, and was
graduated fifth in a class of fourteen. He was attached to the frigate
Wabash of the Mediterranean Squadron, and after his two years' cruise
as a midshipman passed his final examination, in which he stood number
one, gaining a final rating of three in his class. War was already
imminent, and rapidly passing through the next grades he was on April
19th attached as lieutenant to the Mississippi, belonging to the West
Gulf Squadron. Early in 1862 Commodores Farragut and Porter prepared
to capture New Orleans. Throughout this campaign Lieutenant Dewey
distinguished himself by his cool courage, quick perception, and ready
skill, winning the praise of Commodore Farragut. In running by the
forts, he stood upon the bridge of the Mississippi, unmoved amid a
storm of shot and shell, and unerringly guided her up the river,
although he knew not a foot of the channel. The next year he was
attached to one of Farragut's gunboats, and later to the Monongahela,
which he commanded temporarily. In 1864, attached to the Colorado, he
again distinguished himself in the attack on Fort Fisher, by a display
not only of great courage, but of marked tactical skill, and by the
fighting of his ship, which, though a junior, he really directed, and
won the enthusiastic congratulations of his superior officers. Made
lieutenant-commander March 3, 1865, Dewey emerged from the Civil War a
matured naval officer at the age of twenty-seven, ripe in experience
and ready for any service or sacrifice for the welfare of his country.
His career from this time until the close of the year 1897, although
important in his development and replete with valuable services in all
directions, must be summed up in a few words.
For two years subsequent to the war, he served with the European
Squadron, first on the Kearsarge, later on the Colorado. 1867 found
him at the Naval Academy. Promoted commander, April 13, 1872, he was
assigned to the Narragansett until 1875. After seven years of bureau
duty in the Navy Department, October 18, 1882, he commanded the
Juniata of the Asiatic Squadron, and then learned the topography of
Manila Bay, where he gave his first lesson to the Spaniard in the
person of the Port Captain of Manila, who impudently proposed that he
"parade his crew," so that some sailors accused of riot might be
identified, Dewey's reply being: "The deck of this vessel is United
States territory, and I'll parade my men for no foreigner that ever
drew breath."
Dewey's health broke down, and in 1884 he was at the Navy Department,
but September 27th was commissioned captain and took command of the
Dolphin, one of the "White Squadron," the beginning of our "New Navy."
He reached the rank of commodore February 28, 1896. On shore he has
served as a member of the Lighthouse Board, Chief of the Bureau of
Equipment, and Chief of the Board of Inspection and Survey. Late in
the year 1897 it became necessary to select a commander of the Asiatic
Station. War with Spain was a possibility. It was therefore essential
that the Asiatic Station be in command of an able and experienced
officer.
It has been said that Commodore Dewey, as also the other commodores,
sought the North Atlantic and European Stations, believing that the
Atlantic would be "the theatre of the war," and that he was averse to
service in the Asiatic. It has also been said that the appointment of
Dewey was a mere chance, a matter of routine. I think that these
statements are not correct. I believe that Commodore Dewey was too old
a sailor, too good a sailor, and too experienced a sailor to attempt
to dictate his own orders. Furthermore, in a conversation with the
President, this subject being mentioned, the President told me that he
had carefully considered the appointment of an officer to command the
Asiatic Station and had finally determined upon Dewey--that he wrote
upon a card which he sent to the Secretary, of the Navy: "Appoint
Dewey to Asiatic Squadron."
In pursuance of the President's action, Commodore George Dewey was
detached on November 30th from Bureau work and ordered to the Asiatic
Station, of which he took command on January 3, 1898. The opportunity
came, and the right man was in the right place.
Commodore Dewey's squadron was composed of four protected cruisers,
two gunboats, and a despatch-boat, as follows: The Olympia
(flag-ship), a protected cruiser of 5,870 tons, mounting fourteen
guns, Captain Gridley and flag-officer, Captain Benjamin P. Lamberton;
the Baltimore, a protected cruiser of 4,413 tons and ten guns, Captain
Nehemiah M. Dyer; the Raleigh, a protected cruiser of 3,213 tons and
eleven guns, Captain Joseph B. Coghlan; the Boston, a protected
cruiser of 3,000 tons and eight guns, Captain Frank Wildes; the
Concord, a gunboat of 1,710 tons and six guns, Commander Asa Walker;
the Petrel, a gunboat of 892 tons and four guns, Commander Wood; and
the revenue cutter McCulloch, despatch-boat. Also the transports
Zaffiro and Nanshan with provisions and coal. There was no armored
vessel in the squadron.
[Illustration: Admiral Dewey Loving Cup. [TN]]
From the day Commodore Dewey took command of the Asiatic Station until
April 24th, active preparations for war were going forward. The ships
were kept stored to their full capacity with provisions, coal, and
ammunition, and there was a continuous round of drill, target
practice, manoeuvres, and evolutions. Dewey would be ready when
action should become necessary. On April 24th the British authorities
notified the American commander that he must quit Hong Kong within
twenty-four hours. Dewey moved his squadron to Mirs Bay immediately.
At six o'clock on the evening of April 25th, he received the following
despatch:
"WASHINGTON, April 24, 1898.
"Dewey, Hong Kong:
"War has commenced between the United States and Spain. Proceed at
once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations at once,
particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture vessels or
destroy. Use utmost endeavors.