Page 69 - NS-2 Textbook

62 MARITIME HISTORY

Dewey reslllled battle, and in another hour, he had Thereafter began a three-year insurrection of the Fil-
wiped out the remainder of Montojo's squadron. He then ipinos, who wanted immediate independence. Finally, a
anchored off Manila to hold the Philippines against any workable American commonwealth adminish'ation was
outside interference. established that was supported by both Americans and
Though the Spaniards had fought bravely, their lack Filipinos. The turning over of the Philippines to the
of training, inferior firepowel; and poor ammunition de- United States by the eventual peace treaty would perma-
feated them. Dewey's careful preparations for war at nently involve the United States in the affairs of the Far
Hong Kong had paid off. The Americans, who had East. The Republic of the Philippines received full inde-
drilled regularly at gunnery, had made some 170 hits on pendence after World War II.
the Spanish vessels. The Spaniards, who had not prac- Though not directly involved in the wal; the Hawal-
ticed at all, had only about 15 hits on the u.s. ships. ian Islands had become very inlportant to the United
When the news reached home, the nation was jubilant. States as a base for operations in the Philippines, and for
While waiting for troops to arrive from the United grmving American business interests in the Pacific. Some
States off Manila, Dewey was confronted by five German years earlier in 1894 the Americans in Hawaii had
warships that entered the harbor hoping to pick up some formed a provisional government and asked for immedi-
of the Philippines for their empire. Dewey stood his ate armexation by the United States. The request had
grOlmd and threatened to fire on any ships that tried to been denied by President Grover Cleveland, who con-
interfere with him. The Germans sailed away. A year sidered the Hawaiian queen the legitimate government.
later, hmvevel~ Germany bought the Caroline, Marshall, After Dewey's overwhelming victory in Manila BaYI
Mariana, and Palau Islands, and many others, from Spain. however, the expansionists in Congress ·were so strength-
They \vould become fierce issues in later naval history. ened that by mid-1898 they were able to pass a joint con-
En route to the Philippines, the USS Charles/oll, one gressional resolution for the annexation of Hawaii. In
of the escorts for the American troop convoy en route to 1900 it became a U.s. territOlY, and in 1959 it became our
Manila, stopped off at the Spanish island of Guam. Her fiftieth state.
commander took command of the colony in the name of
the United States without firing a shot. OPERATIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN
On 13 August the force of 11,000 Army troops ar-
rived in Manila Bay. The Spanish colonial government As the foregoing events were taking place in the Pacific,
surrendered after putting up only token resistance. in the Atlantic region Admiral Sampson assumed that
Admiral Cervera would head directly for the Spanish
port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, after leaving the Cape
Verde Islands. This seemed logical because the Spanish
fleet would have to replenish its coal after the transat-
lantic voyage. So, Sampson lifted the blockade of the
Cuban coast opposite Key West and headed toward San
Juan. Sampson's progress was slowed by two lIDseawor-
thy monitors, which had to be towed by his battleships.
When he finally arrived off San Juan, there was no sign
of Cervera. He spent time in a useless bombardment of
San Juan's defenses, suffering eight casualties and some
damage from the shore batteries.
WIllie Sampson was using up his coal and ammuni-
tion off San Juan, the wily Cervera brought his fleet near
the French island of Martinique for refueling. Refused
entrance there by the French, he proceeded to the Dutch
island of Cura<;ao. After refueling there, he sailed north-
west toward Cuba.
The American consul in Martinique had cabled
Washington as Cervera passed that island. The Navy
Department then ordered Schley's Flying Squadron to
sail from Norfolk to Key West. Cervera had thus in effect
outmaneuvered the Americans by guessing that Samp-
son and Schley would do what they did. With the At-
Admiral George Dewey engaged and destroyed the entire Spanish
fleet at Manila Bay during the war with Spain in 1898, without a sin- lantic Squadron split, the Spaniards successfully eluded
gle American fatality and only seven wounded in action. them both and headed toward the back door of Cuba at