After the battle, because of her speed, "McCulloch" was dispatched to the closest cable facility, that at Hong Kong, bearing the first dispatches of the great U.S. naval victory. On 17 May 1898, "McCulloch" left Hong Kong with Emilio Aguinaldo – the Philippine revolutionary who would later lead the Philippine forces in the Philippine–American War – aboard, arriving at Cavite in Manila Bay on 19 May.