The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-09
DONS WERE FULL OF FIGHT
FEW EDWARDS ON THE SHIPS
DEWEY SANK

Fought Bravely TIL Their Vessels
Went Under the Waves-Th ei r
Fleet Surprised and Compelled
to Go Into Action Without Steam
Up-Acts of Treachery Which
Were Quickly Avenged.
claimed that a message has been re-
| ceived here from Manila, announcing
| that the Spanish troops have retired
from Manila, taking with them all their
arms, ammunition and stores.
HONG KONG, May S.-Among naval
| men, military men and civilians, Eu-
| ropeans and natives here today, there
is only one subject of discussion, the
| brilliant dashing, annihilating victory
of the American fleet under Commodore
Dewey, over the Spanish fleet COM
manded by Admiral Montejo, in Manila
bay on Sunday last.
Owing to the fact that the cable be-
tween this port and the Philippine
Islands was not in working order, hav-
ing been cut, 1t is said, some distance
from the capital of the islands, there
| has been delay In obtaining detailed
account of the battle, and facts in the
case were only available when the
| United States gunboat Hugh McCul-
! loch arrived here yesterday. and even
| the tremendous pressure Of business.
suddenly thrown upon the cable COM
pany, necessarily made the earlier ac-
counts Of the engagement somewhat
| brief.
Commodore Dewey's orders were to
| capture or destroy the Spanish fleet,
and never were instructions executed
| in so complete a fashion. At the end
| of seven hours, there was absolutely
| nothing left of the Spanish fleet but a
| few relics.
The American commander had most
| skillfully arranged every retail Of the
| action, and even the apparently most
| Insignificant features were carried out
| with perfect punctuality, and in rail-
| road time table order.
At the end of the action, Commodore
Dewey anchored his fleet in the bay.
before Manila, and sent a message to
Gov. Gen. August, announcing the In
auguration Of the blockade, and add
Ing that, if shot was fired against
his ships, he would destroy every bat
terry about Manila.
Advantage With Spaniards.
The position occupied by the Span
iards, the support which their ships
received from the land batteries and
the big guns they had ashore, gave
them an enormous advantage. There
| fore when 1t is considered that the
| Spaniards lost over 600 men killed and
| wounded; that all their ships, amount
ing to about fourteen, were destroyed,
and that their naval arsenal at Cavite
was also destroyed with it's defenses,
1t will become apparent that the VIC
| tory of the American commodore is
| one of the most complete and wonder
! ful achievements in the history of
| naval warfare. Not man on board
the American fleet was killed; not a
ship was damaged to any extent and
only six men were injured slightly on
board the Baltimore. This grand
| achievement is quite as much due to
| the generalship Of Commodore Dewey
| as to the fact that American gunners,
ships and guns are superior to any,
| Credit must also be given to the fullest
| extent to the officers under Commodore
Dewey, for to a man they seconded
| their gallant commander in every way
possible and thus helped him win the
| laurels which are justly his.
Searched for Spaniards.
When the squadron left here it
| touched first at point in the Philip
pine islands near Bolinan, as Commo-
dore Dewey wished the insurgents
agents to disembark there, ascertain
| the strength and disposition of the in
| surgent forces, arrange to prevent need
| less blOOdshed and inform the insur-
| gents of his Intention to change the
government Of the Philippine islands,
| the commodore strongly objecting to
| giving the rebels a chance to commit
| eXcesses
The irsurgent leaders, however, re-
fused to disembark under any consid-
Grafton and the American ships coasted
In search Of the Spanish ships and fail
ed to find them. Commodore Dewey
arrived at Subig bay, about thirty
miles north Of Manila bay, on Satur-
day, April 80, and sent the Baltimore
and Concord to reconnoiter the enemy,
They found no Spanish ships at the
entrance of the bay, and so the cornmo-
dore decided to risk the mines and pro-
ceed that same night, after dark into
the bay Of Manila, which he did.
The American fleet entered Manila
bay Saturday night with the greatest
Of ease. The Spaniards had not es-
tablished a patrol, and there were no
search lights at the entrance of the
bay. In fact, the American ships
would probably have passed inside the
bay without any challenge, had it not
been that some sparks flew up from
the McCulloch's funnel. Thereupon a
few shots were exchanged with the
batteries on Corregidor island, but the
fleet did not slow down, and soon took
up a position near Cavlte, awaiting
dawn, in order to commence HOSTILE
ties.
spaniards Fired First.
The early hours Of the morning re.
vealed the opposing ships to each 9TH
er. and the Spanish flagship opened
fire. Her action was followed by some
Of the larger Spanish warships, and
then the Cavite forts opened up, and
the smaller Spanish vessels brought
their guns into play.
The American squadron, which had
been led into the bay and through
the channel by the flagship Olympia
did not reply to this, although the
shells Of the Spaniards began to strike
the water around them, but moved
majestically onward. When nearing
Baker bay, a sudden upheaval of water
a short distance ahead Of the Olympia
! Gh hn MI ovdc