The herald., 1898-11-29
DEWEY IN ACTION
"DoN'T DODGE, BOYS" WAS HIS
WAR CRY
Calm to Degree and Courteous in the
Thickest of the Fight-Stick-
ney's Testimonial

'Without doubt the coolest man on any
Of the ships during the battle of Manila was
George Dewey, commander of the victorious
fleet This was the testimonial to the
bravery of the hero of Manila, given yester-
DAY by man who stood at his side upon the
bridge of the flagship Olympia throughout
the struggle of May l, 1885, This man was
j. l.. Stckney, ex-naval officer and CORE
spondent. who is visiting Chicago.
From the timd we were called to quarters
at 10 o'clock Saturday evening, April 80,
until the Spaniards surrendered, except
during the brief period allotted for break
fast, | stood close beside Admiral Dewey.
| was his naval secretary during the engage
ment, that officer having voluntarily gone
into active service, and am certainly quail
fed to give an opinion upon the behavior
of the admiral. Certainly drawer man
never trod the deck of warshp.
THE TRIP INTO THE HARBOR
admiral Dewey is always chivalrous
gentleman. but he has the reputation OF be-
coming even more suave than usual when
under anything of nervous strain.
Throughout the night as we were sailing to-
ward Manila every man was at his post.
The admiral might have been in drawing
room, so deferential was he in regard to
everything As we neared the opening into
the bay he became the soul of politeness
Even necessary commands were given as
though they were simple requests. From
these signs we knew of the nervous strain
upon him. The climax came when we had
passed the first torpedoes. When these
expioded harmlessly, showing that the in
formation to the effect that the channel
was dangerously mined was false, Admiral
Dewey fairly beamed. From that time until
the end he seemed to give himself over to the
pleasure of being in battle. Owing to our
good fortune in escaping injuries there was
no necessity of changing the original plan
of attack, and almost the only command
given by the admiral was Keep on the five
fathom line, Calkins' Calkins was the nav.
igator of the Olympia.
SHOTS FALL AROUND DEWEY
But it must not be thought that po
sition upon the bridge of the flagship was
without its dangers Once solid shot passed
through the netting of the rigging over oul
heads, while another passed just beneath
the timber flooring of the bridge and scat
Others were lodging, but all he said was
Don't dodge, boys; they have all gone past
The danger is all over Then he went below
to breakfast as calmly as though he were
upon dry land and peaceful one at that.
I'm all things Admiral Dewey showed that
he was the right may for the place. The
plan of attack was all his Just before near
ing the entrance to the bay Saturday after
neon all the ship commanders were called
over to the flagship and given their orders
There was no conference, as so many have
said. The admiral made the plan and or
dered its execution. Moreover, he attended
| to every detail of the work. only leaving his
bridge once for retreshment during all the
hours of action and all the time seeing to
every point personally. The admiral is th,
idol OF his fleet, every man in it.
'As for the battle itself, nearly everything
has been told. We were all surprised at thu
fact that there was not greater casualt,
list. One armor-piercing projectie tha
struck the Baltimore and caromed from on,
side of the deck to the other until it strucI
a pile of shells and exploded them woul,
have killed scores of seamen had it been al
explosive missile. Other escapes from Sc
rlous injury, almost miraculous, are @,
record. AT many times it was pretty no
aboard the American ships. The condition
aboard those of the enemy can better be i'm
agined than described
WHY THE CABLE WAS CUT
When Mr.. Stickney was asked why Dewe,
cut the cable he replied that the only reasoi
was Captain General Augustus refusal to lie
the Americans use it. There was no desir
on his part to cut off communication will
Washington, the reason so often ascribed
Mr.. Sticl1ney left Manila July 29th Admira
Dewey having assured him that there wou!,
be no more fighting. He accordingly saw
and knew nothing of later Developments
Chicago Chronicle