The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-30
WHY DEWEY STOPPED.
True Reason For Breakfast Call In
Battle of Manila Bay.
Joseph l.. Sticlney. in Harper's Month
~ for February

Joseph l.. Stickney. in Harper's Month
ly for February
What was the most interesting and
important of all the events that oc-
CURED during the battle of Manila
bay?"
This question has been put to me so
often since my return from the Phil
ippines that am glad to be at liberty
now that peace is asSured-to answer
it without risk of giving aid and COM
fort to the enemy.
1t has always been assumed in the
United States that, from start to finish,
there was nothing felt on our side eX-
cept a buoyant certainty of victory. 1t
will do no harm now 10 tell the real
facts
It will be remembered that the battle
began at six minutes past o'clock on
the morning of May l; that Commodore
(now Rear AdmiraD Dewey led the line
Of American warshipS into action in
his flagship Olympia; that after d
fierce fight, lasting two hours and q
half, the attacking fleet retired from
the battle into the center of Manila
bay, and did not renew the attack IN
til nearly four hours later.
When we hauled off from the fight
ing line, at 1886 O'Clock the situation
had become apparently serious for
Commodore Dewey. We had been
fighting a determined and courageous
enemy for more than two hours, with
out having noticeably diminished the
volume of his fire. 1t is true, at least
three of his ships had broken into
flames, but so had one of Ours-the
Boston. These fires had all been put
out without apparent injury 10 the
ships. Generally speaking, nothing of
great Importance had occurred 10 show
that we had seriously injured any
Spanish vessel. They were all steam
ing about in the blight back of Sangley
point, or in BakOr bay, as actively as
when we first sighted them in the early
dawn. So far, therefore, we could see
nothing indicating that the enemy was
less able to defend his position than
he had at the beginning.
g g G.
On the other hand, our condition was
greatly altered for the worse. There
remained in the magazines of the
Olympia only eighty-five rounds of five
inch ammunition, and though the stock
of eight-inch charges was not proper
depleted, it was reduced
enough to make the continuance of the
battle for another two hours impossi-
BILE. When it is remembered that Com
modore Dewey was more than 1000
miles from a home port, and that under
the most favorable conditions a supply
VI COulu lBL UE ODldlAtl
in less than a month. the outlook was
far from being satisfactory. The COM
modore knew that the SpaniardS had
just received an ample supply of am
munition in the transport Mindanao, so
that there was no hope of exhausting
their fighting power by an action last
ing twice as long If we should run
short of powder and shell, we might |
become the hunted instead of the hunt |
ers.
l do not eXaggerate in the least when |
say that, as we hauled of into the |
bay, the gloom on the bridge of the |
Olympia was thicker than a London fog |
in November. Neither Commodore /
Dewey nor any of the staff believed /
that the Spanish shpis had been suf- |
fciently injured by our fire to prevent |
them from renewing the battle quite as
as they had previously |
fought. Indeed, we had all been dis /
tinctly disappointed in the results of |
our fire. Our prOjectiles seemed to go |
too high or TOO loW-just as had been |
the case with those fired at us by the |
Spaniards. Several times the commo-
lore had expressed dissatisfaction with |
the failure of our gunnars to hit the
enemy. We had begun the firing at too
great distance, but we had gradually
worked in further on each Of the turns,
until we were within about $500 Yards
at the close of the fifth round. At that
in a smooth sea, we ought to
nave made a large percentage OF hits;
yet, so far as we could judge, we had
not sensibly crippled the foe. Conse-
Iuently Commodore Dewey hauled out
nto the open bay at the end of the
fifth round to take stock of ammunition
md devise a new plan of attack.
g. O. 81
AS I went aft the men asked me
What we were hauling off for They
we're in a distinctly different humor
rom that which prevailed on the
Fridge. They believed that they had
lone well. and that the other ships had !
lone likewise. The Olympia cheerel
he Baltimore. and the Baltimore re-
urned the cheers with interest The
run captains were not at all dissadis-
led with the results of their work
they had better knowledge of
he accuracy OF their aim than we had
IN the bridge or whether they took it
or granted that the enemy must have
suffered severely after so much fight
ng. l do not know; at any rate. they
we're eager to so on with the battle.
md We're confident of victory. I told
me of them that we We're merely haul
nS off for breakfast, which statement
licited the appeal to Captain Lamber-
on, as he came past moment later:
For Gods sake, captain, don't LET
IS stop now. TO hell with breakfasti"
When I told the commodore that I
Intended to attribute our ws-ssss.awal to
he need for hrpa lyfaSt no int |