The Washington herald., 1913-09-28

inch from the forward turret or the
olympia, and this was the signal for all
the other ships to join the action
The effect Of its concentration, owing
to the fact that our ships were kept
so close together, was smothering. par
ticularly upon the two largest ships, the
Reina Cristina and Castillo. The Reins
Cristina and Castella made desperate at
tempts to charge the Olympia, but, be-
coming the target for all our batteries,
they turned and ran back.
Feeling confident Of the outcome.
now signaled that the crews, who had
had only a cup of coffee at a. m, should
have their breakfast. The public at home.
on account of this signal, to which was
attributed a nonchalance that had never
occurred to me, reasoned that breakfast
was the real reason for our Withdrawing
from action. Meanwhile ] improved the
opp rtunity I have the commanding
officers report on board the flagship"
There was little fighting left to be done
Captain after captain reported, and not
a single life had been lost. Soon the
batteries at Sangley Point were silenced,
and the gallant little Ulloa, with her
colors flying, was riddled and sunk. But
some of the enemys ships, though aban-
doned, still were afloat Therefore the
executive officer of the Petrol. Lieut.
e. M. Hughes, with a whale boat and
a crew Of only seven men, boarded and
set fire to the Don Juan d'Austria, Isla
de Cuba, 1sla de LuZon, General Lezo,
Corea, and Marquee de Duero, all of
which had been abandoned in shallow
water and left scuttled by their deserting
crews. The Manila. an armored trans
Port, which was found uninjured after
having been beached by the Spaniards.
was spared. She was easily fioated later
and for years did good service as a gun
boat The little Petrol, her work finished,
reJoined the squadron, towing a long
string Of tugs and launches, to be greet
ed by a volley of cheers from every ship.
The order to capture or destroy the
Spanish squadron had been executed to
the letter. Not one OF its fighting ves-
sells remained afloat That night I wrote
in my diary: Reached Manila at day
light. Immediately engaged the Spanish
ships and batteries at Cavite. Destroyed
eight Of the former. including the Reina
Cristina and Castillo Anchored at noon
of Manila"
But the admiraTs real work was only
begun. There was to follow months OF
waiting In Manila Bay, the maintenance
Of a blockade and treating with Agui-
naldo.
Much has been written of the slight
trouble which Dewey had with the war
vessels Of Germany. and conditions have
been misrepresented. The author points
out that the matter was merely a differ
ence of opinion about international law,
and that II was adjusted amicably when
he and Vice Admiral Won Diedrich
reached a common basis for discussion.
All through the book runs a note Of
surprise that Americans became so en-
thusiastic over the results of the battle
OF Manila The admiral says he was
never aware OF the way in which his vic
tory had taken hold of the popular imag-
ina-ion, and that the tremendous recep-
ton awaiting him on his return took his
breath away.
The book will command a wide interest
Even the pleasant tales Of Dewey's boy
hood. the days when ae was always look
ing for something to oJhappen," will offer
an appeal At Annapolis the future ad-
miral was known as ''Shang" Dewey. 1t
seems that it was just a matter Of chance
that he went to the Naval Academy. He
left his home in Montpelier, VT, TO study
at the Norwich Military Academy, but
the plans for his education were changed,
and thus began fifty-nine years ago the
active career OF one of Americas great
seafighters