1 68 Admiral Dewey 



to supreme excellence in their profession unless they 

 make it their life-work. 



We should therefore keep in mind that the hero 

 can not win save for the forethought, energy, cour 

 age, and capacity of countless other men. Yet we 

 must keep in mind also that all this forethought, 

 energy, courage, and capacity will be wasted unless 

 at the supreme moment some man of the heroic 

 type arises capable of using to the best advantage the 

 powers lying ready to hand. Whether it is Nelson, 

 the greatest of all admirals, at Aboukir, Copenhagen, 

 or Trafalgar; or Farragut, second only to Nelson, 

 at New Orleans or Mobile; or Dewey at Manila 

 the great occasion must meet with the great man, or 

 the result will be at worst a failure, at best an in 

 decisive success. The nation must make ready the 

 tools and train the men to use them, but at the 

 crisis a great triumph can be achieved only should 

 some heroic man appear. Therefore it is right and 

 seemly to pay homage of deep respect and admira 

 tion to the man when he does appear. 



Admiral Dewey performed one of the great feats 

 of all time. At the very outset of the Spanish War 

 he struck one of the two decisive blows which 

 brought the war to a conclusion, and as his was 

 the first fight, his success exercised an incalculable 

 effect upon the whole conflict. He set the note of the 

 war. He had carefully prepared for action during 



