752 



UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 



which fired two ineffective shots, and of the mines 

 known to have been placed in the harbor. The 

 second shot was answered by a shell from the " Con- 

 cord," aimed from the flash, which exploded among 

 the Spanish gunners. Two sunken torpedoes were 

 exploded ahead of the flagship when the fleet ad- 

 vanced on May 1 at early dawn against the Spanish 

 vessels sighted at the other end of the bay, where 

 the Spanish admiral hastily formed in battle line 

 under the protection of the guns of the Cavite fort. 

 The Spanish commander, Rear- Admiral Patricio 

 Montojo y Pasaron, had abandoned his anchorage 

 in Subig Bay, and taken up this defensive position, 

 so that the fire of his ships could be supplemented 

 by the shore batteries. The American ships, piloted 

 by Lieut. Calkins, entered the harbor before they 

 were expected, and passed the batteries and torpedo 

 defenses of the entrance with such ease, and navi- 

 gated the bay with such knowledge of the channels 

 and shallows, that Admiral Montojo was taken by 

 surprise. The Spanish ships had not enough steam 

 up to manoeuvre properly. Three of them had 

 broken machinery. As the American fleet advanced 

 to the attack in line ahead, the Manila batteries 

 opened fire with guns powerful enough to send 

 shells over the vessels at a distance of five miles. 

 The " Concord " replied with two shots. No more 

 were fired, for fear of burning the city. When the 

 column neared Cavite, the guns of the fortress and 

 of the Spanish ships first opened fire. The Span- 

 iards were drawn up in line of battle before Cavite, 

 five cruisers and an armed transport backed and 

 flanked by the forts during the entire engagement, 

 while two torpedo boats remained inside of the 

 mole until they stole out to attack the American 

 flagship, and four gunboats fired from behind the 

 same protection. Some of the American vessels 

 engaged the fleet, while others directed their fire 

 against the batteries. Commodore Dewey constantly 

 manoeuvred his fleet to keep an advantageous posi- 

 tion in the strong currents of the bay and to avoid 

 giving the Spaniards a steady mark. The fleet con- 

 sisted of the second-class cruisers " Olympia," " Bal- 

 timore," " Boston," and " Raleigh," the partially 

 protected gunboat " Concord," the armed revenue 

 cutter " Hugh McCulloch," and the small gunboat 

 " Petrel," with the tenders " Zafiro " and " Nau- 

 shon." The Spanish fleet was made up of the pro- 

 tected cruiser " Maria Cristina," flagship, the wooden 

 cruiser " Castilla," the third-class cruisers " Isla de 

 Cuba," " Isla de Luzon," " Don Antonio de Ulloa," 

 and " Don Juan de Austria," and the gunboats 

 " General Lezo " and " Marques del Duero." The 

 " Velasco " was in the harbor, but was undergoing 

 repairs, and her guns were mounted on earthworks 

 ashore. There were four torpedo boats, two of 

 which were sunk during the action, and two armed 

 transports, the "Manila" and "Isla de Mindanao," 

 one of which was sunk and the other captured. 

 The torpedo boat "Barcelo," the "Correo," the 

 "Leyte, and other light gunboats escaped by run- 

 ning up into the lagoons. 



In total weight of fire the fleets were nearly 

 equal, but the American cruisers mounted y-inch 

 guns in their main batteries, while the heaviest 

 caliber on board the Spanish ships was 6 inches ; 

 moreover, the former were more modern, better 

 engined, more heavily armored. This superiority 

 was counterbalanced by the Spanish land batteries 

 at Cavite, on Corregidor island, and in front of 

 Manila. The Spanish gunnery was poor, the first 

 shots passingover,the later ones falling short, though 

 in the thick of the battle two shots pierced the upper 

 works of the " Baltimore " and several shells burst 

 ahove the ships or against their sides. One of the 

 shots that struck the " Baltimore " exploded a case 

 of ammunition, wounding eight men, the only 



casualties on the American side. Commodore 

 Dewey's flagship led the American column, which 

 sailed back and forth as near the Spanish fleet, close 

 to the shore batteries, as it was supposed that the 

 deep draught of the " Olyrnpia " would allow ; then, 

 at a distance of 4,000 yards, changing its course, 

 the fleet ran parallel to the Spanish column and 

 opened fire with guns of all calibers on the ships 

 and forts. After twenty minutes the American 

 ships stood out and used their heavy guns with 

 terrible effect and then they closed in again. The 

 Spaniards worked their guns gallantly, but the 

 damage inflicted by the American shells caused 

 their fire gradually to weaken. After four runs 

 were made in front of the Spanish fleet with all 

 guns working, the enemy's fleet was rendered use- 

 less. The " Maria Cristina " advanced out of the 

 Spanish line to attack the American flagship, but 

 in a few minutes she was rendered a helpless 

 cripple. The fire of the " Olympia" was directed 

 upon her until a shell, raking the Spanish flagship, 

 exploded a magazine. Two torpedo boats that 

 crept out in the smoke to attack the ' Olympia " 

 and the " Baltimore " were detected and disabled by 

 the concentrated fire of the "Olympia's" secondary 

 battery, though not until they had approached 

 within 500 yards. The "Don Juan de Austria" 

 was blown up. The "Castilla" also burst into 

 flames, and then the " Isla de Cuba," to which the 

 flag of Admiral Montojo had been transferred, 

 caught fire and sank. The " Don Antonio de 

 Ulloa," the only remaining ship outside of the 

 breakwater, was fired by American shells and 

 abandoned, after which the " Concord " and " Pet- 

 rel" went across the bay and destroyed the " Min- 

 danao " and the lighter craft which the Spanish 

 crews had run upon the beach. The Spanish ad- 

 miral's last signal was for the captains all to scuttle 

 and abandon their ships. The American fleet with- 

 drew to give the men a rest and breakfast after two 

 hours of hard work, and because also Admiral Dewey 

 did not know how completely he had disabled the 

 Spanish ships and the ammunition on his ship was 

 reported, though by mistake, to be running short. 

 They returned later in the morning to silence, with 

 a few well-directed shots from the " Baltimore " 

 and from the " Concord," which ran up into close 

 range, all the remaining batteries afloat and ashore ; 

 after which the gunboats went inside the break- 

 water and destroyed the remnant of the fleet, 

 except those that' the Spaniards scuttled or ran 

 aground in the shallow lagoons. The" Petrel " ran 

 close up to the shore to do this work. The water 

 battery at Cavite was shelled until a magazine 

 exploded, killing 40 soldiers. The commander of 

 the fort raised a white flag, which was taken for a 

 signal for surrender. When on the following day 

 an American officer went ashore he was told that a 

 truce was desired, so that women and children could 

 be taken to a place of safety. The Spanish oflieer 

 said he had no authority to surrender the arsen;il. 

 Admiral Montojo, his chief, having been wounded 

 in the battle and conveyed to Manila. When Com- 

 modore Dewey threatened to renew the bombard- 

 ment, the fortsof Cavite and Corregidor surrendered 

 finally, and the arsenal was delivered over at the 

 same time, thus giving the Americans complete 

 command of the bay. 



This exploit of modern American armor dads 

 engaging simultaneously a fleet .of nearly equal 

 apparent strength and shore batteries mount HILT 

 heavy ordnance is a remarkable one in naval annals. 

 On the American side not one ship was disabled nor 

 a man killed, while the Spaniards lost 618 men 

 killed and lost their entire fleet, and their fort. 

 was shattered in spite of the obstinate courage of 

 its defenders. 





