George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the
United States Navy, best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the
Spanish-American War. He is also the only person in the history of the United States to attain the rank of Admiral of the Navy, the senior-most rank in the United States Navy.
Encyclopedia
George Dewey was an admiral of the
United States Navy, best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the
Spanish-American War. He is also the only person in the history of the United States to attain the rank of Admiral of the Navy, the senior-most rank in the United States Navy.
Biography
Dewey was born in
Montpelier, Vermont, attended
Norwich University for two years , and graduated from the
Naval Academy in 1858. He served as a lieutenant under Admiral
David Farragut in the
American Civil War, seeing action in
Louisiana and along the
Mississippi River. He attained the rank of
lieutenant commander in 1865.
Dewey remained in the Navy after the war and in 1896 was made a Commodore. He was appointed to the command of the United States Asiatic Squadron a few weeks before the start of the war with Spain.
On April 27, 1898, he sailed out from
China with orders to attack the
Spanish at
Manila Bay. He arrived at the mouth of the bay late the night of April 30, and the following morning he gave the order to attack at first light, by saying the now famous words "You may fire when you are ready,
Gridley". Within 6 hours, on May 1, he had sunk or captured the entire Spanish Pacific fleet under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón and silenced the shore batteries at
Manila, without the loss of a single life on the American side.
News of the victory in the Battle of Manila Bay made Dewey a great hero in the United States, and Dewey was promoted to
Rear Admiral. Dewey's swift easy victory no doubt did much to encourage the
William McKinley administration in its decision to place the
Philippines under American control.
Dewey aided
General Wesley Merritt in taking formal possession of Manila on August 18, 1898. In the early stages of the war the Americans were greatly aided by the Filipino nationalists led by
Emilio Aguinaldo who had been attacking the Spanish by land as Dewey was attacking them by sea. Dewey and Aguinaldo at first enjoyed a cordial relationship, and Dewey wrote that the Filipinos were "intelligent" and well "capable of self-government"; however the McKinley administration soon decided otherwise, and by the start of 1899, Dewey had to threaten to shell Aguinaldo's forces to allow American troops to land in Manila .
Dewey returned to America to a hero's welcome, and by act of
Congress was made Admiral of the Navy in 1899. A special military decoration, the
Dewey Medal, was also named in his honor.
After Dewey's return from the Spanish-American War, many suggested he run for
President of the United States on the Democratic ticket. However, newspapers started attacking him as naive after he was quoted saying the job of President would be easy since the chief executive was merely following orders in executing the laws enacted by Congress. He further angered Protestants by marrying a Catholic widow in 1899 and giving her the house that the nation had given him following the war.
Dewey withdrew from the race in mid-May and endorsed William McKinley.
Dewey officially remained an active officer of the Navy until his death, as a special honor after he passed retirement age. He published his autobiography in 1913. Admiral George Dewey died in
Washington, D.C..
Dates of Rank
Honors
In 1898, the Borough of Hellertown, Pennsylvania formed its fire department naming it Dewey Fire Company No. 1 in honor of George Dewey.
Three ships of the
United States Navy have borne the name
USS Dewey, including an
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer,
USS Dewey that began construction in 2005.
Thomasville, Georgia, contains the Dewey City "subdivision," an area settled in the late 1880's by former slaves.
External links
