The first major battle "The Battle of Manila Bay" of the Spanish-American War was also one of the U.S. Navy's most resounding victories. Much has been written about how and why the Spanish-American War started, what the catalyst for the war was, and who's to blame for it all. Once Spain declared war on the United States and the U.S. Congress responded in kind, the U.S. Navy was ready for action. When the war broke out, the Spanish had a formidable squadron of ships stationed in the Philippines, and it was crucial for American war plans to knock it out. The man dispatched to do it was the commander of the U.S. Asiatic Squadron, Adm. George Dewey. Composition of Forces in the Battle of Manila Bay Dewey, until this point, was not a celebrated war hero or a known name, even in U.S. Navy circles. In 1898, he was a 60-year-old Civil War veteran who idolized Adm. David Farragut and served under him at the Battle of New Orleans. But then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt saw...
