Show reca ing the hero of manila abay by ELMO SCOTT WATSON T WAS just 20 years ago that the word flashed over the wires from washington D C that a man named george dewey had died there and immediately thousands of americans recalled once more how that name had thrilled them one may morning back in 1898 for this man was all the hero of manila bay and his astounding victory in the far off philippines at the very beginning of the spanish american war had at once placed his name high in that galaxy of naval heroes which includes the names of john paul jones stephen decatur oliver hazard perry and david farragut this was the man for whom they had poured out a flood of adulation such as few other americans had ever before received and few have known since they built a triumphal arch in his honor in new york city they raised mone money y to buy a house in washington for him and they presented him with a loving cup made from dimes they made songs about him such popular ballads as on a dewy morning in the dewy month of may when a man named dewey sailed they named their sons cons after him and if today youre introduced to a man whose first name is dewey youre safe in guessing that he was born late in 1898 or early in 1899 and then these americans who constitute the public which is consistent only in its inconsistency proved once more its fickleness by turning against the man whose name they had flung against the stars they approve of his marrying again nor of his deeding his gift house to his young second wife and when in response to what he understood der stood was a popular demand he announced his candidacy for the presidency it was characterized as the climax to a serle series of unfortunate mistakes and the public that had once praised him now jiow ridiculed him but this latter episode was forgotten when at sunset on january 16 1917 he died all the honors that man can give to a hero were his there was a state funeral in the capitol and burial in arlington the newspapers printed column upon column about his career and once more the name of the hero of manila bay was on every americans lips it was thus for only a day or two at that time americans were facing the grim reality of their count rys being drawn inevitably into the war then raging in europe within three months after his big burial in arlington america had bad gone in with the allies and tinder the shadow of this great conflict the war in which dewey had won his fame grew more and more insignificant A forgotten hero out of the world war came new heroes to be acclaimed and to the younger generation of americans admiral G george e 0 r g e dewey became little more than a name in their school histories and thus it has teen been for the last iasi two decades but this year it will be heard again for america is preparing to celebrate the centennial of his birth vermont and particularly its capital Mon Monto elier where still 7 M M 4 31 M ea hg I 1 Z K ak K I 1 president presenting a sword to admiral dewey dewcy stands the little house where shefre he was born on december 23 20 1837 will take the lead in the celebration the national capital where he be spent the sunset of his life and where re he is buried it in washington c cathedral will also participate and from these two centers will come the inspiration for a nationwide nation wide observance of the career of one of the great figures in americas naval history the hero of manila bay i it has been said that dewey was directly descended from charlemagne Charte magne and other european monarchs but he probably took greater pride in the sturdy line of now new england patriots who were his more immediate ancestors tor nine alne generations of them leading back to thomas thoma s dewey the first of that name who came from england and landed at boston in 1633 among them was his great grandfather william dewey who was a minute man at the outbreak of the revolution and later a corporal in the continental army who served at saratoga under general gates williams son simeon was born at hebron conn and died in 14 montpelier vt at the age of ninety three simeon dewey had made his impression on the life of montpelier as justice of the peace and was one of the organizers of dartmouth college who gave 50 acres of land for its use and support their son julius Y dewey became a doctor john barrett biographer of admiral dewey declares dr julius dewey explains the greatness gre greatness ainess of his son he was great before him he may not have won national fame but his fellow citizens appreciated his sterling worth he was an exceptional man he was a rare development of the very best vermont stock graduated from norwich college at the age of seventeen young dewey even though there was no heritage of the sea in his ancestry decided he wanted to go to the united states naval academy at annapolis and dr dewey secured the appointment from vermont for his son at first yo young ung deweys deleys grades were not high but after a warning from both his stern father prid and his teachers he improved his scholarship and was graduated third in his class in 1858 1853 A baptism of fire in april 1801 midshipman dewey was commissioned lieutenant and soon had his baptism of fire for he was assigned to the stearn steam frigate mississippi in ii the west coast squadron in the gulf of mexico which brought him under the command of david G farragut dewey was on the mississippi when it ran ashore at fo fort rt jackson after losing its bearing in the smoke of battle on swimming away from the ship dewey after the order to abandon her came saved the life of a sailor from drowning at the risk of his own life and captain smith in his report spoke of his bravery and coolness when the civil war ended dewey was a lieutenant com mander a high rank for a young man of twenty eight next he was stationed at the navy yard in portsmouth N H and there he met and fell in love with susie the daughter of gov go ichabod goodwin they were married in 1867 in 1873 dewey became the father of a son but it cost the life of the little boys mother inconsolable over his loss dewey asked for a distant tour of duty so that lie he might forget his soi sor row leaving his son at home with his parents dewey went to the pacific to take charge of some important surveys in that ocean and very quickly he began rising rapidly in the service he was commissioned a captain in 1884 commanded the pensacola on the european station from 1885 to 1888 served as chief of the bureau of equipment from 1888 1838 to 1833 1903 and as a member of the lighthouse board from 1893 to 1896 1890 in the latter year he was advanced to commodore and also served as president of the board of inspection and survey war with spain during these years conditions under spanish rule in cuba had gone from bad to worse and Aine american rican s sympathies became so z M 0 14 10 11 4 1 Z V g the house in vt in which dewey dewcy was born involved that by the fall of 1897 war with spain seemed imminent commodore dewey was in washington at the time and his request to take command of the pacific fleet had just been granted shortly before leaving the capital hn he happened onedas one day to meet one of the justices of the supreme court on the street who said to him commodore it looks as though the spanish war were cum coming ing it certainly does was dow dew eys ays answer 1 I suppose said the justice that the first battle will be fought at havana no said the commodore it will be fought at manila what do you mean said the justice to which dewey replied 4 W 4 ADMIRAL GE GEORGE ORGE DE DEWEY WEY v if have chave anything to do with I 1 shall sail ball over in the night and capture manila before breakfast that there was another edh man who had the same idea is shown by the cablegram which dewey received at hongtong Hong kong china on february 25 1898 from the vigorous young assistant secretary of the navy named theodore roosevelt it read in the event of war with spain you will capture or destroy the spanish ships in those waters and operate in the philippines dewey was was ready and waiting for just some such message as that although war had not yet been formally declared this gave him a free hand to fight the spaniard when and where he found him so with bands playing tha star spangled banner deweys deleys squadron put out to sea from hong kong and headed for manila where on may 1 1893 in one of the shortest naval engagements in history he destroyed the spanish fleet without having a single man ki killed tied or suffering serious injury to any of the american ships next the spanish navy yard at cavito cavite fell and the po power of spain in the east was ended for all time the nation Is thrilled the news of the victory at manila thrilled the nation as had no other event for many a year immediately med lately there was a demand for prompt and official recount tion lion of deweys deleys feat president mckinley appointed himadi him an acting rear admiral and in a message to congress on may 9 1898 recommended that the thanks thank of congress be given to lo the victor of manila not only was this done but in addition congress vc voted ted that a handsome jeweled sword be presented to dewey by the government when the new rear admiral came back to the united states in 1899 the sword was presented to him by the president at an im pres siye skye ceremony in front odthe of the capitol in the presence of a cheering throng of thousands of 61 people it bore thearis th the earms arms of vermont and the united states and had the initials G D outlined in diamonds in march 1899 dewoy dewey was made admiral of the navy the highest rank eyer held by any Amer american fean naval offices cei farra gut and porter having been admirals only from march 29 1000 1900 to the time of his death dewey was president of the gen eral board of the navy and a familiar figure on the streets of washington as one of its most beloved citizens despite the temporary eclipse of his popularity following his marriage and the announcement of his candidacy for president A beautiful young widow deweys deleys second wife was the daughter of washington mclean cincinnati publisher who had been not only a friend of lincoln and grant but of jefferson davis as well she had married gen john B hazen who had served in the union army while still very young and she was a still and charming widow when dewey who had met her in washington years before returned to his triumph in the capital before long the gossips were linking the names odthe of the elderly naval hero and the young widow and predicting their marriage partly because ot of a prejudice against mrs Hai hazens ens religious affiliations i fil partly because of her social ambitions and partly because of a feeling that it was somehow undignified for the hero of manila Mani laBay bay to td marry a woman much younger than he was the public Ais disapproved approved ol of the match heedless ot of this dis approval dewey went ahead and married irs hazen the public might have forgiven him for thus deciding that his marriage was his and not the publics affair but when he deeded to his wife the hou house se in washington glon which had been bought by popular subscription sc rip tion popular resentment named flamed high then on the morning of april 4 1900 the new york world printed an interview with dewey in which he said in part if the american people want me for this high office of president I 1 shall be only too willing to serve them since studying this subject I 1 am convinced that the office of president is not such a very difficult one to fill his duties being mainly to execute the laws of congress dewey had been approached on the subject of loding being a candidate for president but had disclaimed any such ambition however a stop bryant element in the democratic party had persisted in promoting his candidacy at last ho he had yielded to the temptation and made his ill advised announcement no which resulted in much ridicule being heaped upon his head however the fickle public soon forgot as it always does that G george eorge dewey had ever been anything less than the great hero it had once hailed back in 1898 99 his last years with his wife were idyllically happy until that day in J january andary 1917 when he contracted a cold put to bed by his doctor he grew gradually worse mostly with the ills which he humorously ly described as anno do domani it is said that as he lay half conscious he began to fight over once more the battles of his life and as though ho be were giving commands from the bridge of the mississippi at new orleans or the olympia at manila his voice rang out with some of its old time resonance until death stilled it at last hig hia body was wag first entombed temporarily in the mausoleum of gen nelson A miles at arlington then moved with military and naval honors to on an other A arlington rl ington tomb which his widow had built later it was removed to the bethlehem chapel at a t mount st alban washington a and nd finally given its last resting place in the washington cathedral the american equivalent of a combined westminster abbey anast andst and st pauls in these four ch en tomb ments there is a strange analogy between the careers of dewey and another american naval hero for john paul jones was given three temporary buri als before his body was finally laid to rest in the chapel crypt at An andrii rIi 0 western union |