-72 THE U.S. GUNBOAT "CONCORD.

CHAPTER XVI.

COMMODORE PEWEY AND THE BATTLE OF MANILA COMMODORE GEORGE DEWEY, thp hero of the Manila fight, comes of aq old New England family. He was born in Vermont in 1837, graduated at the Annapolis Naval Academy in 1854, and saw his first war service,underFarragut, at the forcing of the Mississippi mouth,andin the numerousgunboat actions and attacks on fortsalongthe greatriver. In one of these river battles he had an experiencesomething like that which was to befall his Spanish opponents at Manila. He was trying to run past the Confederate works at Fort Hudson, on the Mississippi, when his ship, a large armed paddle-steamer, was riddled with shot and shell and ran aground. Dewey, with his officers and men, escaped after setting their ship on fire. After this he served in the hard fighting on the Atlantic coast. He was promoted to the rank of Commodore in 1884, and was appointed to the command of the United States Pacific squadron in January, 1898, at a time when it appeared that he might have to use it chiefly toprotect Americaninterests during a generalscramble of the naval powers for ports and "spheres of influence" around the Yellow Sea. In March he began to concentrate his squadron at Hong Kong. It waslying in Mirs Bay ready for action when war was declared.

Dewey's fleet consisted of the following vessels:— First-class protectedcruisers.— Olympia (Flagship) 5,800 tons; armament, 12 6-inch guns, 10 quick-firers. Baltimore:Displacement, 4,600 tons;armament, 4 8-inch guns and 4 b-inchguns, 12 quick-firers.

Second-class protected cruisers.— Ral . Displacement, 3,183 tons ; armament, 1 6-inch quick-firer, 22 lighterquick-firers. Boston:Displacement, 3,187 tons;armament, 2 S-inch and 6 6-inch guns, 11 quick-firers. Gunboats.— Concord: Displacement, 1,700 tons;armament, 6 6-inch guns, 7 quick-firers. Petrel: Displacement, 800 tons; armament, 4 6-inch guns, 5 quick-firers. Despatch-boat.— HughMeCull Storeships— Nanshan and Zafiro:Men men, laden with coals, provisions, and ammunition.

All the six United States fighting ships had a steel under-water deck to protect the i space and vitals of the ship. B armoured deck, the Olympia had four to liveinch armour on her barbettes and conningtowers, and four-inch steel shields to p her secondary armament. The Baliimoi no barbettes, but had steel shields to he and an armoured conning-tower. The /"-' and Concord hd alsoarmoured conning-ti On the other hand,in the Spanish If sembled at Manila, the only ships tha the protection of a lightly armoured water deck were two small cruiser-:. hi