The days passed swiftly, and President McKinley was kept more than busy. His first call was for one hundred and twenty-five thousand men, and right nobly did the citizens from every state in the Union respond to the call. The militia everywhere was called out, and recruiting went on at all hours of the day. Camps were established in various parts of the country, and here the militia were sworn into the United States service. The writer of this volume visited a number of these camps at the time, and the patriotic impression brought back will never be forgotten.
Strange as it may seem, the first great blow struck by us against Spain was miles away from either the United States or Cuba. When war became a fact. Commodore George Dewey, commanding the Asiatic Squadron of the United States navy, was stationed at the bay of Hong Kong, China. He was immediately ordered to get his squadron into proper shape for fighting, and was further ordered to find a certain Spanish fleet located in or near the Philippine Islands and engage it.
Commodore Dewey had fought in the
