the Germans distinctly unfriendly, and that it must be persisted in no longer; after this their conduct was less objectionable.
Dewey held Manila at his mercy; he could take the city at any time, but not having sufficient troops to garrison it he took no active steps until forces from San Francisco arrived. The time between the battle of Manila and the arrival of American troops was a trying one for him; the question of the status of the rebels against Spanish rule, the action of the Germans, the widely advertised relief expedition from Spain, under Admiral Camera, and many other questions, contrived to put Dewey into a strain of anxious tension. The news of the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Santiago, and of the recall of Camera's fleet from Suez, received on 17 July, served to clear the atmosphere, and the arrival of American troops gave increased confidence. The first army expedition consisted of three transports with 2,500 men, which sailed from San Francisco on 15 May and arrived off Manila 30 June; as fast as possible other expeditions followed, until the entire force in the islands consisted of 641 officers and 15,058 enlisted men, under command of Gen. Wesley Merritt. It was only reluctance to cause needless loss of life and property that prevented an immediate attack upon the city; it was hoped Gov.-Gen. Augustin would yield to the inevitable. During this period of inaction the insurgents resumed the hostilities which had been suspended by the uncompleted truce of December, 1897. They invested the city on the north and east, but Dewey and Merritt constrained them from attacking it. On 31 July the Spaniards in force attacked the American lines that had been established at Manila, but were repulsed with a heavy loss, the Americans losing only 9 killed and 47 wounded. On 18 Aug. the fleet under Dewey combined with the troops under Merritt to make a simultaneous attack upon the city. The brigades commanded by Gens. McArthur and Greene carried the Spanish works, losing about fifty men; the navy again came off without the loss of a single life. After about six hours of fighting the city surrendered and Dewey's flag-lieutenant, Brumbaugh, raised the American flag.
Secretary Long summed up admirably the result of the victory in Manila bay when he said, in his annual report in November, 1898: “Aside from the mere fact of having won without the loss of a single life such a brilliant and electrifying victory at the very outset of the war, with all the confidence which it infused throughout the country and into the personnel of every branch of the service, it removed at once all apprehension for the Pacific coast. The indirect pecuniary advantage to the United States in the way of saving an increase of insurance rates and in assuring the country of freedom from attack on that coast is incalculable.” On 9 May, 1898, President McKinley, in a special message to congress, recommended that the thanks of the nation be given to Dewey and to his officers and men; joint resolutions to that effect were agreed to at once, and further resolutions ordered to be prepared a sword of honor for Dewey and medals for the officers and men, $10,000 being appropriated for the purpose. The first substantial evidence of the gratitude felt toward him was his appointment by President McKinley, on 10 May, 1898, as rear-admiral; he was then the senior officer in the navy. The rank of admiral, held before in our navy only by Farragut and Porter, was revived by congress, and on 3 March, 1899, Dewey was promoted to that rank.
After the fall of Manila and during the peace negotiations at Paris relations between the Spaniards and Americans became quiet, but the insurgents under Aguinaldo gave no little trouble; the Spanish prisoners in the hands of the Filipinos were also a fruitful source of friction. The insurgents grew bolder and more restive; on 7 Jan., 1899, Aguinaldo issued a proclamation protesting against the intrusion of the Americans in the Philippines, alleging that they had promised freedom for the islands and had violated their promises, denouncing McKinley's orders to Gen. Otis (who had succeeded to the command after Merritt had been called to Paris to advise the peace commissioners), and calling upon the Filipinos not to desist in their struggle for liberty. In January President McKinley appointed a commission of five, consisting of Admiral Dewey, Gen. Otis, President Schurman, of Cornell, Col. Charles Denby, sometime minister to China, and Prof. Dean C. Worcester, of the University of Michigan, for the purpose of examining the situation in the Philippines, and reporting to him and advising him on each new step in colonial development. On 4 and 5 Feb. hostilities broke out between the insurgents and Americans; from then on they continued even into the rainy season. Dewey supported the land forces with the navy in every case possible. His time now was also occupied by his duties on the Philippine commission, the civil members of which arrived at Manila on 4 March. On 4 April the commission issued a proclamation assuring the Filipinos of the perfect good faith of the Americans and their sincere desire to give them prosperity and happiness, well-being and good government; that a conflict against the Americans must in the end prove hopeless; and putting forth plainly and in detail the intentions of the Americans with reference to the government and control of the islands. On 22 May the commission submitted to peace commissioners appointed by the Filipinos a draft of the proposed form of government; this included a governor-general and a cabinet to be appointed by the president, and later an advisory council to be elected by the Filipinos. Dewey's work on the commission was now at an end. He had asked to be relieved, Rear-Admiral John C. Watson had been assigned to succeed him in command of the Asiatic station, and accordingly on 20 May he left Manila on board his flag-ship “Olympia,” bound for New York by way of Hong-Kong, the Indian ocean, the Suez canal, and the Mediterranean sea. His progress homeward was one continued ovation at every port in which he stopped, and every attention and honor possible were shown him. In the United States the preparations were most elaborate. A popular subscription toward a fund to provide him a home was started; city after city invited his attendance at dinners and receptions. In New York the celebration in his honor, 29 and 30 Sept., 1899, provided a most remarkable spectacle, the equal of which has perhaps never been witnessed in this country. The Dewey arch erected on Fifth avenue in his honor will, it is expected, be perpetuated in marble. The admiral was presented also with a beautiful loving cup of gold, the gift of the city of New York, and another equally beautiful silver cup was given later by a daily journal of the city, which had raised funds for the purpose by popular subscriptions of single dimes. Proceeding to Washington, Dewey was received by President McKinley, and was presented with the sword (see illustration) voted by congress, receiving another ovation in the nation's capital, 3 Oct., second only to that of the city of New York.
