DKWEV
DE\VE\
DEWEY, George, naval officer, \vas Ihh-ii in
Moutiwlier, Vt., Dec. 2(5, 18^7; son of Dr. Julius
Yemaus and Mary (Perriii), grandson of Capt.
Simeon and Prudence (Yenians), great-grandscm
of William and Reltecca (Carrier), great ^ grand-
sou of Simeon and Anna (Phelps), great^ grand-
sou of William and Mercy (Bailey), great^
grand.son of Josiah and Meliitable (Miller),
great* grandson of Sergt. Josiah and llepzibah
(Lyman), and great* grandson of Thomas Dewey
who emigrated from Sandwich, Kent, England,
alxjut 1C30. Dr. Julius Y. Dewey (M.D., Uni-
versity of Vermont, 1S24), organized the Na-
tional life insurance company, and was its
president, ISol-TT. George was educated in the
puhlic scliool and academy and in Norwich uni-
versity, and was apjwinted to the naval acad-
emy at Anuajxjlis, entering Sept. 23, 1854. He
was graduated in 1858 tiftli in the class, and was
assigned to the U.S. steam frigate ]\'abash at-
tached to the Mediterranean squadron. On his
return home in 1859 he had attained the rank of
ensign and was on leave of ab.sence in 1861 when
the news of the fall of Sumter reached Montpelier
and he at once reix)rted to Washington for duty.
He w;is promoted pa.ssed midshipman, Jan. 19,
1861; master, Feb. 23, 1861, and lieutenant, April
19, 1861. He was assigned to the Mississippi and
was second officer on that vessel in the West Gulf
squadron ordered to capture New Orleans and he
took part in the operations of Farragut and Por-
ter that resulted in the reduction of Forts Jackson
and St. Philip and the capture of the city, April
29. 1862. Wlien the fleet undertook to run the
batteries of Port Hudson the Mississippi, retarded
by the disabling of the Richmond, was swept on the
fiats 100 yards from the battery and speedily set
on fire. After Dewey had spiked the guns he
left the ship with Captain Smith in a small boat,
the .sailors having made their escape by swim-
ming to the opposite shore. In July, 1863, Lieu-
tenant Dewey was with the gunboat flotilla that
engaged the Confederate batteries below Donald-
sonville and in 1864 he was attached to the x\ga-
xcam of the North Atlantic squadron. He was sub-
sequently transferred to the Colorado, and with
that ve.s.sel engaged in both attacks on Fort Fisher,
N.C., December, 1864, and January, 1865. He
was commissioned lieutenant-commander, March
3, lHf;5; was executive officer on the Kearsarge,
1865-G7; and secon<l officer on board the Colorado
of the European squadron, 186T-68. He was as-
signed to duty at the naval academy in 1868 and
in 1870 received his first command, that of the
Knrrrtri.insett. He was on special service, 1870-72,
receiving while on that service his commi.s.sion as
comman.ler, April 13, 1872. He liad charge of
the Pacific survey, 1872-75; was lighthouse in-
spector, 1876-77; secretary of the Ughthouse
board, 1877-82; anil was in command of the
Juniata of the Asiatic squadron, 1882-84. He was
made captain, Sept. 27, 1884; commanded the
Dolphin of the white squadron, 1884-85; the Pen -
sacola, flagship of the Euroi>ean squadron, 1885-88 ;
was chief of the bureau of equi{Miient and re-
cruiting, 1888-93; was on the lighthouse board,
1893-95; was commissioned commodore, Feb 28,
1896, and served as president of the board of in-
spection and survey at Washington, D.C., 1896-
97. He was assigned to the command of the
Asiatic squadron Nov. 30, 1897. He took com-
mand Jan. 1, 1898, and when war with Spain
was declared in April, 1898, the British procla-
mation of neutrality that followed obliged Com-
modore Dewey to leave Hong Kong, April 28,
1898, with liis fleet, which consisted of the Ohjm-
pia, flagship, the Baltimore, Boston, Italeir/h, Con-
cord, Petrel, McCulloch, revenue cutter, Xanshan,
collier, and Zafiro, supply ship; nine vessels
manned by 1694 officers and men. His orders
from W^ashington were to capture or destroy
the Spanish Pacific squadron, then in harbor in
Manila Bay. He reached the south channel
leading into the bay, April 30, 1898, at 11.30
P.M., and disregarding the torpedoes with which
the place was reported to be guarded, he made
his way silently up the channel. When the
greater part of his fleet had passed witliin the
protection of the bay the Spanish forts first
opened fire from a shore battery, their shot go-
ing far wide of the mark and doing no damage
to the invading fleet. W^hen daylight broke on
May 1, 1898, the United States squadron was off
the city of Manila, and at 5.15 a.m., five bat-
teries defending the city — three of which were
located at Manila and two near Cavitc, — and
the Spanisli fleet, comprising the Boina Cristina,
Castilla, Bon Antonio de UUoa, Don Juan de Austria,
Isla de Cuba, Isia de Luzon, General Lezo, Mar-
ques del Duero, El Correo, Velasco, Isla de Mindanao.
Bapido and Hercules, opened fire. The United
States fleet returned the fire at 5.41 a.m., main
taining a line parallel to that of the anchored
