By the efforts of Miss Barton, in 1881 the United States co-operated in this work. A Red Cross society was formed of which Miss Barton became president. In 1896 its members helped in the relief of the Armenians; they did noble work in the Spanish-American War in 1898, and in the Boer War the next year.
The work of the Red Cross society is not limited to the relief of the victims of war. In times of calamity and disaster, it takes speedy relief to those stricken by flood, famine, or pestilence. During the floods of 1884, Miss Barton in a relief-boat traveled thousands of miles up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, distributing food, clothing, and supplies. The Johnstown flood of 1889 left four thousand people dead and twenty thousand homeless. The Red Cross Society hastened to the relief of the sufferers. For five months its agents worked amid scenes of want and distress, distributing over two hundred thousand dollars’ worth of food, clothes, furniture, and other supplies. They did similar work at the great flood of Galveston in 1900, and are always ready to extend a helping hand where it is needed.
George B. Dewey
George Dewey, the third admiral of the United States navy, was born in Vermont, December 26, 1837. He was descended from a Puritan who emigrated to Massachusetts about 1633. As a boy, George Dewey was mischievous and daring and not fond of study. His father, however, realizing the importance of education, kept him at school and insisted on his applying himself.
He entered the Naval Academy when he was seventeen and was graduated in 1858, fifth in his large class. His first active service was in Farragut’s attack on New Orleans, and here he showed courage and coolness under fire.
In attempting to pass Port Hudson, his ship, the Mississippi, was riddled with shot and shell. Then it was run ashore and set on fire by Captain Smith and Dewey to prevent its falling into the hands of the Confederates. In his official report of this affair, Captain Smith said, “I consider that I should be neglecting a most important duty should I omit to mention the coolness of my executive officer, Mr. Dewey, and the steady, fearless, and gallant manner in which the officers and men of the Mississippi defended her, and the orderly and quiet manner in which she was abandoned after being thirty-five minutes aground, under the fire of the enemy’s batteries.”
After the war Farragut said to Dewey’s father, “Your son George is a worthy and brave officer and some day will make his mark.”
It was long, however, before the opportunity came for him to do so. Meanwhile he went quietly on, performing the duties of his profession. For two years after the War between the States, he was instructor in the Naval Academy. In 1884 he was promoted captain and in 1897 commodore. He was now sixty years old, and while he was recognized as a brave and able officer, the prospect seemed that he would be retired at sixty-two, according to the rules of the navy, without gaining special fame.
But this was not to be the case. His opportunity was to come, and because he was ready for it, he was to attain a fame equal to that won by any other naval commander of his country. In January, 1898, he was ordered to take command of the Asiatic squadron; that spring while he was on Pacific waters, war was declared between the United States and Spain.
Cuba, one of its first discoveries, had remained subject to Spain while one after another of her New World possessions slipped from her grasp. Instead of ruling the colony wisely, Spain governed it with severity and injustice. The oppressed people made more than one effort to gain freedom. One attempt after another was unsuccessful, but in 1895 there broke out a rebellion so desperate that the Spaniards were not able to suppress it. The cruel General Weyler was put in command of the army in Cuba. In order to keep the natives from taking part in the insurrection, he formed what were called “concentration camps;” towns were surrounded by barbed wire fences and the inclosures were guarded by Spanish soldiers; in these were confined men, women, and children. Foul water, lack of food, and lack of proper sanitary regulations killed thousands in these camps. Through the Red Cross Society, the Americans sent food and supplies to the sufferers.