This resolution was signed by the President at 11.24 o’clock A. M., April 20, 1898.
MORRO CASTLE, SANTIAGO, CUBA.
It was on February 15, 1898, that the catastrophe referred to—the blowing up of the Maine—occurred. On April 25, the formal declaration of war was made.
Spain had three fleets,—Admiral Cervera’s flying squadron, the Asiatic fleet under Admiral Montejo, and Admiral Camara’s fleet of heavy armored vessels.
The American navy is always ready for emergencies, and even with the grudging appropriations made by Congress, the “new navy,” while not possessing vessels of such large size as those of some other nations, was much more formidable than was generally supposed. Congress, apprehending the outcome, had given the President $50,000,000 to put the country on a war footing. In reply to the call for 125,000 volunteers, five times that number offered themselves.
It had been more than fifty years since the United States had encountered a foreign foe, and since the close of the Civil War, for a third of a century, peace had reigned.
ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY.
April 25, by cable to Hong Kong, Commodore Dewey was ordered to find and destroy the Spanish Asiatic fleet, which he proceeded to do on May 1st, without the loss of a single man. Entering Manila Bay, scorning torpedoes and mines, his wonderful battle at Cavite is the admiration of the world.