Admiral Dewey's sailors are very fond of him, for although he is strict he is always just. The two things which he especially dislikes are disobedience and untruth.
On one occasion, when captain of the Dolphin, his lieutenant reported that one of the men had refused to perform some task on the plea that it was not his work. Captain Dewey came on deck, and, looking sternly at the man, said:
"What! you refuse to do as you are told! Don't you know that this is mutiny?" Calling for the guard, he ordered them to load their guns. "Now, my man," he said, "you have just five minutes in which to obey that order." The captain began counting the minutes, and by the time he had reached four, the order was obeyed.
At another time, while at Gibraltar, one of his sailors who had been ashore, came aboard late at night, very drunk. Next morning, he tried to excuse himself to the captain by saying that he had only had two glasses of grog, but had afterwards been sun-struck.
"You are lying, my man," said Dewey. "You were very drunk. I expect my men to tell me the truth. Had you told me that you were drunk, I would have made the punishment as light as possible. Now you get ten days in irons for lying."
In January, 1898, Commodore Dewey was ordered to take command of the Asiatic Squadron at Hong Kong, China.
V.—The American Navy in Cuban Waters.
While Admiral Dewey had been winning fame at Manila, the Navy Department had organized two other fleets which were to be used nearer home.
One of these was called the Flying Squadron because it was composed of fast cruisers. It was stationed at Hampton Roads. From this point, it could move quickly either north or south to protect the cities on the Atlantic coast in case they should be attacked by a Spanish fleet.
The commander of the Flying Squadron was Commodore Winfield Scott Schley, later a rear admiral. He was an experienced officer. He had graduated from Annapolis in time to serve all through the Civil War.