Re: Someone please forward to Dr. Norman G. Owen, Ph.D., retired historian somewhere in NC-USA [Re: Setting the record straight]

On Dec 3, 4:05 am, filipinon...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
The battle of Manila Bay was not a mock battle. Let me first note that
the date was May 1, 1898 not Aug 13. The actual battle only lasted one
day but the blockade of Manila continued until Aug when ground
reinforcements (mostly from the US western states) from San Francisco
arrived & came ashore. It was very decisive and there was a lull in
naval engagement when Dewey halted the firing that some historian
thought breakfast call. Believe it or not but it was because the US
Navy fleet was not even sure if they had enough ammo to sustain
complete victory. This was only one day after US declaration of war
against Spain. This might have been a vain "palabas" by the Spaniards.

I wanted DR Owens to weigh in on this because Dewey's fleet anchored
in Hongkong Bay waiting for orders from Washington DC before sailing
to Manila Bay. Also the only communication between the Philippines and
the rest of the world was a single cable line between Hongkong and
Manila. It played a major role because it was "wirelessless" world at
the point of history. I know that Dr Owens was Hongkong while posting
in SCF. He should be able to shed some light even dispute some of my
observation.

Looming on the Manila Bay horizon were naval predators from the super
powers of that year. The US navy was not even the most powerful or
largest fleet that gathered. The English, French, and the German were
ready to takeover. The only Asian sea vulture looming in the Manila
Bay horizon in 1898 was flying the flag of the Rising Sun ready to
strike maybe ala Dec 7.

Where was Aguinaldo on May 1? On that day, he was not even in the
Philippines. You brought his name as others did too. Weaving the
events...

April 24 Pratt telegraphs Dewey: Aguinaldo, Insurgent leader is here.
Will come Hong Kong, arrange Commodore for general cooperation.

Dewey replied "Tell Aguinaldo come as soon as possible."

Aguinaldo arrived in Hong Kong from Singapore too late to sail with
Dewey's fleet. Our Aguinaldo was fugitive at that point of History. He
was being suit by another Filipino revolutionary leader but that's
another story. Jose Alejandrino member of the Hong Kong Filipino
Committee accompanied the American squadron to Manila.

Why Dewey could not wait for Aguinaldo? When the hostilities started
in Cuba, British declared her (queen) neutrality hence they gave Dewey
a friendly tugging away to Mirs just few miles off Hong Kong.

Dewey cut the cable line on May 1 and the ship McCullough made shuttle
run to Hong Kong. As I indicated previously the first official report
by Dewy to Washington and carried by the US Newspaper. Perhaps it was
on the return trip that finally Dewey was able to bring Aguinaldo to
the Philippines.
May 19 Aguinaldo arrived at Cavite aboard the Revenue Cutter
McCullock. The steamer was called revenue cutter because she is from
the treasury department. Inside the department branched out to what we
know now as the US Coast Guard. To my Pinoy cutter sailors, this was
your moment in history in Manila Bay. I indicated previously that I
was in the Corregidor lighthouse two years ago when I meet an American
tourist. He mentioned that he was a Coast Guard veteran. I casually
asked the role Coast Guard played in 1898. Without hesitation, he
recited the cutter performance in Cavite flank of the battle.
Corregidor is also located in Cavite. Coast Guard is assigned to the
Navy Department when war is declared. Just recently with the
confronting against terroristas, CG was adapted by the just created
department of homeland.
Back to second event, the Manila Bay blockade after the crushing of
the Spanish Fleet. This was necessary because Dewey did not have the
ground forces to land in Manila and there were talking to Aguinaldo.
The original request was for about 5000 men that number was doubled
later in San Francisco. The traffic came from Presidio as various
volunteers from western states mustered. He was not in the position
to challenge the German fleet really. I say w/o any qualm that Dewey
did not have any chance against any of the hovering vultures and he
knew it. It was the greatest American bluff and Dewey might as well
earn his rank for this one.

Why I am saying this? As I indicated before, Dewey got his sailing
order to the orient from the assistant secretary of the Navy. Only an
assistant but his name happens to be Teddy Roosevelt! He was running
the department for the ailing old secretary. Dewey was Roosevelt
choice but the fleet left the US in a big hurry. The on board
ammunition locker storage was only 2/3 full. Remember at this point,
the fleet was not in the war footing situation. In May 1898, the
encounter started with Dewey's command of you might fire when ready to
Gridley. Just hour's later firing seized and the US fleet temporally
withdraws for breakfast. Wow, this never happen before in any naval
battle. Why? Dewey realized that they were running low in ammo and the
remaining inventory was distributed among the American warship. The
stopgap measure was enough to demolish the remaining Spanish Vessels.
The shots fired reverberated around the world and drew world attention
to the immerging superpower. The armada's mission shifted to naval
blockade of Manila.

The news of one sided victory halfway around the world brought emporia
to US coast to coast. Logistically, San Francisco is the closest to
Manila now guarded by squadron low in ammunition. They were sitting
ducks in the water full of predators... Am I the only one drawing this
conclusion? Was there a Tony Blair in 1898 coming to aid the American
against the French, Japanese, and the dangerous Alimango (German) The
Spanish-American war lasted 100 days as the Peace treaty in Paris was
signed before the end of 1898. I do not think there was time for Dewey
in replenishing his ammunition expended not only against the Spanish
fleet but also on the shore bombardment of Manila.

Nestor Palugod Enriquezwww.filipinohome.com
Coming to America

Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery.
Today is a gift,and that's why we call it the present.

On Dec 2, 9:37 am, Dirty Sick Pig <drtysicpig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Pietro E Reyes, III wrote:

*Setting the record straight*
By GEMMA CRUZ ARANETA
Manila Bulletin
29NOV2007

IF you are ever in St. Paul, Minnesota, make it a point to visit the
State Capitol and look for two commemorative plaques at the Capitol
Rotunda. The first plaque of 1948 vintage glorifies the Minnesota 13th
Volunteer Regiment for its valiant role in the Spanish-American War.
"They served the cause of humanity and freed the oppressed people of the
Philippine Islands from the despotic rule of Spain ...", proclaims the
first plaque. The second plaque corrects the distortions contained in
the first one. That there is a second plaque is in itself historical.

The "tribute" in the first plaque makes reference to ..." the Philippine
Insurrection under Chief Aguinaldo..." and lists all the battles
gloriously won by the Volunteer Regiment. To those totally ignorant of
Philippine history (as most Americans are) the military feats of
Minnesota's 13th Volunteer Regiment sound most impressive, but, the
truth is the only battle fought by the Minnesota Volunteers against the
"despotic rule of Spain" was that mock naval skirmish, on 13 August
1898, glowingly called "Battle of Manila Bay."

===========================================================================
Dr. Owen disputes this battle being a mock skirmish, along with my
assertion that Admiral Dewey's quip, "You May Fire When Ready, Gridley,"
being an impossibility because such order was against naval practice and
traditions, and would have been a slap on the face of the flagship's
(USS Olympia) own captain.

Firing Even When Not Ready Pig
===========================================================================

The other battles fought by the Minnesota volunteers were not to "free
the oppressed people of the Philippine Islands" but were against the
Filipino people themselves whom they branded as "insurgents." They were
fighting the Philippine Revolutionary Army and the First Republic of the
Philippines headed by a President, not a chieftain. How many more
commemorative plaques in the USA bear such a plethora of historical
distortions?

Interestingly enough, the Minnesota 13th Volunteer Regiment was supposed
to have been sent to Cuba but at the last minute, they were ordered to
board a train bound for San Francisco from where they were sent to the
Philippines. Records attest that the commander, surgeon and chaplain of
the Minnesota volunteer regiment asked Gov. John Lind to recall the
volunteers due to atrocities committed during the war. If only for that
they should not have been honored with an adulatory plaque at the State
Capitol.

For thirty four long years, the Filipino community in Minnesota waged a
relentless campaign to have a corrective plaque installed beside the
erroneous one. They had hoped that by the Philippine Centennial in 1998,
the gross historical distortions would have been corrected, but it was
not possible. Far from discouraged, the Philippine Study Group of
Minnesota and the Minnesota Historical Society set up an unprecedented
"Philippine-American War" exhibit right at the Capitol that ran from
June, 1998 to December 30, 1998. There were newspaper clippings that
reported war atrocities, revolutionary flags from that period,
artifacts, pictures, as well as letters written from the field by the
Minnesota volunteers revealing unbecoming conduct during the war. There
was also an autographed picture of President Emilio Aguinaldo.

Finally, on February 4, 2002, the 103rd anniversary of the
Philippine-American War, Gov. Jesse Ventura ( a Vietnam War veteran),
signed a bill funding

...

read more >>

For more info about the Battle of Manila Bay, see the Wikipedia page
at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manila_Bay and the items
referenced therein. Feel free to correct & improve the info on that
page. Please cite supporting sources for any information added, and
please add supporting sources for unsupported info on that page.

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