This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...in the direction of the city. It was Sunday morning, apparently the favorite morning for battles, and the waters of the bay were as smooth as glass. There was to be no delay; the battle was to begin at once. The men in charge of the heavy shore batteries of Manila saw that the hostile vessels were within range and at a ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...in the direction of the city. It was Sunday morning, apparently the favorite morning for battles, and the waters of the bay were as smooth as glass. There was to be no delay; the battle was to begin at once. The men in charge of the heavy shore batteries of Manila saw that the hostile vessels were within range and at a quarter past five opened fire upon the fleet. The shot flew wide of the mark, screaming over the decks of the squadron. The "Concord" replied to the batteries of Manila with two shots. But the firing on the city was not continued; Commodore Dewey had no wish to wantonly destroy property; he had come to Manila to annihilate or capture the Spanish fleet, and by so doing to force the Spaniards in the Philippines to ask for terms. But if possible he would avoid bombarding the streets of Manila. Nothing could be gained by destroying that fair city and slaughtering its inhabitants. Everything on board the American vessels was in a thorough state of preparation for a battle, and had been so since dusk of the previous evening. How was it with the Spanish fleet? They knew that the enemy's vessels were near at hand, and yet had apparently made no efforts to get their ships in a condition to resist the attack. However, all of Admiral Montojo's vessels had steam up, and when the formidable American fleet appeared in front of them in the early dawn, with flags flying at the mast-heads and cleared for action, they did their best to at once get under weigh. Outside of Cavite lay the "Reina Cristina," the "Castilla," the "Don Antonio de Ulloa," the "Velasco," the "Isla de Cuba," the "Isla de Luzon," and the "Mindinoa," while four gun-boats and the torpedo boats were within the sh...
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