Manila, in the Philippines, provided the front and back covers for the Spanish-American War. It was in this harbor that the opening shots of the 106-day war were fired by the ships of Commodore Dewey on May 1st. On August 13th Admiral Dewey's ships fired the closing volley that signaled the end of the Spanish Empire. In the 104 days between, almost all of the combat was waged half-a-world away in the Caribbean.
When the sun set on the evening of May 1, 1898 Manila Harbor was still filled with smoke--all that remained of a once mighty Spanish Naval squadron. The defeat was unprecedented, Dewey accomplishing what few could have dreamed possible, and all without the loss of a single life (save for the heat stroke victim). It would be however, a full week before officials in Washington, DC would hear the details of the American victory.
Early on, the Spanish Governor-General mistakenly thought the smoke of battle near Cavite in Manila Bay signified a Spanish victory, and cabled this welcome news to Madrid via the underwater telegraph that was Manila's only link to the outside world. On the morning of May 2nd, Commodore Dewey notified this Spanish official that, since that cable was INDEED the only way communications could be sent from Manila, it should be considered NEUTRAL so that he could use it as well. When the Governor-General refused, Dewey dispatched his sailors to dredge up and cut the cable, ending the direct flow of information out of the Philippines. It was the first step in what would have been, but for the later loss of American lives, a comedy of errors.
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