May 1, 1898: The Battle of Manila Bay

The USS Olympia

May 1, 1898: The Battle of Manila Bay is fought. It is the decisive naval battle of the Spanish-American War. Commodore George Dewey led the U.S. Asiatic Squadron, 9 ships, to victory over a 13-ship Spanish flotilla commanded by Contraalmirante Patricio Montojo. (His rank was equivalent in the U.S. to a Real Admiral, 2 stars.)

Dewey, a 60-year-old native of Vermont, was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and participated in the Union's capture of New Orleans during the American Civil War. He commanded the fleet from the cruiser USS Olympia. At 5:41 AM, local time, he told the Olympia's commanding officer, Captain Charles V. Gridley, "You may fire when ready, Gridley."

It was a wipeout. Six of the Spanish ships were sunk, and all the American ships survived. Only one American sailor died, and that was from dysentery, not from a battle wound or injury. The battle led to Spain ceding the Philippines to the U.S. in the peace treaty. With the additional losses of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other possessions in the Caribbean, Spain's time as a colonial power was over.

Charles Gridley did not survive the Spanish-American War. He already had liver cancer, and died on June 5, aboard the Olympia, docked at Kobe, Japan. He was 53 years old. Dewey was promoted to Admiral of the Navy, 5 stars, equivalent to a General of the Army. He died in 1917, at 79. Dewey Square, outside South Station in Boston, is named for him. Montojo, who was court-martialed for his defeat, outlived Dewey by 8 months.

The Olympia was decommissioned after the Spanish-American War, but returned to service in World War I. It is now part of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, and is the oldest steel American warship still afloat. It sits across the Delaware River from the World War II-era battleship USS New Jersey, in Camden.

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May 1, 1898 was a Sunday. At the time, there was only one professional sports league in America, baseball's National League. And playing on Sunday was still illegal in many places. And so, only 2 games were played:

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 11-5 at League Park in Cincinnati. Crosley Field would be built on the site in 1912. The Reds played home games at that location from 1884 to 1970.

* And the Louisville Colonels beat the Chicago Orphans, 4-3 at West Side Park in Chicago. This was the 1st season for the Chicago team of the NL, formerly known as the White Stockings and the Colts, without Adrian Constantine Anson on their roster since 1875, when they were still in the National Association. He became the team's 1st baseman, their captain, and eventually their manager, nicknamed "Captain," shortened to "Cap." As he got older, they called him "Pop." After he retired, someone started calling the team the Orphans, "because they missed their Pop." In 1903, they were renamed the Cubs.