Originally published in 1899 in “Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events,” this Kindle edition, equivalent in length to a physical book of approximately 16 pages, recounts the life and career of U.S. naval officer George Dewey, the hero of the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.
Sample passage:
By some unexplained accident, a lifebuoy was dropped overboard from one of the leading ships, perhaps from the flagship itself, and as it was one of the automatic-lighting variety, the squadron was startled by seeing a bonfire on the surface of the water immediately in the track of the advancing ships. The nature of the blaze was quickly detected by the sharp-eyed lookouts, and barring a slight precautionary sheer to port or starboard, as the case might be, the squadron moved on, only alarmed and exasperated by the smoke of the “McCulloch,” which insisted upon igniting from time to time at the top of her smokestack and making an admirable target for the enemy’s gunners should they be disposed to take advantage of it. Three times this provoking smoke flared up, and at last came the first shot of the Battle of Manila Bay from a battery only half a mile distant from the passing squadron. There was no halt in the progress, and no acceleration of speed, but with a few answering shots the fleet passed on, leaving the Spanish gunners to waste their ammunition, if they chose to do so, upon the dark waters of the bay.
About the author:
Charles Ledyard Norton (1837–1909) was a travel writer and historian. Other works include “Political Americanisms,” “Handbook of Florida,” and “The City of New York: A Complete Guide.”
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