Remember

We remember, we remember,

     Things we cannot quite forget;

And the things we do remember

     Seem to haunt our visions yet.

There is so much to remember

     That our memories grow scant;

But forget our hero seaman,

     Tell you what it is, we can’t.

We remember Mister Dewey,

     And remember Mister Schley;

We remember Mister Hobson,

     Mister Wainwright till we die;

But Mister Take-The-Credit Sampson,

     We’ll remember by and by.

We remember all our heroes,

     Living, wounded, dying, slain;

For, in good old-fashioned manner

     They’ve remembered well the Maine!

Aug. 20, 1898

Camb. Press

George Dewey was born on December 26, 1837 in Montpelier, Vermont. Upon his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1857, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1861. During the Civil War he served with Admiral Farragut during the Battle of New Orleans and as part of the Atlantic blockade. From 1871 until 1896, Dewey held a variety of positions in the Navy. In 1897 he was named commander of the Asiatic Squadron, thanks to the help of strong political allies, including Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt's help was also essential in supplying Dewey with guns, ammunition, and other needed supplies so that his fleet would be prepared if war broke out with Spain. An aggressive commander, Dewey ignored China's neutrality and took on coal for his fleet at Mirs Bay. He was forced to leave Hong Kong on April 25, but not before the U.S.S. Baltimore had arrived from Honolulu with needed ammunition.

Thus prepared for battle, Dewey launched his attack, through mined waters and firing shore batteries, on Admiral Patricio Montojo's slow, outmoded, under-supplied Spanish squadron at Cavite in Manila Bay. On May 1, he engaged the Spanish forces and demolished them, inflicting very heavy casualties. His troops occupied the bay and Manila itself alone until General Wesley Merritt's soldiers arrived in August.

News of the victory in the Battle of Manila Bay reached President McKinley on May 7 and soon Dewey became a national hero. Congress awarded him a promotion to real admiral and handed out citations to members of his fleet. Although he thought about running for president, he settled for writing accounts of his famous victory and publishing his autobiography in 1913. http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/dewey.html

Winfield Scott Schley (9 October 1839 – 2 October 1911) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and the hero of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfield_Scott_Schley

  

Richmond Pearson Hobson (August 17, 1870 – March 16, 1937) was a United States Navy Rear Admiral who served from 1907-1915 as a U.S. Representative from Alabama. A veteran of the Spanish-American War, he received the Medal of Honor years later for his part in that conflict. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_P._Hobson

Adm. Richard Wainwright was the captain of the U.S.S. Gloucester, the first ship to land in Puerto Rico. It began the invasion of the island at the port of Guánica. He was also the second on the Maine, the ship that exploded in the harbor at Havana before the start of the war. http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/wainwright.html

William T. Sampson was the Commander of the U.S. blockading and North Atlantic squadrons during the Spanish-American War of 1898. Prior to the war, he served in a variety of assignments and rose to rank of Captain by 1890 and later became a Rear Admiral. He was appointed President of the U.S.S. Maine Court of Inquiry, the group that was responsible for the investigation of the incident in Havana harbor. During the war with Spain, Sampson was in charge of the North Atlantic and conducted the blockade of Cuba. Sampson himself was not present at the battle when the ships under his command destroyed the Spanish vessels of Admiral Cervera as they attempted to escape from the harbor of Santiago. In nearby Puerto Rico, Sampson commanded the blockade and bombardment of the San Juan harbor. William T. Sampson was the Commander of the U.S. blockading and North Atlantic squadrons during the Spanish-American War of 1898. Prior to the war, he served in a variety of assignments and rose to rank of Captain by 1890 and later became a Rear Admiral. He was appointed President of the U.S.S. Maine Court of Inquiry, the group that was responsible for the investigation of the incident in Havana harbor. During the war with Spain, Sampson was in charge of the North Atlantic and conducted the blockade of Cuba. Sampson himself was not present at the battle when the ships under his command destroyed the Spanish vessels of Admiral Cervera as they attempted to escape from the harbor of Santiago. In nearby Puerto Rico, Sampson commanded the blockade and bombardment of the San Juan harbor.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/sampson.html