Page:Anglo-American relations during the Spanish-American war (IA abz5883.0001.001.umich.edu).pdf/126



January 3, 1898, Commodore Dewey assumed command of the Asiatic squadron then stationed in the harbour of Nagasaki, Japan. The records which were turned over to him by Acting Rear-Admiral F. B. McNair mentioned little of interest. There was slight indication in them of the approaching trouble that was soon to assume critical aspects in China. They spoke of an uneasy state of affairs in Korea, some anti-missionary riots in Japan, the seizure of Kiaochow bay by the Germans one month earlier, and a few minor international matters. There was no suggestion of trouble in the Philippines and "…in no manner was there any forecast given of the work in which the squadron would soon be so vitally interested."

The Asiatic station, however, as Commodore Dewey saw it at that time, held a strategic significance. The United States was inevitably drifting into a war with Spain. In command of an efficient fleet in the Pacific, with a freedom to act In consequence of being so far distant from Washington, he could strike promptly and successfully at the Spanish forces in the Philippines. In every respect Commodore Dewey was the