At dawn on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey led the U.S. Asiatic Squadron into Manila Bay and annihilated Spain's outdated fleet in a battle lasting only a few hours. American forces suffered no ship losses and just a handful of casualties, while Spain lost its entire Pacific naval presence. The victory effectively ended Spanish colonial power in the Philippines and thrust the United States into the role of a Pacific imperial power.
Dewey had steamed his squadron into the bay under cover of darkness, threading past the fortified entrance without alerting Spanish defenders in time to mount serious resistance. As dawn broke, he reportedly told the captain of his flagship, 'You may fire when you are ready, Gridley,' a line that would echo through American naval lore for generations.
The Spanish fleet, composed of aging, poorly maintained vessels, proved wholly unable to match the modern American ships in firepower or maneuverability. By midday the battle was effectively over, with Spanish ships sunk, burning, or scuttled, and Spanish admiral Patricio Montojo's forces suffering roughly 370 casualties against negligible American losses.
News of the lopsided victory electrified the American public, transforming Dewey into an overnight national hero and cementing support for the war. It also set in motion the American colonization of the Philippines, a chapter that would soon spark the bloody Philippine-American War as Filipino revolutionaries who had fought alongside the U.S. against Spain found themselves confronting a new colonial occupier.