where did fighting began in spanish american war
Spanish–American War The first battle between American and Spanish forces was at Manila Bay where, on May 1, Commodore George Dewey, commanding the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron aboard USSÂ Olympia, in a matter of hours defeated a Spanish squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo.[f] Dewey managed this with only nine wounded.[85][86] With the German seizure of Tsingtao in 1897, Dewey's squadron had become the only naval force in the Far East without a local base of its own, and was beset with coal and ammunition problems.[87] Despite these problems, the Asiatic Squadron not only destroyed the Spanish fleet but also captured the harbor of Manila.[87]