He had already been suffering from dysentery and what appears to have been liver cancer. The heat and stress in that conning tower further weakened him. Dewey would have relieved him of command had Gridley not protested.
Still, as days passed, it became obvious that Captain Gridley couldn't carry out his duties, so he was sent home.
On May 25, 1898, Captain Gridley began his trip home. One crew man aboard the Olympia recorded his leaving:
"He came up out of his cabin dressed in his civilian clothes and was met by the rear admiral [Dewey] who extended him a most cordial hand. A look of disappointment flitted across the captain's brow, but vanished when he stepped to the head of the gangway and looking over saw not the launch, but a twelve-oared cutter manned entirely by officers of the Olympia."
--Cooter
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