He Fired When Ready-- Part 7: 'The Battle of Manila Killed Me, But I Would Do It Again If Necessary.'

I'm not sure of Charles Gridley was counted as the one death in the American fleet or not, but this battle marked the beginning of the end for him.

The heat and poor ventilation in the Olympia's conning tower made his existing medical conditions so much worse.  At one point in the battle, he hit his side on the edge of the chart table which caused him great pain.  After the battle he had to be carried away from his post.

As the days passed by, it became more and more apparent that his condition was deteriorating rapidly, and Dewey had no choice but to relieve him of command of the USS Olympia.

On May 25, he was sent  home aboard the USS Zafiro to receive medical treatment.

Two days later, he was transferred from the Zafiro to the Occidental & Oriental steamship Coptic which was bound for Japan.  On June 4, the Coptic reached Nagasaki, Japan, and it was there that Gridley discovered that he and Dewey were the men of the hour.

He gave a British newspaper reporter a short interview tinged with a little bitterness.  He did not see much of a future for the U.S. in the Philippines, seeing the islands as a backwater suitable only as a rest stop for fleets crossing the Pacific.

Still, he had no regrets about his life and role in the battle.  He said, "The battle of Manila killed me, but I would do it again if necessary."

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 12

The news of Charles Gridley's death was conveyed to the USS Olympia and was received with deep regret.  The Olympia's ship's newspaper, "The Bounding Billow," ran the following article:

"It is with indescribable  sorrow and regret that we hear of the untimely death of our beloved captain, Charles V. Gridley,.  He died on the  ). & ). Steamer Coptic at Kobe, Japan, June 5th.  Owing to a serious illness, he was ordered home on sick-leave,  taking with him the sincere respect and esteem of every man  in the fleet.

"He left on the Zafiro, escorted to sea by the Concord, amid the cheering of the entire fleet.  He was taken to the steamer by a boat's crew of officers with First Lieutenant Reese acting as coxswain.

"The news of his death came like a thunder-bolt, filling our hearts with grief and pain.  We respectively extend our  sincere sympathy to his relatives and friends."

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 11: His Death and Burial

Physically spent and finally released from the strain of command, Gridley's health began to sink even more quickly.  On May 27, when he transferred from the Zafiro to the commercial steamer  Coptic, he had to be taken aboard on a stretcher.  He knew his condition was grave and wrote, "I think I am done for it, personally."

Because of his actions at the Battle of Manila Bay,  Commodore Dewey  recommended that Gridley be advanced  ten numbers on the  promotions list as a reward for his services.    The Navy Department advanced him six places, still a strong testament o his ability.  

Captain Charles Vernon Gridley died on June 5, 1898, aboard the Coptic while it was in Kobe, Japan.  His body was cremated and sent home.  Services for him were held at  Erie, Pennsylvania's Cathedral of St. Paul and he was buried at  Erie's Lakeside Cemetery.

The Dewey Medal-- Part 2: About the Zafiro and Nanshan and the Medal

The colliers USS Nanshan and USS Zafiro were part of Dewey's squadron and supported the Manila Bay operation but are not listed  in Navy regulations having  their crew members eligible for the Dewey Medal.  This is because these ships were not actively involved in the battle and at the time they were civilian-manned vessels purchased to support the Navy ships.

The Nanshan was commanded by Navy Lieutenant Benjamin W. Hodges, but  technically remained a merchant ship so se could resupply at neutral ports  which simplified the squadron's logistics.  The Zafiro was commanded by Ensign Henry A.  Pearson, USN, and, like the Nanshan, was technically a merchant ship at the time of the battle.

Both ships were later commissioned into the U.S. Navy.

--Cooter

The Dewey Medal-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

I found mention of this medal being given to Ensign Henry E. Pearson who commanded the USS Zafiro at the Battle of Manila Bay.  I had never heard of the Dewey Medal, so Wikipedia here I come.

It was a military decoration of the United States Navy established by the U.S. Congress on June 3, 1898, to recognize the leadership of George Dewey during the Spanish-American War and the sailors and Marines under his command.  Specifically it was for the Battle of Manila Bay.

To receive one, the person had to have served on one of these ships at the battle on May 1. 1898:

USS  Baltimore

USS Boston

USS Concord

USS  McCullough

USS  Olympia

USS  Petrel

USS Raleigh

--Cooter

But That Was Not All for the USS Zafiro-- Part 4: An Interesting Career After U.S. Navy Service

On 21 October 1910, the U.S. Navy sold the Zafiro to a Mr. J.W. Zeeve of Seattle, Washington, who soon afterwards sold the ship to the government of Mexico.  In 1917, the Zafiro reappeared as the French-owned sailing vessel Bowler in British Columbia.

She was refitted with wood planking which made it hard to get a marine rating from the  Bureau Veritas or Lloyd's of London and it was suggested that she  be re-rigged into a coastal vessel.   In 1918, it was re-registered in Panama as the Belen Quezada.

As such, she was the first international "flag of convenience" vessel and ran alcohol between Canada and the United States during Prohibition.

She was deleted from Panamanian ship registry in 1931, and presumably scrapped shortly thereafter.

--DaCoot

USS Zafiro-- Part 3: Busy in the Philippines

Regardless of whether she was a commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy, she accompanied Dewey's fleet when it departed Hong Kong in April 1898 and served as a collier and supply ship during the Battle of Manila Bay and the ensuing Philippines Campaign.

(A collier is a bulk coat ship, also carries supplies, in case you're wondering.

The lack of documents covering her  activities inj1898 and the first half of 1899 precludes any history of her service during that time.  Presumably she plied the waters of the Philippines carrying troops, supplies and dispatches between those points..

Based at Cavite on Luzon, she is known to have performed such missions during the period of time from latter 1899 and June 1904.  Those movements in support of the U.S. Army's suppression of the Philippines Insurrection and campaigns against the Moslem Moro tribesmen took her to a host  of exotic places throughout the islands.

On 10 June 1904, the Zafiro was placed out of commission at Cavite and her name was struck from the  Navy List on 15 January 1906.  On 21 October 1910 she was sold to Mr. J.W. Zeeve of Seattle, Washington.

--Cooter

USS Zafiro-- Part 2: Much Confusion

213 feet, 8.5 inches length

31 feet, 9.5 inch beam

Armament in 1900:  two X 37mm revolving cannons. 

When bought, the only U.S. Navy man on board was its commander, am Ensign Henry A. Pearson, USN.  The crew evidently was its civilian crew.  Despite orders to the contrary, Dewey did not commission her, so technically she was still a commercial vessel and able to enter neutral ports without any difficulty of bein a belligerent vessel.  This made resupplying the American ships much easier.

Her status in the U.S. Navy is further complicated because no deck logs were kept until 1900.  Finally, after the Spanish-American War, there were no Americans on board until Ensign L.A. Gotten assumed command in May 1900.

--DaCootDazed

USS Zafiro (1884) and Its Connection to the Spanish-American War-- Part 1

I wrote about this ship in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog the last two days in connection to a man named Charles V. Gridley, who was a naval officer during the Civil War, but also, more famously, the Spanish-American War.  He was the man that Commodore George Dewey said "You may fire when you are ready" to at the start of the Battle of Manila Bay which led to the destruction of the Spanish fleet.

Charles Gridley was the commander of the USS Olympia which was serving as Dewey's flagship.  Unfortunately, Gridley became sick soon afterwards and died almost a month and a half later.  He was transferred off the Olympia on the USS Zafiro.

You can read about Gridley's career in my Running the Blockade blog this week.  Go to the My Blogs column and click on this blog.

I'd never heard of this ship, so Wikipedia here I come.

USS ZAFIRO

It was a collier, bulk cargo ship,  that served in the U.S. Navy from 1898 to 1904.

It was constructed in the United Kingdom, but George Dewey purchased her for the U.S. Navy in Hong Kong on 9 April 1898, just before his Asiatic Squadron sailed for  the Philippines at the beginning of the Spanish-American War.

--Cooter