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(More customer reviews)"Manila & Santiago: The New Steel Navy in the Spanish-American War", by Jim Leeke, is an excellent modern work on the two major naval battles of the Spanish American War. The book focuses on the naval modernization efforts (or lack thereof) between 1865-1890; the commanders who fought the battles; and a third-person narrative description of the battles. Leeke's writing style is easy to read and suitable for most readers.
The first major naval battle of the war took place in Manila, Phillipines, on May 1, 1898. Admiral George Dewey and his Asiatic squadron engaged the Spanish fleet at anchor in Manila Bay. Leeke provides a narrative of the battle as experienced through the eyes of the men who fought the battle.
Leeke repeats this perspective in his coverage of the second major naval battle at Santiago de Cuba. Like most wartime engagements, it happened purely by chance. The spanish fleet sailed from continental Europe. The Americans did not know the destination of the fleet, but were able to make some educated guesses regarding the likely destinations. The ships under command of Commodore Winfield Scott Schley and Admiral "Fighting Bob" Evans eventually stumbled upon the Spanish ships anchored in the protected harbor of Santiago de Cuba. After a few months of a naval blockade, the Spanish fleet made a run for safety and the battle finally took place.
Leeke discusses very briefly the combined Army-Navy operations that took place around Santiago de Cuba, which is no surprise given the book's obvious focus on the major naval battles of the war.
Leeke provides an extensive bibliography and the text is well-footnoted. The publication dates for the bibliography range from 1898 through 2000, with a majority of the sources coming from before 1925.
The book includes 12 pages of black and white photos of the ships and sailors who fought. In addition, the book includes a few charts to assist the reader in understanding the overall battle. These charts were clean & simple making it very easy to understand the layout of ships involved in the battles.
I was very impressed with the book. It's expertly researched; easy to read; and a great story. The aftermath of the book analyzes the impact of these two decisive naval battles, each marking the end of a Spanish fleet -- one in the Pacific & one in the Carribean. I would highly recommend this book for naval history enthusiasts.
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The U.S. Navy's first two-ocean war was the Spanish-American War of 1898. A war that was global in scope, with the decisive naval battles of war at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba separated by two months and over ten thousand miles. During these battles in this quick, modern war, America s New Steel Navy came of age. While the American commanders sailed to war with a technologically advanced fleet, it was the lessons they had learned from Adm. David Farragut in the Civil War that prepared them for victory over the Spaniards. This history of the U.S. Navy s operations in the war provides some memorable portraits of the colorful officers who decided the outcome of these battles: Shang Dewey in the Philippines and Fighting Bob Evans off southern Cuba; Jack Philip conning the Texas and Constructor Hobson scuttling the Merrimac; Clark of the Oregon pushing his battleship around South America; and Adm. William Sampson and Commodore Scott Schley ending their careers in controversy. These officers sailed into battle with a navy of middle-aged lieutenants and overworked bluejackets, along with green naval militiamen. They were accompanied by numerous onboard correspondents, who documented the war.In addition to descriptions of the men who fought or witnessed the pivotal battles on the American side, the book offers sympathetic portraits of several Spanish officers, the Dons for whom American sailors held little personal enmity. Admirals Patricio Montojo and Pasqual Cervera, doomed to sacrifice their forces for the pride of a dying empire, receive particular attention. The first study of the Spanish-American War to be published in many years, this book takes a journalistic approach to the subject, making the conflict and the people involved relevant to today s readers. This work details a war in which victory was determined as much by leadership as by the technology of the American Steel Navy.
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