Commodore George Dewey, Commander, Asiatic Station, to Secretary of the Navy John D. Long
“Hong Kong, April 23, 1898.
Secretary of the Navy,
Washington
The Governor of Hong Kong,1 in accordance with the direction of the English Secretary of State for the Colonies, has notified me that a war between the United States and Spain exists. He has requested the Squadron to leave within forty-eight hours.2 The instructions of the Department are requested in regard to.3
Dewey.”
Source Note: C, DNA, AFNRC, M625, roll 363. Addressed below close: “The Honorable/The Secretary of State.” Copy of Dewey telegram to the Secretary of the Navy forwarded by Secretary of State William R. Day. Document reference No.: “SCH…106043.”
Footnote 1: Governor General of Hong Kong Wilsone Black.
Footnote 2: See: Black to Dewey, 23 April 1898.
Footnote 3: For witness descriptions of the preparation and dispatch of the response to this cable, see: Long to Mrs. Agnes Long, 9 October 1898; Lt. Humes H. Whittlesey to Long, 28 August 1901; and Samuel C. Hudwell to Capt. Henry A. Baldridge, 22 August 1940. For a text copy of the cable, see: Long to Dewey, 24 April 1898.
