Documentary Histories
Spanish-American War
Secretary of the Navy John D. Long to Commodore George Dewey, Commander, Asiatic Station
Washington, April 6, 1898.
Dewey, Hongkong:
The receipt of telegram of April 4 is acknowledged. I approve action. Expedite delivery. April 6 may be last opportunity.1
Long.
Source Note Print: Report of the Bureau of Navigation, 1898, p. 66.
Footnote 1: This cable was in response to Dewey’s cable of 4 April, suggesting that he should purchase the steamer Nanshan and use it as a collier and supply ship. Long reiterated the need to make this purchase immediately because neutral nations would be barred from selling ships or supplies to the United States or Spain once war was declared. See: Dewey to Long, 4 April 1898.
