[Antoninus]

I’ve been to Manila Bay and read the history many times. It was a rout. The Battle of Manila Bay was the unofficial entry of America as a superpower.

Agreed. I believe Admiral Montojo was brought up on charges in Spain after the war for his poor performance. On paper, at least, Dewey's fleet shouldn't have had the easy success it did.

Interestingly, Dewey apparently testified on Montojo's behalf during his court-martial.

[max americana]

The court martial was stupid. They were Spanish WOODEN galleons vs steel ships. Really. There were even accounts of the US sailors just laughing during the “battle”.