1901

“I also propose to develop two cruiser squadrons. Please recall the analogy about the seas being highways. Well, right now those highways are ru

Dewey looked and saw he had the men’s rapt attention. “At that point, they can either go through the English Cha

Longstreet was puzzled. “What about Sampson? Schley?”

Dewey replied sadly. “Admiral Winfield Schley no longer has our confidence. Although he considers himself the victor at Santiago, he made key mistakes that could have been disastrous had the enemy been other than the incompetent Spanish. I am afraid he is our equivalent of the army’s Nelson Miles. Far too many of our officers consider him old-fashioned, a laughingstock. We no longer find him fit for command.”

“But what about Sampson? He is considered a great leader with a great mind.”

Dewey shook his head, his face downcast. “Gentlemen, this should not leave this room. Admiral William Sampson is ill, very ill. You referred to a great mind. Well, he has an illness that is slowly depriving him of his ability to reason. He remembers little and does not even recognize friends. It saddens me deeply.”

The group took in the reality that one of the great leaders to emerge from the recent war was nothing more than a living shell, senile before his time.

“A pity,” said Longstreet.

“Indeed,” added Dewey. “But, back to my stratagems, I do have one other small plan I wish to implement. I have directed Captain Hobson to assemble a number of torpedo boat destroyers and attack German shipping in New York harbor. Just how and when I leave to his fertile imagination.”

This brought smiles all about. At age thirty, Richmond Hobson was the youngest captain in the navy. He had gained his rank by inspired, perhaps insane, daring against Spain. It was an intriguing selection.

“I have also given him our lone submarine, theHolland, and have directed him to use it.”

Longstreet mulled over what he had heard from Dewey and liked it. He did, however, have some thoughts. “Admiral, may I assume that, with all the naval construction going on and the number of ships authorized but not yet built, you might have some big guns lying about without ships to put them on?”

“Yes. There are a number of 6- and 8-inch guns in the Washington Navy Yard, as well as some larger ones in Philadelphia. Not all are new, however; many were taken from older ships that have been decommissioned or scrapped. Sounds as though you may have some use for them and would like to borrow a few.”

“I might.” Longstreet gri

“Then be aware that, although the guns-both older and newer model-are perfectly serviceable, there are no turrets or gun carriages. Right now they are little more than long metal tubes lying on the ground.”

Longstreet nodded. “Well, that’s why the Good Lord invented engineers.”

Dewey smiled. “Try not to break them. My guns, that is.”

A little while later, the conference broke up. Teddy Roosevelt repaired to his office and shut the door. He was both delighted and sickened. He was even more confident that his selection of Longstreet, supported by MacArthur, was the right one and would ultimately bring victory. Yet that victory would take a great deal of time and would cost dearly.

Time.

He didn’t have time. He saw the begi

The same was true for the navy. The completion of one battleship could be rushed, but the other ships under construction would not be available for many months, perhaps years.

How long would it be before the Germans saw through the fiction that permitted the American fleet sanctuary in the Saint Lawrence and put pressure on Britain to stop it? Roosevelt had no illusions about Britain. She would be a true friend for as long as the United States stood a chance of wi

But his greatest concern was his fellow Americans. They were starting to realize they’d suffered nearly thirty thousand military casualties and tens of thousands of civilian casualties, with millions dislocated, and they saw no end to their privations. At least, he sighed, this was not an election year. Although he did not have to run for office until 1904, there would be congressional elections next year, and if the war was still raging with no victory in sight, they could result in a less supportive Congress than existed today.

Already there were cries from Capitol Hill that the disaster in New York was a result of expansionist policies gone awry. Many people were begi

Roosevelt nearly sobbed. What would a German victory do? First, there would be no American canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The Germans would build it and control it. There would be no great American navy. Why bother? There would be nothing to protect. The Germans would exert pressure on some of the less stable countries in South and Central America and gradually convert some of them to colonies. Within a few decades, this would result in German hegemony in the New World, and the Monroe Doctrine would be scrap.

Yet he could not urge his generals and admirals to do anything foolish. Another lost battle would likely lose the war and end the American dream of Manifest Destiny, which he and most Americans held so dearly. But he was pleased again with his choice of Longstreet.