Admiral George Dewey; A Sketch of the Man

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1899. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Fair. xii, [2], 279,[9] pages. Appendix. Index. Front board weak. Inscribed by the author with Christmas compliments Dec./99 on the fep. John Barrett (November 28, 1866 ? October 17, 1938) was a United States diplomat and one of the most influential directors general of the Pan American Union. On his death, the New York Times commented that he had "done more than any other person of his generation to promote closer relations among the American republics". Barrett was born on November 28, 1866. He graduated from Dartmouth with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1889. From 1889 to 1894, he worked as a journalist. He so impressed President Grover Cleveland during a meeting that he was appointed as the United States U.S. Minister to Siam (now Thailand). He served in that country for four years working to improve trade relations before returning to life as a journalist, working as a war correspondent during the Spanish?American War and then as a diplomatic adviser to Admiral George Dewey. (He wrote a biography of Dewey in 1899.) He was appointed as a delegate to the second Pan-American Conference in 1901 through the following year. In 1903, he was appointed as the Minister to Argentina, and though he only served in that position for one year, President Theodore Roosevelt later remarked that he had begun a "new United States-Argentine era". He was then appointed as Minister to Panama and then to Colombia. In 1907, he was appointed the first Director General of the Bureau of American Republics, renamed as the Pan American Union in 1910. He served in this capacity for 14 years. Historical information on the Spanish-American war as well as on the entire career of Admiral Dewey. George Dewey (December 26, 1837 ? January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish?American War, with the loss of only a single crewman on the American side. Dewey was born in Montpelier, Vermont. At age 15, Dewey's father enrolled him at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. Two years later Norwich expelled him for drunkenness and herding sheep into the barracks. Summarily, he entered the United States Naval Academy in 1854. He graduated from the academy in 1858 and was assigned as the executive lieutenant of the USS Mississippi at the beginning of the Civil War. He participated in the capture of New Orleans and the Siege of Port Hudson, helping the Union take control of the Mississippi River. By the end of the war, Dewey reached the rank of lieutenant commander. After the Civil War, Dewey undertook a variety of assignments, serving on multiple ships (including the USS Constitution) and as an instructor at the Naval Academy. He also served on the United States Lighthouse Board and the Board of Inspection and Survey. He was promoted to commodore in 1896 and assigned to the Asiatic Squadron the following year. After that appointment, he began preparations for a potential war with Spain, which broke out in April 1898. Immediately after the beginning of the war, Dewey led an attack on Manila Bay, sinking the entire Spanish Pacific fleet while suffering only minor casualties. After the battle, his fleet assisted in the capture of Manila. Dewey's victory at Manila Bay was widely lauded in the United States, and he was promoted to Admiral of the Navy in 1903. Dewey explored a run for the 1900 Democratic presidential nomination, but he withdrew from the race and endorsed President William McKinley. He served on the General Board of the United States Navy, an important policy-making body, from 1900 until his death in 1917.