Scope and Content Note
The papers of George Dewey (1837-1917) span the years 1805-1949, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1885-1931. The collection primarily concerns Dewey's naval career after 1885 and consists of diaries, correspondence, letterbooks, military papers, clippings, printed matter, financial records, scrapbooks, and memorial volumes comprising the following series: Diaries , General Correspondence , Military File , Financial File , Miscellany , Addition , and Oversize .
The General Correspondence and Military File include correspondence and letterbooks focusing on Dewey's service as a naval commander in the Far East during the Spanish-American War commanding the Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy, specifically his command of the cruiser Olympia at the Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898, and the subsequent capture of Manila in August 1898. Of special interest are the correspondence and letterbooks for the period 1898-1899, particularly correspondence from Oscar Fitzalan Williams, American consul in Manila. The Military File contains copies of telegrams between Dewey and John Davis Long, secretary of the navy; Theodore Roosevelt, assistant secretary of the navy; Oscar Fitzalan Williams; and the American consuls in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. The material also relates to Dewey's service as commander of the screw steamer Pensacola, flagship of the European Squadron, 1885-1888; admiral of the navy and president of the General Board of the Navy, 1899-1917; president of the Winfield Scott Schley court of inquiry, 1901; and commander-in-chief of naval maneuvers while aboard the presidential yacht Mayflower, 1902-1903.
The General Correspondence series also includes letters exchanged between Dewey's parents, Mary Perrin and Julius Y. Dewey, and other family members. Letters from William T. Sherman and James A. Garfield in 1874 to Mildred Dewey's first husband, William B. Hazen, are also in the General Correspondence. Other prominent correspondents include Charles J. Bonaparte, William E. Chandler, George B. Cortelyou, George Creel, Josephus Daniels, Grenville Mellen Dodge, John Hay, Robert Lansing, John Davis Long, A. T. Mahan, William H. Moody, Paul Morton, Truman Handy Newberry, Redfield Proctor, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) , Elihu Root, and Oscar Fitzalan Williams. An index to most of the letters is filed at the beginning of the series.
The Financial File includes correspondence and records that reveal Dewey's large real estate holdings and other investments. Among the Miscellany series are clippings, genealogical and biographical material, memorabilia, memorial volumes, notes, printed matter, records of the Naval Order of the United States, and scrapbooks. Also, there is a typescript of an article written in 1904 by Commander Nathan Sargent entitled "Admiral Dewey and the Manila Campaign," an account of the Battle of Manila Bay and subsequent actions and operations of Dewey and the Asiatic Squadron.
The Addition includes general correspondence and material pertaining chiefly to the estate of Dewey's second wife, Mildred McLean Hazen Dewey. Correspondence includes Dewey's letters to Mildred Dewey and letters he received from others, many of which relate to his service as president of the Schley court of inquiry and Mildred Dewey's exchanges with Frederick M. Bugher, Josephus Daniels, her stepson George G. Dewey, Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924), her brother John R. McLean, Elisabeth Ellicott Poe, and Alvin Untermyer. A daughter of the founder of the Washington Post, Mildred Dewey held a sizable estate at her death. The estate file documents the disposition of the estate and includes correspondence of family members and lawyers, including Democratic Party presidential contender John W. Davis (1873-1955). Family interests in the Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Mining Co., which was owned by Mildred Dewey's father, Washington McLean, is documented in the estate file as well as the financial file .
Miscellaneous files among the additional material include clippings, a copy of a letter by Thomas Jefferson to Katharine Duane Morgan, memorabilia, notes, poetry, printed matter, and a report on the reception of Dewey at Washington, D.C., October 2-3 1899. Commissions, citations, degrees, awards, posters, and memorial volumes comprise the Oversize series.