Which U.S. protected cruiser fired the first shot at Manila Bay?

The U.S. protected cruiser that fired the first shot at Manila Bay was USS Olympia.

Olympia was the flagship of Commodore George Dewey’s Asiatic Squadron during the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. As the American ships approached the Spanish fleet at Cavite, Dewey gave Captain Charles Vernon Gridley the celebrated order, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” Olympia’s forward eight-inch gun then fired the opening American shot of the battle.

The shell was directed at the Spanish flagship Reina Cristina, and the other American warships soon joined the action. Dewey’s squadron made repeated firing passes across the Spanish line, steadily closing the range. Superior American gunnery and ship handling helped destroy or disable the Spanish fleet, while the American force suffered no combat deaths.

Boston, Baltimore, and Raleigh also took part in the engagement, which is why they can be confused with Olympia. The decisive clue is Olympia’s role as Dewey’s flagship and the ship whose gun initiated the American attack. The victory made Dewey a national hero and helped bring the Philippines into the wider strategic contest of the Spanish-American War.