Following Dewey’s stunning naval victory at Manila Bay in May 1898, the admiral lacked sufficient troops to seize the city itself. While awaiting reinforcements from the United States, he supplied arms to Filipino guerrillas under Emilio Aguinaldo, who organized large numbers of fighters and drove Spanish forces back into Manila. By the time U.S. troops arrived in midsummer, the Filipinos had declared independence and were prepared to take the city themselves.

When American commanders reached Manila, they asked the Filipinos to allow them to lead the final assault. Aguinaldo reluctantly agreed, and on August 13, 1898, U.S. troops advanced against the city. The Spanish, unwilling to surrender directly to the Filipinos but eager to end the fight, staged a brief defense to preserve their honor before surrendering to the Americans. With Manila captured, the Spanish–American War effectively came to an end.

But the story did not end there. The Filipinos, who expected independence, soon discovered that the United States intended to annex the Philippines. Tensions boiled over into the Philippine–American War, a bitter conflict that lasted from 1899 to 1902. For four years, U.S. forces fought against Filipino guerrillas who had once been their allies, highlighting the contradictions of America’s emergence as an imperial power.