Coming within three miles of the city, he discovered the Spanish fleet, half a dozen miles to the southeast, at the naval station of Cavite.

Still without a pause, the American squadron moved to the attack.
The Spanish Admiral Montojo tried, though ineffectually, to come to close quarters, for his guns were of smaller caliber than those of the American ships, but he was forced to keep his vessels for the most part in line between the Americans and the shore.

Commodore Dewey sailed back and forth five times, raking the Spanish ships and the shore batteries with his fire.

Having guns of longer range than those of the Spaniards, he could have kept out of their fire and slowly hammered them to pieces; but he preferred a closer position where he could use more guns and therefore do quicker work.

How well he was justified in taking this risk is shown by the fact that no man was killed on the American fleet that day and only a few were wounded.