This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/6/2025
franked with Hong Kong "10 Cents" on 30c gray green (Scott 69), tied by departure cds, with Vancouver transit and Portsmouth arrival pmks on back. This cover was posted on "U.S.S. Olympia" (Commodore Dewey's flagship) on the day Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States and on the same day, the U.S. Navy began a blockade of Cuba. On April 23, Spain reacted to the blockade by declaring war on the U.S. and on April 25th Dewey sailed from Hong Kong for the Philippines. Four days later, May 1, 1898 the Battle of Manila Bay, the U.S. Navy defeated the Spanish Pacific Fleet, resulting in fall of the Philippines and contributing to the final U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War. The resounding American victory made Commodore George Dewey a national hero (a similar cover, ex-Kugel realized $3,500 in our February 2025 sale)