SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
In early June 1898, an expeditionary squadron under the command of
Captain Henry Glass stopped in Hawaii to take on coal, water, and provisions.
The squadron consisted of the cruiser CHARLESTON which served as
the flagship and three transports, AUSTRALIA, CITY OF PEKING and CITY OF
SYDNEY. The squadron got underway on June 4, 1898 and twenty-four
hours later, Captain Glass opened and read his sealed orders in the presence
of the crew. He was directed to proceed to the island of Guam to
capture the island. Upon the capture of Guam, the squadron was to
proceed to the Philippines to reinforce Commodore George Dewey.
On May 1, 1898, Dewey had steamed into Manila Bay and had sunk the Spanish
Fleet. His forces also captured Cavite Naval Base and Corregidor
Island. The troops being transported by Glass’ squadron were the
first reinforcements for Dewey’s forces.
U S S CHARLESTON
On June 20, 1898, the three transports remained outside Apra Harbor while the CHARLESTON stood into the harbor and fired ten rounds at Fort Santa Cruz from which there was no counterbattery or return fire. After meetings between officers from the squadron and Spanish officials, Guam was surrendered to the United States. Just prior to leaving Guam, Captain Glass conferred with Don Francisco Portusach, a naturalized American citizen and a former whaler, and asked him to take care of the island until Americans showed up to govern Guam. On June 22, 1898, the squadron weighed anchor and proceeded to the Philippines. Spanish Governor Juan Marina, 6 officers, and 54 Spanish soldiers had been seized as prisoners of war and were transported to the Philippines in the CITY OF SYDNEY. After the squadron delivered its troops and disembarked the prisoners of war, CHARLESTON joined Dewey’s fleet and patrolled the waters of the western Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea to help wrest the Philippines from Spanish Control. On November 2, 1898, she ran aground on a reef off of northern Luzon during a storm, and sank. All crew members were saved but nothing was recovered from the ship including the paymaster’s safe. Rudimentary salvage operations of the CHARLESTON wreck commenced in 1992.
End of an Era
After Captain Glass and his expeditionary squadron departed Guam, Francisco
Portusach’s position as acting governor was challenged by Don Jose Sisto,
a Filipino who had served as Island Treasurer. Sisto’s claim was
based on his being the senior
civilian official and that he was the only non-Chamorro allowed to
remain in office. Sisto installed himself as Governor of Guam
and provisional governor of all the Marianas. A group of Chamorros
led by Padre Jose Palomo ousted Sisto and installed Venancio Roberto as
Governor of Guam. However, on January 1, 1899, the collier BRUTUS
arrived in Guam. Lieutenant Commander Vincedon L Cottma, the ship’s
commanding officer, reinstated Sisto as governor.
On January 23, 1899, the BENNINGTON arrived at Apra Harbor. Commander
Edward D Taussig, BENNINGTON’s commanding officer, asserted his leadership
and began to administer the island’s affairs. He directed Sisto to
turn over all government money and records to Paymaster Barron D Dubois.
Money in the treasury consisted of Mexican, Spanish, Philippine and South
American coins.
However, some of the South American coins were quite worn and hence, were greatly depreciated. The worn coins had been brought in by visiting ships while at the same time, local merchants made payment for goods brought in by ships using Mexican and Spanish coins. Essentially “bad” money drove out the “good” money.
To stabilize the monetary system, on February 9, 1899, Commander Taussig issued an order placing the following valuations into effect:
Currency of the United States One dollar equal to two Mexican Pesos
Currency of Spain Equivalent to Mexican Currency
Currency of Chile One Peso equal to 75 US Cents
Currency of Peru One sol equal to 75 Mexican Centavos
Currency of Columbia One peso equal to 90 Mexican Centavos
The valuation order did not specifically address Philippine coins.
However, it is assumed that Philippines coinage was considered equivalent
to Spanish currency and hence, to Mexican currency since the 1897 Philippine
peso was minted in Madrid and gold coins and the remaining Philippine
silver coinage minted in the 19th century were issued by the royal mint
in Manila.
After fourteen months of political instability, Captain Richard Leary, the first American naval governor, arrived in Guam on August 7, 1899 aboard the YOSEMITE. Leary issued several general orders during his tenure. Of interest here is the general order (dated May 12, 1900) that banned peonage (the practice of advancing money, stores or other merchandise in exchange for prolonged personal labor) and established Mexican coin or the American equivalent as the legal tender of Guam. This general order ushered in the use of American currency in Guam.
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This concludes the condensed version of Patacil’s manuscript
that is currently being published by Professional Press, Chapelle Hill,
North Carolina. Peter E Patascil was born and raised in Honolulu,
Hawaii. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering
from the University of Hawaii and a Master of Science degree in Operations
Research from the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
The author served 22 years in the US Navy attaining the rank of Commander.
He was stationed on five ships, several military staffs, plus a tour in
Vietnam as an advisor. Upon leaving the naval service, he joined
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in La Jolla, Ca,
as a Senior Systems Analyst and rose to Branch Manager. As an educator,
he has taught management science at National University in San Diego and
is currently an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Guam. The author is married to the former Julia Leon Guerro of Barrigada,
Guam.
CALCOIN NEWS thanks the Richard F Taitano Micronesian Area Research
Center for the photos included in this article.
From Calcoin News, Vol 52, No. 4, Fall 1998