George Dewey was born and grew up in Montpelier, Vermont. He had two older brothers and a younger sister. His father was a hardworking physician who traveled about with a horse and buggy to call on his patients. During the winter, he often drove a horse hitched to a sleigh.

When George was still a small boy his mother died, but Dr. Dewey took good care of his family. George was jealous of his older brothers and always wanted to do as much or more than they could. One day he wanted to show that he could eat more fish chowder than they could, and he ate so much chowder that he became ill.

At school George shared a desk with a boy named George Spaulding. At first he didn’t like this boy, but soon they became fast friends. To help others distinguish them apart, they decided to call George, George D. and the other George, George S.

When George D. was eleven years old, he and George S. helped to organize a boys’ peace squad. The purpose of this organization was to stop fights which sometimes occurred between the Montpelier boys and boys from other communities.

Even though George helped to organize a peace squad, he liked to play pranks. While attending Norwich Academy, he and a few other boys decided to serenade the head trustee. This official had the boys arrested for disturbing the peace.

Up to then, Senator Foote had planned to appoint George to the United States Military Academy at West Point, but now he appointed another boy to the school. At the same time, he appointed George S. to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. George S. decided that he would prefer becoming a clergyman and persuaded Senator Foote to appoint George D. in his stead.

George Dewey graduated from the Naval Academy and commanded a ship under Admiral Farragut during the War between the States. He was promoted to Commodore, and in 1898 won the famous Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War. At once he was promoted to Rear Admiral and honored everywhere as a national hero.

In this book, Laura Long has told an absorbing story about George Dewey. She portrays a succession of thrilling incidents based on his boyhood days in Vermont. Then she closes with a climactic account of his famous naval victory in Manila Bay.

From the dust jacket