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During the June 29, 1900 dedication,
the Dewey Cannon was covered by a white tent. Suddenly, the tent
opened into eight parts, each falling to the ground forming an
eight-pointed red, white and blue star. Photo courtesy Three Oaks
Library |
As the clock neared eight on Tuesday evening, May 30,
1899, the residents of Three Oaks, Michigan, gathered in the village hall.
The local newspaper, the Three Oaks Press, had reported a few days
earlier that "all patriots" were not only urged, "but expected to attend,"
this meeting. The citizens of this small town tucked away in the
southwestern corner of the state eagerly responded. The room, which was
draped with patriotic bunting, American and Cuban flags and flowers, was
packed to overflowing. Even the sidewalks were jammed and "hundreds were
unable to get within hearing distance."
Inside the hall, Mayor E. K. Warren reported on a
movement that had been dubbed "Three Oaks Against the World." The plan,
pushed heartily by Warren, the town's leading businessman, was to win a
cannon offered to the community that raised the most money for a monument to
the soldiers and sailors who had perished in the recent war with Spain.
Warren, whose comments were "repeatedly encouraged by cheers," announced
that Three Oaks had sent the New York-based monument committee $1,132.80. As
the meeting drew to a close, a village quartet optimistically boasted in a
song specially prepared for the evening,
The cannon is coming, O ho! O ho!
The cannon is coming, O ho! O ho!
The cannon is coming to Three Oaks they say
The cannon is coming, hooray! hooray!
How right they were.
The cannon that caused such an outpouring of patriotic
fervor had been secured after Commodore George Dewey decisively defeated the
Spanish fleet in Manila Harbor, Philippines, on the morning of April 25,
1898. Although reportedly taken from one of the destroyed Spanish ships, the
cannon was actually found in front of a Spanish official's home and most
likely was a ceremonial piece. Dewey had ordered all Spanish cannon
destroyed, but Captain C. L. Hooper suggested that this cannon be given to
the National Monument Committee. Dewey agreed. The committee used the cannon
as an incentive to raise funds―the town that raised the most money per
capita would be awarded what was soon known as the Dewey Cannon.
On Friday, July 14, Warren received a telegram
announcing that Three Oaks had won. The Press reported, "Enthusiasm
was at a boiling point in every man, woman and child." Despite "threatening
weather and muddy roads," everyone gathered in downtown. An evening parade
was followed by fireworks. Even the horses were excited. The Press
noted, "Farm horses, which had perhaps been dragging a binder or corn plow
all week, inspired by martial music and the smell of fireworks, pranced like
thoroughbred chargers." A little Uncle Sam, mounted on a Shetland pony with
an accompanying sign that read, "Uncle Sam is Proud of Three Oaks," roused
cheer after cheer, as did a miniature cannon "mounted" on the fire truck.
Little surprise that the newspaper reported, "It was a 4th of July,
Memorial, and circus day rolled into one."
Having won the competition, Three Oaks planned for the
Dewey Cannon's display. In September invitations were extended to President
William McKinley, Admiral Dewey and Captain Hooper for a dedication ceremony
scheduled for the following month. Warren predicted, "It will be the
greatest day that Three Oaks or this state has ever witnessed." Leaving
nothing to chance, Warren journeyed east to extend personal invitations.
Although he never met Dewey, Warren stopped in Montpelier, Vermont, and left
an invitation with the admiral's brother. The mayor's trip garnered Three
Oaks recognition from eastern newspapers. The Boston Record commented how
Warren had "wrested national fame at the cannon's mouth." From Washington,
Warren reported that he "had a very pleasant interview with the President,"
showing him pictures of the cannon and explaining plans for the ceremony.
According to the Three Oaks mayor, McKinley was "polite and considerate" and
"listened attentively," but the chief executive feared a visit "could not be
arranged."
Despite failing to get the commitments he had so
earnestly desired, Warren returned to Three Oaks where preparations for the
dedication continued. Near the railroad tracks workmen built a
twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot pavilion covered with red, white and blue
bunting. A path of carpeting led from the pavilion to the mound of limestone
and Vermont granite on which the cannon would be placed. On the base, the
words "The Dewey Cannon" were "plainly visible from all points of the park."
Nearby, a new flagpole flew "an immense United States flag."
Suddenly, Three Oaks received good news. The president
had a change in plans and would stop in Three Oaks. But there was some bad
news―the cannon would not arrive in time for the dedication.
Friday, October 20, 1899, dawned wet and "the early
prospects for the day's celebration were anything but promising." However,
the sun came out and the Three Oaks Military Band played patriotic tunes
throughout the afternoon as the growing crowd waited for the president.
Around 6:15 P.M. the president's train―two hours late―pulled into Three
Oaks. Warren, who had joined the president in Michigan City, Indiana, and
McKinley went arm in arm to the pavilion that displayed a likeness of the
president.
McKinley began by saying, "We have had very many
beautiful receptions in our long journey throughout the Northwest, but I
assure you we have had none more beautiful or picturesque than the one you
have given us here at Three Oaks." The president congratulated the
crowd--estimated to be about three thousand people―for its "patriotic
disposition ... to preserve as a lesson for all who may come after, the
great achievements of the American navy." McKinley ended his brief remarks
asking for support for the annexation of the Philippines. He then introduced
the secretary of the Interior, the secretary of the Navy and the attorney
general, who had accompanied him on his trip.
McKinley returned to his railcar, pausing long enough to
join the crowd in singing America. As a memento of the occasion, Warren
presented the First Lady and the wives of the other cabinet officers with a
silver spoon struck for the occasion. The bowl of the spoon featured a
picture of three oak trees and the words "Three Oaks, Mich." On the handle
was a facsimile of the cannon mounted on its carriage. A cluster of
cannonballs near the bowl and the words "Dewey Cannon" completed this
souvenir.
McKinley's final words were "An immense crowd, isn't it?
What a beautiful sight." Thirty minutes after the president left Three Oaks,
the town "was nearly quiet as usual." The Press boasted, "We may
indeed congratulate ourselves that the impression which our efforts made on
the chief executive were so favorable that he left with such happy
recollections." The Press noted that "one of the most memorable days
in the history of Three Oaks has passed." Little did it know that eight
months later Three Oaks would play host to an even bigger event centered on
the Dewey Cannon.
In April 1900 Mayor Warren was back in Washington where
he met with Admiral Dewey, who agreed to come to Three Oaks. Warren
suggested in a telegram back home that in celebration the cannon should be
hauled out of storage and fired "gently." Four pounds of powder were placed
in the barrel. When it was discharged, the cannon recoiled twelve feet. No
one was hurt, but windows were shattered for half a block and the local
doctor's office was a mess of broken medicine bottles.
Then word arrived that Dewey―who was already coming to
Michigan to visit Detroit and Grand Rapids―couldn't stop in Three Oaks. The
disappointment in Three Oaks was eased, albeit slightly, by the comments
from other communities. An indignant Chicago Tribune added:
[Dewey] intends to visit less enterprising towns like
Detroit and
Grand Rapids, which cannot boast a Dewey cannon, but he will pass
Three Oaks coldly by and leave it to stew in its own enthusiasm....
The Admiral will never know how much he missed. [B]ut the best
thing Three Oaks can do under the circumstances is to bottle up its
super abundant patriotism until the Fourth of July and then touch
it all off in one tremendous blast. If it shakes the country to its
foundations Admiral Dewey will have only himself to blame.
The Three Oaks Acorn was more subdued. Since the dedication date
was already set, "whoever the guests may be at that time, a right royal
celebration will be held, the like of which Three Oaks has never witnessed."
The featured guest―now even more important with Dewey's
decision to bypass Three Oaks--was Helen Gould, the daughter of financier
Jay Gould. A nurse during the Spanish-American War, Gould would unveil the
cannon. Support for her selection came from across the state where the
Saginawian noted: "Miss Helen Gould is a grand type of American woman, and
Three Oaks does herself proud in entertaining so gracious a lady."
As the second dedication day neared, Mayor Warren
offered a set of guidelines "to add to the comfort and convenience of our
guests," which Warren estimated could be as many as twenty thousand. Most
business would be suspended. Hotels and "regular dealers" could serve food
to the visitors. But residents needed to be ready "to spare to those who are
in need." Under no circumstances were exorbitant prices to be charged for
food sold or services rendered. Residents not only needed to use water
conservatively in the days prior to the dedication, they should place a
barrel of water―and cups―in their front yards. Horses, wagons and carriages
were not to be parked on the streets or in the alleys. Finally, "all
business houses and private residences within the village limits should be
decorated with American flags, bunting, and artistic decorations wherever
possible."
Warren even offered "suggestions" to the town's guests.
First, he outlined the seating arrangements for the dedication.
Schoolchildren, military companies and Civil War veterans were to be seated
closest to the cannon mound. Guests could purchase seats for fifty cents to
one dollar. If guests desired to join the parade to the dedication site,
they were welcome. Visitors' horses would be hitched in outlying fields for
a charge of a dime per horse. Information would be provided by a large
number of young men and women wearing blue badges or members of the Sunday
School wearing yellow badges. To ensure "that nothing should mar the
pleasure of the occasion," a list of rules to govern the visitors' conduct
warned, "Let there be no pushing or attempt to crowd forward and secure
undue advantage." Warren sternly ended, "Keep your place when once in
position."
The festivities commenced about 2:00 P.M. on Friday,
June 29, 1900. The parade passed beneath a series of stonelike arches with
inscriptions that read, "Three Oaks Against the World," "Patriotism" and
"The Farm and Village Our Country's Source of Strength." Once everyone was
seated, the program opened with the singing of the Battle Hymm of the
Republic by N. Estelle Harrington of Chicago. Throughout the program a
225-member chorus presented "a volume of musical sound" as "never before"
heard in Berrien County.
The first guest to speak was Secretary of War Russell A.
Alger. A native Michiganian who had ended the Civil War commanding the Fifth
Michigan Cavalry, Alger recounted Dewey's rapid success in the Battle of
Manila. Reflecting on the support for Manifest Destiny sweeping the country,
Alger boasted, "Where the United States plants its Stars and Stripes, my
fellow citizens, it stands. We are ready for any sacrifice ... and will
stand by what we have done." The former general wished the people of Three
Oaks "every pleasure in life. I know that the people are patriotic and
self-sacrificing, ready at all times to take their places in their homes or
to stand by their nation or their Lord." After Alger ended his remarks, the
chorus sang To Thee, O Country, which the Acorn described as a
"solid, thrilling [and] sacredly patriotic song."
The day's keynote speaker was Dr. W. E. Barton, a noted
orator from Chicago's First Church of Oak Park. Entitling his talk,
"Victories of Peace and War," Barton spoke at great length, praising Admiral
Dewey―"the man whose vessel's prow carved out for us new territory in the
other hemisphere, and lashed it to our own western shores." As for the Dewey
Cannon, Barton said, "We are dedicating this gun today not because the gun
itself is sacred. Between the cannon itself and what the cannon stands for
we constantly discriminate. This is not, for our present purposes, a cannon,
but a peaceful reminder of the glory of heroism."
When Barton finished, Helen Gould moved to the edge of
the platform where she was greeted with repeated cheers. Expressing her
"great pleasure" in being in Three Oaks, she touched a button that sent an
electric signal to the white tent covering the cannon. Slowly, the tent
opened into eight parts, each section falling to the ground, forming an
eight-pointed red, white and blue star. As the Dewey Cannon became visible,
the crowd of ten thousand people went "nearly mad with cheering."
The chorus sang America. Gould, who was given the
American flag that flew over the cannon mound that afternoon, stayed on the
platform shaking hands and speaking to many of those in attendance. She then
joined the Warrens for a lunch. This was followed by a carriage tour of the
area. Before leaving Three Oaks, Gould had one more task. As she stood on
the back platform of her special railcar, three cheers were given for Three
Oaks and, according to the Acorn, the former nurse "heartily" joined
in.
As Gould's train left for Chicago the crowds dispersed.
The Acorn later concluded, "It is with a sense of satisfaction that
the citizens of Three Oaks recall the events of the day which have been
marred by no accident, by no unpleasantness, or no complications of any
character." The Acorn predicted this "historical spot ... will mean
so much to the coming generations."
Today, the Dewey Cannon still sits in the park in Three
Oaks. This spot neither holds the great historical significance the Acorn
anticipated a century ago, nor is it a reminder of the great accomplishments
of the U.S. Navy. Instead, it stands as a tribute to how one small town took
on all comers and won.
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