Dewey recounts his youth in Vermont, telling of his appreciation for the outdoors, with a particular passion being to swim in the nearby river. The lack of discipline in his nearby schoolhouse - a place which lacked permanent staff - concerned Dewey's father, who decided to send his son to military school. It was this decision which shaped the boy's entire life; Dewey demonstrated great aptitude and was already a junior officer by the time of the U.S. Civil War. The earliest signs of Dewey's greatness glimmered during the Civil War, in which he performed well during the Battle of New Orleans. Promoted and distinguished by the end of the conflict, Dewey spent the years following the war witnessing a navy which was rapidly modernizing as new technologies transformed naval materiel and warfare. By the 1890s, Dewey was a mature commander in charge of the United States' Asiatic Squadron; a group of cutting-edge warships. Dewey's decisive command during the Battle of Manila Bay, which saw the opposing Spanish naval force thrown into chaos and disarray, made the admiral a national hero. The fight was crucial; with it, the USA took possession of Manila and began in earnest to capture the Philippines from the Spaniards.