February 25 - U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt sends an order to Commodore George Dewey, commander of the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron in Hong Kong, to be prepared to attack the Spanish Navy fleet in the Philippines if there is an outbreak of war.
March 9 - After learning that Spain was attempting to buy Brazilian warships under construction in the United Kingdom, U.S. President McKinley asks Congress for $50 million for national defense.