Commodore Fitzhugh, an old retired naval officer, lives at the Annapolis Naval Academy and, unhappy with the modern navy, likes to talk about his days in the old navy, especially about his part in the Battle of Manila Bay under Adm. Dewey during the Spanish-American War, when he commanded the USS Congress. That ship, now decommissioned and docked in Annapolis harbor, is--unknown to Fitzhugh--about to be towed out to sea to be used for target practice. When Fitzhugh finds this out, he sets out to either save his beloved vessel or go down with his ship.