The State of ArizonaIn The Spanish American War, February 15th, 1898, to July 4th, 1902
The following information is about the Volunteers and Territorial (State) Officials of the State of Arizona during the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and China Relief Expedition, February 15th, 1898, to July 4th, 1902. If you have any additional information, photographs, artifcats, etc., that you wish to contribute, feel free to submit the information to the Webmaster.
Timeline of Events
April 23rd, 1898: President William McKinley issues a call for 125,000 volunteers. At the start of the War with Spain Arizona�s military forces were organized under the title of the �National Guard of Arizona� and was reported as having an authorized strength in April of 1898 at around 898 officers and men, in reality the number of men organized were only 520 officers and men, with another 12,000 liable for military duty. The National Guard was organized into one regiment of infantry, which was divided into three battalions, there was also organized under the supervision of the Surgeon General a hospital corps consisting of one Hospital Steward and seven enlisted men. In April of 1898 they were organized as follows:
1st Infantry Regiment (Headquarters � Tucson; Band � Tucson; Company A � Phoenix; Company B � Phoenix; Company C � Tempe; Company D � Tucson; Company E � Mesa; Company F � Tucson; Company G � Nogales; Company H � Yuma; Company I � Flagstaff; Company K � St. Johns)
The staff for the National Guard consisted of the Adjutant General who carried the rank of Brigadier General, a Surgeon General, Paymaster General, and Judge Advocate General who carried the rank of Colonel, and one Inspector of Small Arms Practice with the rank of Major. Attached to the Arizona National Guard at the time was Captain John A. Baldwin of the 9th United States Infantry Regiment, however he was relieved from duty on September 20th, 1898.
May 3rd, 1898: The three companies of Arizona Volunteers under Captain�s William O�Neill, James H. McClintock, and Joseph L.B. Alexander are mustered into United States service as Troop�s A, B, & C of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment at San Antonio, Texas.
July 4th, 1898: The Phoenix Company (Captain Frank Russell), the Tucson Company (Captain Herbert S. Gray), and the Prescott & Flagstaff Company (Captain Charles E. Donaldson) are mustered into United States service as Companies A, B, & C of the 1st Territorial Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, at the Whipple Barracks in Phoenix, Arizona.
September 15th, 1898: Troops A, B, & C of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment are mustered out of United States service at Camp Wikoff on Long Island, New York.
February 15th, 1899: Companies A, B, & C of the 1st Territorial Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, are mustered out of United States service at Albany, Georgia.
Colonel Leonard Wood & Lt. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt with the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, "Rough Riders," ca. May 1898
Camps and Military Installations
During peace time and war the United States Military and State National Guard maintains forts, posts, depots, and other installations throughout the various states, and in times of war Camps are organized as rendezvous for the various volunteers joining. The following is a listing of those posts that were located and active in the State of Arizona from February 15th, 1898, to July 4th, 1902.
FORT APACHE, NAVAJO COUNTYFort Apache was officially established in 1879, however it predated that, being first established as Camp Ord in May of 1870, and then being renamed as Camp Goodwin, Mogollon, Thomas, and finally to Camp Apache, which was designated as Fort Apache in 1879. The post remained in operation until 1922 when the Army officially closed the post and reassigned the remaining garrison to Fort Huachuca.
FORT GRANT, GRAHAM COUNTYFort Grant was originally established in 1860 as Camp Arivaypa and later as Camp Breckinridge, however the post was destroyed in 1861 to prevent its being captured, being reestablished by the California Volunteers in 1862 as Camp Stanford, and in 1863 again as Camp Breckinridge, in 1865 it was renamed as Camp Grant. At the site in 1871 a massacre took place at the post when a group of 146 soldiers attacked 550 Indians who had come in to surrender themselves. In 1872 the post was closed and relocated a short distance to the southwestern slope of Graham Mountain and was designated as Fort Grant. The post remained in use until 1905 when it was abandoned by the Army, the remaining troops being reassigned to Fort Huachuca. In 1912 the property was transferred to the State of Arizona and was used as the State Industrial School for Wayward Boys and Girls, until 1968 when the state assigned it to the Department of Corrections, and in 1973 established a State prison at the site.
FORT HUACHUCA, SIERRA VISTA, COCHISE COUNTYThe Post was established in 1877 by Captain Samuel M. Whitside and two companies of the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, to serve as part of the chain of forts that were being constructed to guard Southern Arizona against the Indians in that region, the post was then known as Camp Huachuca. In 1882 the post was redesignated as Fort Huachuca. The Fort remained in use by the U.S. Military until 1947 when it was closed for a short time and turned over to the State of Arizona, however it was returned to the Government for use in February of 1951 with the Korean War, at which point the U.S. Air Force assumed possession of the post, the army returning to assume control a month later. Since that time the post has been in continuous use as a Military installation.
WHIPPLE BARRACKS, PRESCOTT, YAVAPAI COUNTYThe Whipple Barracks (also known as Fort Whipple) was established in November of 1863 a mile northeast of Prescott, Arizona, and was a regular Army post from 1863 until 1898 when it was discontinued for a few years, until being re-garrisoned in 1902 and operated until February 15th, 1913, when it was finally abandoned by the military. The men from Arizona that formed Companies A, B, and C of the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry Regiment were organized and mustered into service at the Whipple Barracks in 1898.
Veterans Organizations
Following the end of the conflicts the Veterans began forming themselves into various regimental and national organizations for the purpose of keeping in contact with old and new friends, as well as to perpetuate the memory of their fallen comrades, several organizations sprung up in the years immediately following the war, however aside from the Regimental Associations most of these eventually came together to form the "United Spanish War Veterans." The following is information regarding the Department of Wyoming of the United Spanish War Veterans and the Auxiliary of the United Spanish War Veterans.
Veterans Memorials
The following pages contain information on the burial locations of the Veterans of 1898 to 1902, as well as the monuments and memorials that were erected to the memory of the Veterans, Battles, and other events that took place during those years, within the State of Arizona.
Resources
Books & Published Material
- "The Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1898." D. Appleton & Company, New York, 1899.
- �Camps of the United Spanish War Veterans. Local Lairs of the Military Order of the Serpent, 1904-1992.� George Kane.
- "Correspondence relating to the War with Spain, and conditions growing out of the same, including the Insurrection in the Philippine Islands, and the China Relief Expedition, between the Adjutant-General of the Army and Military Commanders in the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, China, and the Philippine Islands, from April 15, 1898, to July 30, 1902." Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1902.
- Volume I, "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from its organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903." Francis B. Heitman, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1903.
- "Officers of Volunteer Regiments Organized Under the Act of March 2, 1899." Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1899.
- "The Organized Militia of the United States." Government Printing Press, Washington, D.C., 1900.
- �Report of the Adjutant General of the Territory of Arizona, 1898.� Dunbar & Ambler, Printers, Phoenix, Arizona, 1899.
- Volume I, �Report on the Origin and Spread of Typhoid Fever in U.S. Military Camps during the Spanish War of 1898.� Walter Reed, Victor C. Vaughan, Edward O. Shakespeare; Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1904.
- "Statistical Exhibit of Strength of Volunteer Forces Called Into Service During the War With Spain; with Losses From All Causes." Adjutant Generals Office, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1899.
Documents, Papers & Non-Published Materials
- General Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers who served During the War with Spain. Microfilm publication M871, 126 rolls. ARC ID: 654543; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; The National Archives at Washington, D.C.
- Pension applications for service in the US Army between 1861 and 1900, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served. (NARA T289) National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
Websites & Online Resources
- Arizona Military Museum.
- Sharlot Hall Museum, Arizona.
- Spanish American War Camps, 1898-1899.
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