The State of ColoradoIn The Spanish American War, February 15th, 1898, to July 4th, 1902
The following information is about the Volunteers and Government Officials of the State of Colorado 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, artifacts, 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 from across the United States to serve for two years unless sooner discharged, with each state and territory being assigned a quota that they were requested to fill. At the start of the War with Spain Colorado�s military forces were organized under the title of the "National Guard of Colorado" and was reported as having an authorized strength in April 1898 of 'every male citizen between the ages of 18 and 45, physically capable of doing miltary duty,' in reality the number of men organized were only 1,375 officers and men, with another 60,000 liable for military duty. The National Guard was organized into a brigade consisting of the headquarters, two regiments of infantry, a squadron of cavalry and one battery of artillery; with the brigade headquarters being established in Denver. In April 1898 they were organized as follows:
- 1st Regiment of Infantry (Headquarters � Denver; Company A � Denver; Company B � Denver; Company C � Longmont; Company D � Greeley; Company E � Denver; Company F � Denver; Company H � Boulder; Company I � Denver; Company K � Denver)
- 2nd Regiment of Infantry (Headquarters � Pueblo; Company A � Lake City; Company B � Pueblo; Company C � Pueblo; Company D � Colorado Springs; Company E � Leadville; Company F � Leadville; Company G � Cripple Creek)
- Squadron of Cavalry (Headquarters � Denver; Troop A � Leadville; Troop B � Denver; Troop C � Denver)
- Battery of Artillery (Battery A � Denver)
The staff of the National Guard consisted of an Adjutant General, with the rank of Brigadier General; a Surgeon-General, with the rank of Colonel; an Inspector-General, with the rank of Colonel; and a Judge Advocate-General, with the rank of Colonel.
April 29th, 1898: The Governor issues a call for volunteers from the National Guard, and directs the companies to assemble at Camp Alva Adams in Denver, Colorado. To fill the States quota the members of the 1st and 2nd Regiments will be consolidated to create one regiment of infantry, while the three troops of the Squadron of Cavalry are consolidated to create two companies of cavalry for service with the 2nd United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment.
May 1st, 1898: The 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry Regiment is mustered into United States service at Camp Alva Adams in Denver, Colorado, for the period of two years� service. At the time the regiment consisted of 46 Officers and 970 Enlisted Men, under the command of Colonel Irving Hale.
May 6th, 1898: Troops A & B of the 2nd United States Cavalry Regiment are mustered into United States service at Denver, Colorado, for the period of two years� service.
May 25th, 1898: President McKinley issues a second call for an additional 75,000 volunteers, of this call up Colorado is requested to provide one battery of artillery.
July 1st, 1898: The 'Chaffee Light Artillery' is mustered into United States service as Battery A, Colorado Volunteer Artillery, at the State Capital in Denver, Colorado, for the period of two years� service. At the time the battery consisted of 3 officers and 106 enlisted men, under the command of Captain Harry J. Parks.
October 24th, 1898: Troops A & B of the 2nd United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment are mustered out of United States service at Jacksonville, Florida.
November 7th, 1898: Battery A, Colorado Volunteer Artillery, is mustered out of United States service at Fort Hancock, New Jersey. At the time the battery consisted of 3 officers and 103 enlisted men, under the command of Captain Harry J. Parks.
September 8th, 1899: The 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry Regiment is mustered out of United States service at San Francisco, California. At the time the regiment consisted of 46 officers and 938 enlisted men, under the command of Colonel Henry B. McCoy.
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 Colorado from February 15th, 1898, to July 4th, 1902.
CAMP ALVA ADAMS, DENVER, DENVER COUNTYThe camp was established on April 28th, 1898, east of Colorado Boulevard, and northeast of the city park, the result of the State Volunteers not being allowed the use of the Army barracks at Fort Logan. The camp was named in honor of Colorado Governor Alva A. Adams, who served as the Governor of the State from 1897 to 1899. The camp served as the rendezvous and mustering in point for the Colorado Volunteers who would become the 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the two troops of the 2nd United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment; the 1st Colorado left for San Francisco, California, on May 17th, 1898, and was followed shortly thereafter on May 30th, 1898, by the two troops of Cavalry, with the departure of these two troops on May 30th the camp was left unoccupied, and closed at that time.
FORT LOGAN, DENVER, DENVER COUNTYThe origins of Fort Logan date to February 1887 when President Grover Cleveland signed a bill establishing a post near Denver, Colorado. Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan travelled to Denver in March 1887 and selected a site 10-miles from Denver, below Bear Creek, and that October the first troops arrived to establish the post, then simply known as the �camp near the city of Denver.� In November 1887 Captain Lafayette E. Campbell arrived at the post and began overseeing the layout and construction of the buildings that were to become the Fort. On April 5th, 1889, the post was officially designated as Fort Logan in honor of Major General John Alexander Logan, U.S. Volunteers, an Illinois politician who had commanded the 15th Army Corps during the American Civil War, and served as the first command of the Grand Army of the Republic. Primarily and Infantry, and later Cavalry, post, the garrison had added to it in 1894 the Army Signal Corps observation balloon, which remained at the post until the start of the War with Spain when it would join the 5th Army Corps for active service in Cuba. Following the War with Spain the post remained active, becoming a recruit depot in September 1909, and serving as an induction center during the First and Second World Wars. In World War II the post was designated as a sub-post of the Army Air Corps, who established the Army Air Forces Clerical School at the post. At the Wars end the post was used as a separation center, and on August 15th, 1946, the post was officially closed. A Veterans� Administration Hospital was maintained at the site from 1946 to 1951, when it was relocated to Denver. In 1950, the original post cemetery was expanded and establish as the Fort Logan National Cemetery, and now encompasses 214 acres. In 1960 a portion of the property was returned to the State of Colorado, who used the site to establish the Fort Logan Mental Health Center (designated the Colorado Mental Health Institute in 1991). For more information visit the Friends of Historic Fort Logan.
A group of Colorado recruits at Fort Logan near Denver, Colorado, ca. April 1898.
(Collection of the Denver Public Library)
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 Colorado 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 Colorado.
Resources
Books & Published Material
- Pages 135 to 137 & 783, "The Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1898." D. Appleton & Company, New York, 1899.
- "The Colorado Volunteers." A.G. Baker; 1908.
- Page 585 & 586, "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.
- Pages 726 to 727, Volume I, "History of Colorado." Wilbur F. Stone; The S.J. Clark Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois; 1918.
- "Officers of Volunteer Regiments Organized Under the Act of March 2, 1899." Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1899.
- "List of Military Posts, etc., Established in the United States from its earliest settlement to the present time." Adjutant General's Office, War Department; Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.; 1902.
- "Official History of the Operations of the First Colorado Infantry, U.S.V." Arthur C. Johnson; 1899.
- "The Organized Militia of the United States." Government Printing Press, Washington, D.C., 1900.
- Pages 26 to 29, "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.
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