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University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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909 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
clements-reference@umich.edu

Correspondence and Documents: Largely United States, March 4, 1898-June 10, 1917.

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Containers:
Box 2, Folders 18-24
Abstract:
Includes letters, telegraphs, and other documents pertaining to American involvement in Cuba and the Caribbean during the active phase of the Spanish-American War in 1898. Letter from a representative of the De Lane Company, in the business of bulletproof vests and shields, to (U.S. consul to Cuba) Fitzhugh Lee's wife suggesting she purchase one for Fitzhugh in the aftermath of the Maine explosion (suggesting that the French president was quite satisfied with his own bulletproof vest); several military telegrams (including some translated from cyphers) pertaining to the issuance of orders and the establishment of bulk purchases from suppliers (such as clothing and grooming supplies); and descriptions of military conditions in the training camps and during the initial phases of deployment by several enlisted men and officers, particularly to relatives back home. One letter, sent by a Cavalry officer named Bill to a female relative or acquaintance in Denver, was written during the Battle of Santiago. The tone of the end of the letter differs markedly from the beginning, as news of the surrender reached Bill during the letter-writing. Several other army letters make note of training camp and military conditions, including volunteer Wallace Downs's glowing self-assessment of his own 71st New York Infantry as well as both complimentary and derogatory references to training camp life. Includes letters sent by soldiers and sailors to friends, acquaintances, and relatives in the aftermath of the Battle of Santiago and afterwards. In summer 1898, diseases such as yellow fever and typhoid spread through many U.S. military camps as well as in Cuba and on ships stationed in the Caribbean. Several letters make reference to the theatre of war moving towards the Pacific, and one makes reference to an episode of racial violence that erupted at Camp Poland in Tennessee that required a military police detachment to stand between white and African American regiments to prevent a "battle." Included is a copy of a telegraph sent to U.S. consul to Cuba announcing an end to hostilities in Cuba after the surrender of Santiago, but hostilities in Luzon continued after the war in the Caribbean ended. Also included are a membership and recruitment letter for the Rough Riders, a 1900 letter from the deceased soldier Harvey Knight's chaplain to Harvey's mother in San Francisco concerning the circumstances of Harvey's death and the loss of a ring on his hand in the Philippines; confirmation of the death of soldier Richard Eisenach in the Philippines to his family in Wisconsin; a note between two doctors concerning wartime wounds sustained by their patients in the Philippines; and a list of tickets for a charity event held by the United Spanish War Veterans on Memorial Day 1917. Partial geographical list: New York, Havana/Habana (Cuba), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Tipton (Iowa), Iowa City, Gaffney (S.C.), Columbia (S.C.), Philadelphia (Pa.), Key West, Washington (D.C.), New Orleans (La.), Lakeland (Fla.), Columbus (Ohio), Massillon (Ohio), Denver (Colo.), San Francisco (Calif.), Augusta (Maine), Tampa (Fla.), Port Tampa (Fla.), Steubenville, Nappanee (Ind.), Albany (N.Y.), Lytle (Ga.), Saxville (Wis.), Garrettsville (Ohio), Monmouth (Ill.), Falls Church, Jacksonville, Fort Myers (Va.), San Francisco (Calif.), Pierre (S.D.), Fort Monroe (Va.), Hart (Mich.), Key West, Chicago (Ill.), Argentine (Kansas City, Kan.), Chickamauga Park (Ga.), Litchfield (Conn.), Ripon (Wis.), Fort Leavenworth (Kan.), Atchison (Kan.), Edgemont Key (Fla.), Traverse City (Mich.), Fernandina (Fla.), Camp Thomas (Ga.), Cumberland (Iowa), St. Louis (Mo.), Hampton Roads (Va.), Indianapolis (Ind.), Fort Wayne (Ind.), Colorado Springs (Colo.), Norwalk (Conn.), Jerry City (Ohio), Knoxville (Camp Poland), Fort McPherson (Ga.), St. Petersburg (Fla.), Morgan Park (Ill.), Oakville (Tex.), Racine (Wisc.), Cincinnati (Ohio), Reinbeck (Iowa), Savannah (Ga.), Ponce (Puerto Rico), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Los Angeles (Calif.), Luzon (Philippines), West Springfield (Mass.).
Extent:
69 items

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