NEGenWeb Project
Spanish American War
Compiled by Fred Greguras
II THE CAMPS
Camp Alva Adams, Denver, CO
| • | Alva A. Adams was a three-term governor of Colorado, including during the Spanish American War. |
| • | This was the muster in camp of the Colorado volunteers, both the 1st Col. Vol. Inf. and the troops of cavalry that became part of the 2nd U.S. Vol. Cav. It was established April 28, 1898 and abandoned on May 30, 1898 when its remaining occupants, the two troops of cavalry, left for Fort Russell in Cheyenne to join their regiment. The 1st Col. left for San Francisco on May 17, 1898. |
| • | The camp was located east of Colorado Boulevard between 26th and 27th Avenues, northeast of City Park. There is supposed to be a historical marker in City Park Golf Course at the southwest corner of the intersection of 26th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. The marker could not be found during a visit on September 11, 2002 and the Parks Department does not know what happened to it. |
| • | The May 2, 1898 Denver Daily News reported that the camp was located near City Park because the state troops were denied use of the barracks at Fort Logan. |
| • | There are the ground plans of the camp in the Denver Daily News. The initial plan is in the April 27, 1898 edition at page 8; and a revised plan is in the April 29, 1898 edition at page 10. |
Camp Alger, Chickamauga Park, GA (See Camp Thomas)
| • | Named after Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War |
| • | This is listed in source (4) but no other mention was found in any other source. |
Camp Alger, Dunn Loring, VA (See Camp Harries)
| • | Named after Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War |
| • | Camp Alger was the initial camp of the Second Corps. The camp was established May 18, 1898 and abandoned by late September, 1898 as the troops moved to Camp Meade. The camp was formally named on May 23, 1898. |
| • | This camp was located west of Falls Church, VA and southeast and southwest of Dunn Loring, VA. There is a historical marker on the south side of Highway 50, just east of where 50 intersects U.S. 495, between Fairmount and Fenwick Streets. The marker is just south of the site of Camp Harries, the predecessor to Camp Alger. |
| • | A book on this camp; Harrison, City of Canvas; Camp Russell A. Alger and The Spanish American War, was published by the Falls Church Historical Commission and Fairfax County Historical Commission, 1988. Page 13 is a present day map showing where various units were camped. |
Camp Amelia, Fernandina, FL (See Camp Fernandina, FL)
Camp Atkinson, Atlanta, GA (See Camps Hobson and Northern, GA)
| • | William Yates Atkinson was governor of Georgia during the Spanish American War |
| • | The 2nd Georgia Vol. Inf. was brought back to Atlanta for muster out in November, 1898. Camp Atkinson was this muster out camp according to the Atlanta Constitution of September 27, 1898. |
| • | The camp was located at Piedmont Park southeast of downtown Atlanta. The troops used the exposition buildings at Piedmont Park where the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition was held. |
| • | A brigade of the second division of the First Corps was to move from Camp Poland, Tennessee to Atlanta for the winter of 1898-99 but the troops were reassigned to Cuba before the move occurred. One of the regiments was to use the exposition buildings at Piedmont Park and the other two regiments were to camp near Grant Park. |
Camp Atkinson, Charleston, WV (See Camp Lee, WV)
| • | Site of the muster in of the 2nd W.V. Vol. Inf. in response to the President’s second call for volunteers. |
| • | Camp Atkinson was located in the west end of Charleston, near what is now the Patrick Street Plaza. The first troops set up camp on June 27, 1898, and the regiment departed from the camp on August 19, 1898. |
| • | From The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, The Soldiery of West Virginia, published by Jim Comstock, 1974, page 236: “On May 25, 1898, the President of the United States requested Governor Atkinson to send forward a Second Regiment of Infantry. The Governor hastened to issue a call, and the companies hastily formed in various parts of the State, rendezvoused at “Camp Atkinson” on the north bank of the Great Kanawha, about half a mile below the mouth of Elk River, say about five squares above where the Kelly Axe Factory now stands.” According to source (12), the 2nd W.Va. Vol. Inf. was camped on the banks of the Kanawha River, about 2 miles downstream from Charleston “by the course of the river” and 1.5 miles otherwise. |
| • | From The June 24, 1898 Charleston Daily Gazette: “The citizens are glad to know that the camp will be pitched just below the city, over Elk, instead of Kanawha City. Good order is promised, and there will be no repetition of the disgraceful scenes which characterized the first day at Camp Lee. The authorities have learned many valuable lessons from the experience they acquired in mobilizing and mustering in the first regiment, and the work this time will proceed with much less friction, delay and expense than was the case at Camp Lee.” |
| • | From the June 28, 1898 Charleston Daily Gazette: “Camp Atkinson, as the new camp will be called, is situated at the lower end of Glenwood, behind the village of Petersburg and not far from the folding bed factory. The location is almost an ideal one. It is an open common stretching back to the river, with ample room for drilling purposes and within convenient access of town. The spot on which the tents will be pitched slopes slightly toward either side, thus affording proper drainage. . . . Three rows of tents were pitched yesterday evening, for the Charleston, Hinton and Point Pleasant companies. The Charleston company will occupy the farthest row on the side of the camp next to the hill. The officers’ tents will look towards the folding bed factory.” |
| • | From the August 20, 1898 Charleston Daily Gazette: “Camp Atkinson is now part of the history of Charleston, and one of the prides of its past … On those who, no doubt out of habit, drove to Glenwood yesterday evening, the scene that met them at the end of their drive must have produced a strange impression. Where, twenty hours before, had been visible the bustle of a thousand men, lay only a wreck - a field of mud strewn with rubbish - a deserted village - the remains of what had been pretty Camp Atkinson.” |
| • | According to Hampton Smith, Reference Librarian for the Minnesota Historical Library, based on research in Holbrook, Minnesota in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection, published by Minnesota War Records Commission, 1923, (hereinafter referred to as Holbrook) the establishment of Camp Bacon was not directly related to the war with Spain but was established as a result of an incident between the U.S. Army and the Leech Lake band of Ojibway known as the battle of Sugar Point on October 5 and 6, 1898. Company G of the 3rd U.S. Infantry was posted at Walker to try to keep peace. |
Camp Tom Ball, Houston, TX (See Camp Mosby)
| • | Named after Tom H. Ball, a U.S. Congressman from Texas, first elected in 1896, who served until 1903. |
| • | The 4th Texas Vol. Inf. was organized and mustered in at this camp in Houston from July 8-30, 1898. The unit remained in Houston until late September 1898. A roster book of the 4th Texas indicates the camp was “near” Houston. |
| • | According to The Handbook of Texas Online web site, the camp was on the east side of Heights Boulevard, 4 miles north of the downtown area of Houston in the suburb of Houston Heights. |
| • | Named after the then California Adjutant General Andrew W. Barrett, 1845-1905, a Civil War veteran. Barrett resigned as Adjutant General on December 23, 1898. |
| • | This was the camp of the 8th regiment of the California National Guard (8th California Vol. Inf.), comprised of companies from Northern California, according to articles in the Oakland Enquirer newspaper. The 8th California was called up in response to the second call for volunteers. |
| • | The camp was established about June 28, 1898 and abandoned about September 14, 1898 when the last troops left for Vancouver Barracks. The companies of the 8th were assigned to army posts on the west coast, apparently to allow the regulars to be deployed overseas. The 8th California was mustered out by February 6, 1899. |
| • | The camp was located near Sather station according to newspaper articles, “Sather station, Cal.” Sather station was a Southern Pacific local railroad station located near High Street and San Leandro Street in Oakland. “The camp proper is to the southeast of Merrill Avenue and the open space to the north will be the drill ground,” according to the June 28, 1898 Oakland Enquirer. Merrill Avenue became 37th Avenue. The initial camp was between San Leandro Street and the Southern Pacific tracks and south of 37th Avenue on the Bauguire Tract of land. Page 6 of the June 27, 1898 Oakland Enquirer has a map showing the location of the camp |
| • | The July 22, 1898 San Francisco Chronicle reported that the camp had moved for sanitary reasons. The camp was moved southeast a short distance closer to High Street in order to have a better connection with the High Street sewer. |
Camp Battery Point, Delaware City, DE
| • | Delaware City is on the west bank of the Delaware River adjacent to Pea Patch Island on which Fort Delaware is located. Fort Delaware’s purpose was to defend the Delaware River and surrounding coastline. Fort Mott, NJ is directly across from Fort Delaware on the east bank of the Delaware River. |
Camp Bell, Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO (See Camp Stephens)
Camp Black, Hempstead, Long Island, NY (See Camp Townsend)
| • | Named after the wartime governor of New York. |
| • | Camp Black and Camp Townsend, the state national guard camp at Peekskill, were the New York muster in sites. |
| • | Camp Black is described in State Historian, History of the Empire State Regiments in the War with Spain, published under the Direction of the State Historian, 1903 (hereafter referred to as Empire State). The land on which the camp was located was owned by the Garden City Company and was permitted to be used by the state as a camp at no charge. |
| • | From Empire State, pages 155-156: “The Seventy-first Regiment was given the place of honor at the extreme right of the State camp, subsequently named in honor of the Governor, at which were mobilized at one time some 14,000 troops. Detraining one mile east of Garden City and marching about one half mile to the entrance of the camp, Colonel Greene had the companies march to the site of their respective streets. The tents, poles and pegs were duly distributed in their proper place, and orders were at once given to pitch tents and put the camp in proper condition. By four o’clock the work was completely finished and declared well done, and the regiment settled down to its life on the tented field.” |
| • | According to web site of the 69th New York in the Spanish American War: “Camp Black was formed on the Hempstead Plains, in March, 1898, in support of the Spanish-American War. Camp Black was bounded on the north by Old Country Road, on the west by Clinton Road, and on the south by the Central Line rail. Camp Black was opened on April 29, 1898. The first regiment to occupy Camp Black was Co. H of the 71st Regiment. The Camp officially closed on September 28, 1898.” |
| • | From the Long Island History Web Site: The Mitchel Field area of the Hempstead Plains has been site of training camps in almost every war, including Camp Black. Original plains covered 60,000-70,000 acres. The area outlined above includes the Mitchel Field area. |
| • | Kester, Transformation of Citizen into Soldier, Cosmopolitan Magazine, June, 1898, page 12, is about Camp Black and contains many photos. |
Camp Boynton, Chickamauga Park, GA (See Camp Thomas)
| • | Henry V. Boynton, 1835-1905, a regimental commander in the Army of the Cumberland during the Civil War and later a Washington journalist, conceived the idea for the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park which was established in 1890. He was a Brigadier General of volunteers in the Spanish American War. Boynton is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. |
| • | The April 15, 1898 Nashville Banner reported that Col. Burt of the 25th Inf. named his regimental camp in honor of Boynton who had helped with preparations for the camp. According to the paper, Camp Boynton was established “one-fourth of a mile east of the Widow Glenn’s house which was the headquarters of Gen. Rosecrans during the battle of Chickamauga.” The 25th Inf. was the first regiment to arrive at Chickamauga Park. |
| • | The camp site of the 25th Inf. is shown on the map of Camp Thomas in source (13). |
| • | In late August, 1898, Boynton was assigned to duty at the park to care for and protect the park and to restore it as troops were withdrawn. He was also there in early May, 1898 to “superintend preparations for the arrival of volunteer troops” according to the May 14, 1898 Army and Navy Journal. I initially thought Camp Boynton may have been established as a base from which to carry out his care and protection duties. |
Camp Bradley, Lexington, KY (See Camps Collier, Corbin and Hamilton)
| • | Named after Kentucky Governor William O. Bradley |
| • | Muster in site for 1st Ky. Vol. Inf. |
| • | This camp was at the Woodland Park Chautauqua Grounds. Woodland Park still exists and is southeast of the Lexington downtown area, to the east of the corner of Kentucky and Highway 1974 on present day maps. The Lexington newspaper of May 1, 1898 indicated the Chautauqua “tabernacle” was converted into sleeping quarters. |
| • | From “A Splendid Little War”: The Spanish American War and Kentucky, Kentucky Historical Society, 1998: “At the outbreak of hostilities, the Kentucky State Guard consisted of three regiments of infantry and two troops of cavalry. . . . Adjutant General Daniel R. Collier was instructed to assemble the State Guard at Lexington. . . . The Lexington Chamber of Commerce failed to secure a racetrack property as expected, when the thoroughbred industry insisted that there were ‘other places in Lexington more suitable for camping purposes.’ When General Collier threatened to move the muster to Louisville, a compromise was reached whereby the Second and Third Regiments would be encamped at Tattersall’s Fairgrounds and the First Regiment at the Chautauqua grounds (Woodland Park). The encampment at Tattersall’s became known as Camp Collier, while that of the First Regiment was named in honor of Governor Bradley. . . . Orders finally arrived for the Kentuckians to move to Chickamauga, Tennessee. On June 10 at 7:00 a.m., a signal from each regimental bugler was sounded and the tents all simultaneously fell . . . and the Lexington camps [were] abandoned. On June 21, the War Department had directed Governor Bradley to enroll a fourth regiment of infantry . . . . their point of mobilization was also designated as Lexington, where they began arriving during the last week of June. Their camp was established in Loudoun Park and named Camp Hobson, which the men quickly changed to Camp Corbin. . . . [After the war ended,] Rotten food, crowded conditions, poor sanitation, improper clothing, and continuous rains had led to outbreaks of typhoid fever and dysentery among the demoralized troops left behind. . . . To alleviate overcrowded conditions, the War Department established Camp Hamilton in Lexington to supplement the one at Chickamauga. The two troops of cavalry were also held up at Chickamauga. . . . then transferred to Lexington when the new camp there opened. Shortly after their arrival they, too, were mustered out without reaching the war zone.” |
| • | From Wright, Lexington Heart of the Bluegrass, published by Lexington-Fayette County Historic Commission, 1982, page 158, “The second regiment of the Kentucky State Guard mobilized on the Fairgrounds. Some troops camped at Woodlands, and a resident on Ashland Avenue later recalled how, as a young girl, she made and sold cakes to the soldiers.” |
| • | The camp was abandoned June 11, 1898. |
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©2005 Fred Greguras
