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Spanish American War Photo ArchiveBiblio.com

American Volunteer Soldiers in Camp and Campaign During the Spanish American War circa 1898 to 1900

1898réf. 239381898. Spanish American War soldier photo archive depicting American servicemen in uniform campaign clothing armed field equipment and camp settings circa 1898 to 1900 recording the appearance and conditions of service during the rapid wartime expansion of the United States Army. The men appear at different points between enlistment and active service: formally uniformed for studio portraits dressed in campaign hats and leggings armed with a rifle and cartridge belt and seated amid the temporary furnishings of military encampment. In 1898 the United States mobilized a large volunteer force alongside its Regular Army funneling state volunteer regiments through camps before deployment to Cuba Puerto Rico and the Philippines; the Army's Cuba expedition alone embarked approximately 17000 men from the congested staging area around Tampa. Army Historical Program These photographs preserve the individual scale of that mobilization showing soldiers not as distant formations or published battle scenes but as men equipped clothed and housed for wartime service. Photo archive of 9 silver gelatin photographs including one tintype Various sizes ranging from approximately 3.25 x 2.5 to 6.25 x 9 inches circa 1898 to 1900. Several are full length portraits of soldiers wearing the broad brimmed campaign hat dark pullover shirt trousers tucked or fastened into leggings and waist belts associated with field service. One soldier stands before a thatched structure holding a long rifle across his body with a loaded cartridge belt around his waist; another sits outside a tent in campaign clothing his boots and leggings visible. A camp photograph shows a uniformed soldier seated among folding chairs with other servicemen behind him recording the improvised domestic environment in which mobilized troops spent much of their service. The tintype portrays a seated soldier in campaign clothing and hat. Other photographs show men in more formal military dress including a large Brenner Studios Chicago portrait of a soldier standing in a dark buttoned uniform with chevrons visible on his sleeve and another full length portrait of a serviceman in a dark dress coat with contrasting piping and cords. Handwritten versos preserve partial evidence of identity and unit affiliation. One appears to identify a soldier with "Co. K 2nd . Vol. Reg."; another is inscribed to "Mrs. Alice . at Bat Cave N.C."; and another carries a presentation inscription from "Ed. A. Schlesinger." The photographs belong to a military mobilization whose daily realities were often defined less by battlefield action than by mustering training waiting for transportation camp routine illness and preparation for service overseas. Volunteer regiments arrived at large temporary encampments in 1898 with uneven levels of training and equipment while the Army struggled to absorb and transport the sudden influx of personnel. At the Presidio of San Francisco for example volunteers from across the country trained before embarkation for the Philippines and approximately 80000 men passed through the post between the beginning of the Spanish American War and 1900; temporary camps became crowded and sickness repeatedly spread among the troops. The conflict with Spain ended in 1898 but American soldiers remained abroad as occupation duties in former Spanish possessions developed into a prolonged war against the Philippine Republic extending the experience of mobilization and overseas service well beyond the original campaign. The shifts visible here between dress uniforms field clothing weapons tents and camp surroundings record the practical transition from civilian volunteer to wartime soldier at the level of individual servicemen. Some toning fading staining surface wear and edge and corner wear to mounts; several mounts with creasing or small losses with handwritten inscriptions remaining partially legible. Overall in very good condition. A personal photographic record of the uniforms equipment encampment and individual experience of American military service during the mobilization of 1898 and its overseas aftermath. unknown