Little is remembered of Spanish-American War today

By Tom Emery

Military action in the Spanish-American War lasted less than four months, and the war receives only passing mention in history books today.

Feb. 15 marks the anniversary of the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor, the flashpoint in tensions between the United States and Spain that led to the conflict. The issues had roots in the ongoing fight for Cuban independence.

Americans were sympathetic to the plight of the Cubans as pro-war hawks and the press portrayed the Spanish as a brutal authority.

At the time, many blamed the destruction of the 324-foot battleship Maine on Feb. 15, 1898 on the Spanish, and the American media fanned the flames. The blast claimed 266 of the 355 men on board, while only sixteen of the survivors were not injured. Years later, the cause of the sinking was determined to be spontaneous combustion.

Among those calling for war was Theodore Roosevelt, whose Rough Riders are one of the few things remembered about the conflict.

While Roosevelt joined the screams to “Remember the Maine,” President William McKinley was less enthused, remembering his experiences from the Civil War.

“He had seen what war was like, and didn’t want to commit American troops to foreign lands unless absolutely necessary,” said Christopher Kenney, Director of Education at the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in Canton, Ohio. “In addition, the size of the U.S. Army was decreased following the Civil War and the men, supplies, and logistics were not up to fighting a war.”

At the time, the U.S. had only the twelfth-largest navy in the world. The Spanish were even weaker, as the once-proud empire was a shell of its former strength, left with little more than the colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

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On April 11, 1898, McKinley asked Congress for war, and a declaration was passed on April 25. The effort proved a logistical nightmare, as the U.S. was woefully unprepared for the conflict. But the war proved popular with the public, and men raced to enlist.

The state of Illinois raised some 11,000 men, comprising nine infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and a battery of artillery. But Illinois troops, on the whole, saw little action. Many American soldiers sat at the stop-off point of Tampa for weeks, waiting for organization and supplies.

Meanwhile, Commodore George Dewey soundly defeated the Spanish Pacific Squadron at Manila Bay on May 1. Finally, the U.S. landed in Cuba on June 10, and fought through mosquito-infested jungles on an offensive to Santiago.

The conflict was one of the first “media wars” in the U.S. and benefitted from a savvy public-relations campaign, both from the government and the press. Some believe that McKinley’s “nerve center,” equipped with the latest technology such as telephones, was ground-breaking in the management of American wars.

“I think McKinley managed the war very well,” said Kenney. “He was definitely aware of the ‘image’ and what the public, and even members of his own party, were thinking. He took measures to protect that image.”

The ambitious, headstrong Roosevelt was also well aware of image, dressing in an eye-catching uniform produced by clothier Brooks Brothers, a nod to his privileged New York upbringing rather than his rough-and-tumble persona. His Rough Riders, meanwhile, wore brown pants, slouch hats, and neckerchiefs, apparel chosen by Roosevelt himself.

The Rough Riders were the nickname of the First Volunteer Cavalry and numbered 964 strong, including 86 with Illinois connections. The unit was mainly recruited in the Arizona and New Mexico territories, as well as Texas and present-day Oklahoma.

Though many believe the Rough Riders charged up San Juan Hill on July 1, they were actually on nearby Kettle Hill. Heat exhaustion caused a number of men to drop during the offensive. On July 3, the Spanish fleet suffered destruction at the naval battle of Santiago.

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Action in the war lasted only four months, and the Treaty of Paris on December 10 formally ended hostilities. Of a troop strength of 72,339, the U.S. lost only 379 men killed, with 2,061 dead of disease, many in training. The First Illinois Infantry, among the most well-known of the Illinois units, lost eighty-four men to disease.

Roosevelt and U.S. Secretary of State John Hay, who lived in western Illinois as a youth, have both been credited with calling the conflict “a splendid little war.”

The U.S. gained $20 million and the Spanish colonies, though the Philippines would prove a major headache before independence was declared in 1946. Cuba gained its freedom, but it fell under control of Fidel Castro in 1959 and became a pawn in the Cold War.

While the Spanish-American War is a footnote in U.S. history today, it remains significant in both Spanish and Cuban heritage, though in far different terms. In Cuba, the conflict was called the “Cuban War of Independence,” but the defeated Spanish simply labeled the war as “The Loss.”

Today, scattered memorials across the nation are some of the few reminders of the short-lived conflict. A cannon from the war adorns the grounds of the Knox County Courthouse in Galesburg, while in Springfield, a striking statue to the war is found at the corner of Second and Monroe, across from the statehouse.

Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or [email protected].