Calhoun County MI Archives History .....Spanish - American War 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Robin Ellis -- July 17, 2007, 12:34 pm

The Spanish-American War is assumed to have started April 21, 1898. On April 
23, the President called for 125,000 volunteers. A second call was made May 25 
for another 75,000 men. The call was at first confined to existing units but 
was then issued to the citizens at large. Members of existing units were the 
first to be accepted and organized.

Michigan's Governor ordered out the National Guard and attempted to turn the 
units over intact as volunteers to the federal government. This however, was 
not in compliance with federal law and as a result, each individual was 
required to volunteer as an individual rather than as part of a unit.

Practically every member of the National Guard volunteered. They were 
reorganized into the same units in which they had been serving but the 
regiments were reorganized so that the existing five regiments of eight 
companies each became four regiments of 12 companies each. To fill the 
regiments, eight new companies had to be organized. Each Michigan regiment was 
to contain 1,000 men. Upon the second call, Michigan furnished one more 
regiment of 1,200 men as well as an additional 200 men to each of the four 
original regiments.

 The regiments organized in the spring of 1898 were designated the 31st, 32nd, 
33rd, and 34th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, following in numerical order the 
infantry regiments of the Civil War. They were all mobilized at Island Lake, 
near Detroit.

The 31st was mustered May 11 and left on May 15 for Chickamauga Park, Ga. The 
32nd was mustered May 14 and left May 19 for Tampa, Fla. The 33rd was mustered 
May 20 and left May 28 for Camp Alger, near Washington, D.C. The 34th was 
mustered May 25 and left June 6 for Camp Alger. Under the second call of the 
President, the 35th was organized and left for Camp Meade, Pa. September 14.

                  Disease Was The Real Enemy:

The men in the southern camps, particularly at Chickamauga and Camp Alger, 
suffered severely from sickness. At Chickamauga, there was an epidemic of 
typhoid fever, and the 31st Regiment moved to Knoxville, Tenn. where it 
remained until January 25, 1899, when it was sent to Cuba.

The 31st landed at Cienfugas and was then distributed in the towns of Santa 
Clara Province to preserve order and protect property. The regiment performed 
guard duty until it returned to the United States April 25, 1899. It was 
disbanded at Savannah, Ga. on May 17, 1899. While in service, 20 men died from 
sickness in southern camps and hospitals. 

The 32nd was one of the earliest regiments moved to Fernandian, Fla., where it 
remained in camp for some time. It was among those assigned to service in Cuba 
but did not leave the United States. While enroute, its transport ship collided 
with another ship. The regiment was unloaded; it never left the port. After 
remaining in Florida for awhile, the regiment was transferred to Fort 
McPherson, Ga., where it remained until September. It then returned to Michigan 
and was disbanded between October 25 and November 9, 1898. While in service, 20 
men from this regiment also died of disease.
 
                       The Battles in Cuba:

The 33rd and 34th Regiments left Island Lake in May 1898 for Falls Church, Va., 
and shortly embarked from Tampa, Fla. for Cuba on the transports "Paris" 
and "Harvard." The regiments were assigned to General Duffield's brigade, a 
part of General Shafter's army which fought and defeated the Spaniards at 
Santiago. They did not participate in the fight at San Juan Hill, but were 
engaged in the attack at Aguadores, which was planned to divert the enemy from 
the main battle and prevent their reinforcing it.

In this engagement, three men of the 33rd were killed or died of wounds. Yellow 
fever broke out in the camp at Siboney and 50 men died there, at Montauk Point 
or on the transport bound for the latter camp. The 34th suffered even more 
severely; 88 deaths in that Regiment were recorded. A large proportion of the 
deaths were due to yellow fever the soldiers had contracted while in camp near 
Santiago or in the hospitals on Long Island, N.Y. 

Upon leaving Cuba, the 33rd reached Detroit September 2,1898, and then departed 
to their various home stations where they were disbanded between September 3, 
1898 and January 6, 1899. The 34th returned to Montauk Point August 27, 1898, 
and was disbanded between September 3,1898, and January 2,1899. The 35th was 
disbanded at Augusta, Ga., March 31, 1899. The 35th did not participate in 
foreign service. Although it remained in the United States, 23 of its men died 
of disease.

Additional Comments:
Information found on the State of Michigan Website:
http://www.michigan.gov/dmva/1,1607,7-126-2360_3003_3009-17032--,00.html

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