FOOTNOTES:
[1] NOTE—In 1898, the Park proper contained 5530.4 acres, of which 2032.8 acres were cleared and 3506.6 wooded. Troops on the march may camp or bivouac in the woods with but little risk to the health of the men, but in a sedentary camp the tents must be in the open.
[2] NOTE—The records of the War Department show that in August there were 1568 cases of typhoid in the Division and General Hospitals; there were probably as many more in the regiments.
[The Call to Arms]
Between February 15th, when the U. S. S. Maine was destroyed in the harbor of Havana, and March 28th, 1898, when Congress received the report of the Naval Board of Inquiry, declaring the Maine to have been destroyed by an exterior explosion, public opinion in the United States was crystalizing in favor of declaring war with Spain and recognizing the independence of Cuba.
On March 16th a meeting of the officers of the Eighth Regiment Infantry, M. V. M., was held in the Headquarters of the regiment at Salem. The officers, with one exception, authorized the Colonel to tender their services as part of any quota Massachusetts might be called upon to furnish. Company commanders were directed to interview each member of their companies and report to the Adjutant the number of men ready to volunteer. The reports of the various company commanders, show that by April 1st, all but eleven men had authorized the Colonel to tender their services. It is said that the Eighth was the first National Guard Regiment in the country ready, after a careful canvass of its officers and men, to volunteer.
On March 29th resolutions declaring war with Spain were introduced into both houses of Congress. Congress had appropriated $50,000,000 for national defence, and the Legislature of Massachusetts followed with an appropriation of $500,000 to equip troops.