Springfield in the Spanish American War

by Walter W. Ward

No one can doubt but what it was the full intent of those in authority at Washington to treat the returned soldiers from Cuba in the best possible manner, but it is a matter of common knowledge that as a paving material for a certain warm place good intentions is the very best material yet devised by the arch enemy of mankind. The performance at Montauk fell far short of the promise and this was aided by the over officiousness of some very young and very fresh officers who had no idea beyond the blind following of red tape regulations no matter what might happen. It was to these officers that the delay and vexatious troubles experienced by Dr. David Clark of Springfield in his mission of mercy to us of the Second can be attributed and others associated with him had to face the same difficulties. The story of how Dr. Clark, Lieut. T. A. Sweeney and others were "held up" at the mouth of the rapid fire guns of the converted yacht Aileen by one Lieut. Rhodes, whose name is still cursed by every Second regiment man, is still fresh in the minds of all of us and it was only when the presumptuous young officer was made to realize that he was not the only thing that ever happened that the supplies sent to us by loving hands in Springfield reached us. There is the memory too of the long and weary hours Dr. Clark spent underneath the pier at Montauk in order to remain inside the guard lines and be on hand to greet us when our ship came in. There are the memories of the good work done for us by our old surgeon when the Second was a militia regiment, Major Brown of North Adams, and of Lieut. Sweeney, E. S. Bradford, P. H. Quinn, Charles Lathrop as the representative of Dr. D. J. Brown, T. W. Hyde, and last but by no means least of Frank P. Frost of Springfield, who as the personal representative of Henry S. Lee, worked like a beaver day and night. The Springfield newspaper men, too, should not be forgotten and the thanks of many a poor fellow are due to H. L. Hines, G. H. Atwood and Frank Lee of the Union and to H. K. Regal of the Republican and T. W. Burgess of the Homestead for many kindnesses and unfailing sympathy.

The sad scenes attending the disembarkation of the Second from the Mobile will not be forgotten for many a day by those who witnessed or participated in them. A number of the sick men were taken off late in the afternoon of the 19th, but when dusk fell Gen. Young, the commander of the camp, refused to allow any more to be brought ashore until the next day. The next morning the exodus from the ship began at an early hour and continued until at last we were all ashore. First came the sick in a ghastly procession down the steep gang planks and into the ambulances which were to convey them to the hospitals and the sight of the poor fellows was pathetic in the extreme. The sick ashore, then came those able to walk or totter and these men, the majority of them wrecks of their once vigorous selves, dragged themselves to the pier laden down with their baggage and fell in for the march to the camp. Those unable to walk were piled into mule wagons and the procession started.

It was not a long march, but it was a fatiguing one for the men and they were glad when the big wall tents assigned to the Second appeared. This was the "detention" camp for in the eyes of the medical officers we were still suspects even if we had passed quarantine, and we were to be isolated for five days. It was not a bad camp. The tents were new and clean and many of them were provided with board floors, a luxury that reminded us of our militia days at South Framingham. It had been the intention of the war department to provide straw for us to sleep on but like many other intentions it was not fulfilled until Secretary Alger happened to visit the camp of the Second and found no straw. Then some came along in a hurry. There were cooking outfits, too, and the days of the canned roast beef and the other constituents of the palatable and nourishing (?) travel ration were numbered. In their place came the appetizing beef stew, the roast beef, soft bread and cool milk. There were also canned delicacies, and fruits, and tobacco in plenty. In fact, there were too many good things for some of the boys, as the hospital records attest.

It is needless to say that the hospitals were filled. They were overcrowded, and that, too, in spite of the fact that additions were put on as fast as possible. The hospitals were of canvas but with raised floors and were equipped with cots. What the emotions of the sick boys were when they actually found themselves lying on a bed and between clean white sheets, and tended by kind and devoted nurses can be imagined. Not only that but they were given plenty of nourishing food and medicine was in plenty. After the lack of everything of the hospitals in Cuba the contrast was sharp, even though the Montauk hospitals lacked some things. As for the nurses and the doctors there was nothing they were unwilling to do to help the sick. Many of the nurses were Sisters of Charity or Sisters of Mercy, others were from the Red Cross society, others volunteers, but all were actuated by the same motives, and worked unremittingly to do all in their power for the boys. Some of the doctors were army surgeons and others were contract surgeons, but all worked alike. Then, too, there were any number of volunteer hospital assistants, all zealous to help us, some of them a little too much so, and it was a rare thing for the sick men in a hospital ward to lack for attention. Diet kitchens were established and a system of looking after convalescent and furloughed soldiers was established. In this work the noble efforts of the Massachusetts Volunteer Aid Association was pre-eminent and there are none of us who will forget what its representatives did, not only at Camp Wikoff but after our return to our homes. Not only did the society work among the soldiers from Massachusetts, but many a regular soldier was aided and comforted by its representatives.

Under the influence of proper care and food the men in the hospitals and the camps began to improve and though many died, yet more recovered. As soon as a soldier inmate of the hospital was anywhere near convalescence he was given a furlough to his home and transportation furnished him. At first these furloughs were only for ten days but after a bit they were lengthened to 30 days so that when the Second came to leave Montauk a good percentage of the officers and men had preceded it home. A large number of the sick men were taken from the camp hospital and sent to New York, New London, New Haven and other places where the local hospitals had opened their doors to the soldiers and where the care they received was in some respects better than that possible under the crowded conditions at Montauk.

In spite or all that could be done at Montauk there were many instances of individual hardship and although it seemed as if there were at least two or three people anxious and willing to look after every soldier yet there were cases of apparently unnecessary suffering. Soldiers discharged from the hospitals as convalescent would be sent to the depot at Montauk, a good two miles from the hospital, on foot and would be compelled to wait for hours in the hot sun before they could get transportation orders. At the depot there were often good men and women with cans of milk or lemonade and food, but even their zealous efforts could not prevent some suffering. All this was perhaps inseparable from the overcrowded condition of the camp and hospitals and the fact that there were not nearly enough officers to do the work properly.

On the 24th the regiment was released from quarantine and moved from the detention to the general camp. By this time rumors that we were to be furloughed and sent home were rife again and the date was finally fixed for the 26th. Meanwhile there had been some important visitors in our camp, including Col. Roosevelt, Secretary of War Alger and Gen. Wheeler and they all had good words to say for the Second. Also there were many visitors from Springfield and Western Massachusetts and the men were fed upon all kinds of delicacies, in some cases to the detriment of their health.

Musician Frank P. Jones of K company was the only Springfield man to die in Montauk, his death occuring on the 27th, after he had suffered for days with malarial fever of the Cuban type. He had not been ill in Cuba but the seeds of the disease lodged in his system there and in his weak condition when we landed at Montauk he was unable to resist it. We heard while at Montauk of the death in Cuba of Private Arthur M. Burnham of K and there were many regrets among his comrades. Private Burnham was ill when the regiment left Santiago for home and so was left behind.

On the 25th verbal orders furloughing the Second for 60 days were received and the regiment was ordered to be in readiness the next day to proceed home. At the expiration of the furlough the regiment was to be mustered out at South Framingham but this was afterwards changed to Springfield. The officers and men were all ready on the 26th to go home and the night before had been spent in packing up and putting everything in shape. The rifles and equipments had been turned in and the morning was eagerly anticipated. There was much disappointment when the day came and there were no signs of an immediate movement from the camp. Hour after hour passed and when it was finally ascertained that the departure was deferred to the next day because of a lack of transportation, there was nothing but disappointment from the commanding officer down to the privates. But the Second had by this time learned resignation and so the men waited through the long day and the equally long night for the word that the boat which was to convey the regiment to New London was ready.

The night of the 26th was made memorable by a wild stampede of a number of horses of the cavalry through the camp of the Second. The animals were being led to water and in some manner became frightened and getting away from the man in charge ran pell mell through the company streets of the regiment, upsetting stacks of arms and tents and leaving everything in much disorder. Fortunately no one was injured.