Springfield in the Spanish American War

by Walter W. Ward

Finally on the 3d of October, all the companies of the Second were assembled in Springfield, the local companies marching to the railway station to meet them and after passing in review before the city officials at the city hall, the regiment marched to the armory for muster-out. The parade, the first appearance of the Second since it left for the front, brought out thousands of people to watch the men who had done good service on a foreign soil, and had watered it with the blood of many who had marched away on the morning of May 3d. The regiment presented a curious sight in some respects and as a spectacle it must be said the affair was not an altogether happy one. The men were without rifles or equipments, some wore the faded khaki uniform issued just before leaving Cuba, others the old blue outfits of the Massachusetts militia and the ranks were thinner than when the regiment left South Framingham. There seemed to be a chill in the air, too, and instead of applause there was subdued comment on the appearance of the men as they marched past.

The Prairie

Surely the men did not look like ballroom soldiers. The uniforms were in many cases ill-fitting and soiled, the marching was not done with the precision of some crack national guard organizations which did not go to the front, and the faces of the majority of the officers and men wore the yellow signal of service in a pestilential climate. But this in itself ought to have been warrant for some outburst of satisfaction in the gallant deeds of the regiment instead of curious stares and the silence of wonderment. However, there were sporadic cases of applause and as the men did not much care whether they received any or not, they found little fault with the lack of it. Only the members of the companies from outside the city wondered mildly what it all meant, and if after all it would not have been as well to have stayed at home and not have tried to stand by the flag when men were wanted.

The ceremonies at the armory were informal enough. Each company was mustered out in turn by Lieut. Col. E. M. Weaver of the Fifth Massachusetts U. S. V., who as a lieutenant in the Second U. S. Artillery had mustered us in at South Framingham on May 3d. He was assisted by Lieut. Edwards and it did not take very long to put each company "out of business" as United States Volunteers. The company was formed, the men answered to their names and took position in the same manner as when mustered in, and this over the company commander was informed that the company was mustered out and that discharge papers for each man would be provided.

But the discharge papers did not come that day nor for several days. The paymaster had failed to arrive with the funds and until these were distributed the men had but little use for discharge papers. It was explained that the reason for delay on the paymaster's part was due to errors in the rolls sent in from a few of the companies and as the men wanted their three months pay and allowances rather more than discharges, it is no wonder if some unkind things were said as to the paymaster and these companies.

It was not until November 17th that the long looked for pay arrived, and the companies were ordered to once more assemble at the armory, this time for the purpose of settling accounts with Uncle Sam. This operation was simple enough, yet very interesting to the recipients of the contents of the small and dingy valise of the paymaster. The three months' pay with the allowances for clothing and ration money made quite a sizable sum for the great majority of the men, and the nice new greenbacks which they received were not refused. With the money came the discharge papers as a sure enough sign that we were no longer soldiers of the United States. Many of the officers and men failed, however, to settle up with Major Sherman on the 17th. Some of the officers had not squared their accounts with the war department and in some cases they were obliged to wait a considerable time before they accounted for every bit of property they were held responsible for and complied with all the red tape. A number of the men were not able to be on hand, owing to sickness and other causes, when Major Sherman finally arrived and they were likewise forced to wait. An interesting episode of "paying off" time was the breezy disagreement between Major Sherman and Capt. McDonald of B company, over the former's refusal to pay some eight men of the latter's company, who had, it seems, signed one pay roll and supposed that everything was all right. As it happened, when Major Sherman came to Springfield, he failed to bring the correct roll for B company, and insisted that the members should sign a new one. This was done, but as the eight men referred to were out of the city, they were unable to sign, and when they appeared for their pay, were told they would have to wait for some time. The majority of the men needed the money and needed it badly, but although Capt. McDonald exhausted every effort to obtain it for them, it was not till quite a while had elapsed that they were paid. The opportunity afforded Capt. McDonald for some caustic criticisms of the workings of the war department was not allowed to pass.

In those days it was a great thing to be a returned soldier as was instanced in the cases of several of the boys who were members of more or less secret organizations. It got to be a common thing for these associations to show their appreciation of their soldier members by presenting them with money or badges, or some token of esteem, and a number of the men who served with the Springfield companies are wearing medals or badges thus presented. Probably none of them was prouder of his medal than Private Morris Grenowitz of B company who had the distinction of being the only Hebrew in the three Springfield companies. He was a member of the Young Men's Hebrew Association, and soon after his return the association held a public reception in his honor and presented him with a check for a small sum of money and a gold medal. Private Peter F. Boyer of B company was given a gold watch by the members of an organization to which he belonged and several of the other boys were similarly remembered, among them Private William Ferrier of G company who was given a handsome gold ring. A number of the members of the Springfield companies resided in West Springfield and the inhabitants of the village of Mittineague in that town honored their soldiers one evening by a big reception and entertainment with plenty of red fire, etc., included.

A largely attended public reception and flag presentation was held in the city hall, on the evening of November 3d, to which the officers and members of the Springfield companies, and their relatives and friends were invited and the hall was packed to the doors. Gov. Wolcott and members of his staff were present and the governor spoke, as did a number of the prominent citizens, all eulogizing the work of the regiment and paying a tribute to the officers and men who had failed to return. The tattered colors of the regiment were in evidence and their appearance in the hall was the signal for an outburst of applause. On this occasion the stands of colors purchased for each company in connection with the Fourth of July celebration of 1898, which never came off, were formally presented, and as the representatives of each of the companies advanced to receive the new and handsome flags, the audience broke into applause and cheers. These flags were bought with the proceeds of the sales of the Fourth of July badges which were to have been a feature of the celebration and a good sum was realized.

Previous to muster-out First Sergeant T. F. Burke of B company had been appointed on the recommendation of Col. Clark as Second Lieutenant to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lieut. Harry J. Vesper.