 |
|
|
|
|
The Spanish-American War was an armed conflict between the US and Spain. Hostilities lasted about 16 weeks, from 21 Apr to 13 Aug 1898. A negotiated peace took another 17 weeks, resulting in the Treaty of Paris of 1898, signed 10 Dec 1898. The war was fought in the Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and a US victory resulted in US control of these territories. On 23 Apr 1898 President McKinley issued a call for 125,000 volunteers. A second call was made 25 May 1898 for another 75,000 men. No draft was needed, as the war effort had great popular support, and many volunteers were turned away. Minnesota was the first state to muster troops, and they were anxious to get into action. One of the main motivations for the war was the oppression of the Cuban people by Spain. Michigan supplied 5 regiments of about 1.000 men each. The first 4 regiments were formed from the Michigan National Guard. The Guard's 5 regiments of 8 companies each became 4 regiments of 12 companies each. More recruits from the general population filled up the ranks, so the companies mustered in with 80 to 100 men in each. A naval unit also served. The 31st mustered in on 11 May and left for Chickamauga, GA on 15 May. The war culminated on 13 Aug 1898, with the Battle of Manila (1898) [BM8]. The battle is sometimes referred to as the "Mock Battle of Manila" because the Spanish and US leaders conspired to transfer control of the city to the US while keeping out the insurgents. It marks the end of hostilities between the US and Spain, but the US had further problems with the Filipino insurgents, who organized as the First Philippine Republic [FFR]. On 4 Feb 1899 the US fought the Battle of Manila (1899) [BM9] which marked the start of the Philippine-American War. In 1900 the (white) population of Michigan was over 2.4 million, about 3.18% of the US population, 76 million. Michigan contributed about 6,300 troops in 1898-9, about 1.94% of the 325,000 US troops. Lapeer County had only 27,641 people, 1.14% of Michigan. I don't know how many troops came from Lapeer County. There are 18 listed on [MFHN], but surely there are more. The records can be accessed at [VI], but there are over 1400 pages, not transcribed, searchable by surname but not by county. The 18 listed on [MFHN] are:
|
|
Links From the
Spanish American War Centennial Website: [MFHN] List of Volunteers from Lapeer County from the Michigan Family History Network [GSO] Michigan Militia Regiments - Spanish American War on GlobalSecurity.org [MM] Michigan Men in the Civil War (newspaper clippings) (requires Ancestry license) [VI] U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers Index to Compiled Military Service Records, 1898 (requires Ancetry license.) Wikipedia Pages |
|
Back to Military Veterans of Lapeer County. This page was last revised 12 May 2022 by William Haloupek.
Lapeer County MIGenWeb contents have been willed to MIGenWeb. |