Second Army Corps (Spanish–American War) Explained

Unit Name:Second Army Corps
Dates:May 7, 1898 – May 3, 1899
Country:United States
Branch:Regular Army
Type:Army Corps
Battles:Spanish–American War
Notable Commanders:Major General William M. GrahamMajor General Samuel B.M. Young

The Second Army Corps was a unit of the United States Army raised for the Spanish–American War.A defining event of the Spanish–American War was the typhoid fever epidemic of July to November 1898.[1] The Army consequently undertook a series of mass-retreats and attempted evasions. The Typhoid Board concluded that only one of the five army corps stricken with epidemic typhoid succeeded in suppressing the disease actively, the 2nd Army Corps. In the wake of two fruitless relocations and months of casualties, commanders finally managed to impose an effective latrine-policy. A three-part strategy of draconian defecation-management, mass-disinfection, and flight received the Typhoid Board's imprimatur as the principal, recommended method for suppressing existing epidemics.[2]

Second Army Corps

The corps was constituted May 7, 1898; on May 16, Maj. Gen. William M. Graham was assigned to the command and the troops which were to compose the corps were ordered to Camp Alger.[3] [4] [5]

After the declaration of war McKinley revised that arrangement and approved the organization of eight army corps, each of which was to consist of three or more divisions of three brigades each. Each brigade was to have approximately 3,600 officers and enlisted men organized into three regiments and, with three such brigades, each division was to total about 11,000 officers and men. Thus the division was to be about the same size as the division of 1861, but army corps were to be larger. The division staff initially was to have an adjutant general, quartermaster, commissary, surgeon, inspector general, and engineer, with an ordnance officer added later. The brigade staff was identical except that no inspector general or ordnance officer was authorized.

In mid-May the volunteers were moved to a few large unfinished camps in the South, and when they arrived only seven instead of the eight projected army corps were organized. Two army corps, the Fourth and Fifth consisted of regulars and volunteers, while the others like the Second Corps were made up of volunteers.

Before the new army completed its organization and training, it was thrust into combat. About two-thirds of Fifth Army Corps, in the form of one dismounted cavalry division and two infantry divisions, sailed for Cuba in June 1898. Expeditions also were mounted for Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands, in which partial army corps provided the troops.[6]

Corps headquarters

The following troops were attached to Second Corps Headquarters:

1st Division

Brigadier General Francis L. Guenther, U.S. Vols., who had joined the troops at Camp Alger about the 15th of May, 1898, was assigned to the Command of the 1st Division. Being absent on sick leave at the time of the arrival of Major General Matthew C. Butler, U.S.V., Brigadier General Guenther was relieved from the Command of the 1st Division and assigned to the Command of the 3rd Division.[3]

On September 15, 1898, Samuel B.M. Young, Major General of United States Volunteers took command of the division.

1st Brigade, 1st Division

Brigadier General Joseph W. Plume U.S.V.[12]

The troops assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Division at various times included the following:[3]

2nd Brigade, 1st Division

Brigadier General George A. Garretson, U.S.V. took command on June 8, 1898.

The troops assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, at various times were as follows:[3]

3rd Brigade, 1st Division

Brigadier General John P. S. Gobin, U.S.V. took command on June 24, 1898.

The troops assigned to 3rd Brigade were the following:[3]

The 13th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Henry A. Coursen, Commanding, joined at Camp Alger, Va., May 19, 1898, with a strength of 36 officers and 603 enlisted men.[21]

The 12th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel James B. Coryell Commanding, joined at Camp Alger, Va., May 19, 1898, with a strength of 36 officers and 603 men.[22]

The 8th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Theodore F. Hoffmann Commanding, joined at Camp Alger, Va., May 18, 1898, with the strength of 41 officers and 770 men.[23]

The 15th Regiment Minnesota, Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Harry A. Leonhaeuser, Commanding, joined at Camp Meade, Pa., September 18, 1898, with a strength of 46 officers and 1,256 enlisted men.[24]

2nd Division

Brigadier General George W. Davis, U. S. Vols. took Command May 29, 1898.

1st Brigade, 2nd Division

Brigadier General Mark W. Shaefe, U.S. Vols. took command June 30, 1898.

The troops assigned to the 1st Brigade were:[3]

2nd Brigade, 2nd Division

Colonel John W. Schall, 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry took command by May 31, 1898.

The troops assigned to the 2nd Brigade at various times were:[3]

3rd Brigade, 2nd Division

Brigadier General Nelson D. Cole,[27] U.S.V. took command June 20, 1898.

The troops assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, were:[3]

3rd Division

The 3rd Division of the Corps was never fully organized. On June 7, 1898, Brigadier General Francis L. Guenther, U.S.V., was assigned to the command of the 3rd Division, but he was absent sick since May 25, 1898, and never exercised the command.

First Brigade

On June 9 the separate brigade was assigned as the First Brigade, Third Division.

Separate Brigade

Brigadier General Henry M. Duffield, U.S.V. took Command June 15, 1898.

The troops assigned to the Separate Brigade were:

Second Brigade

Recruit Detachment of the Separate Brigade, Camp Alger, Va., June 27, 1898, after the rest of the brigade was sent to Cuba.

On August 2, 1898, the Second Brigade was organized composed of the:[5]

The troops of the Second Brigade were returned to their states for muster out September 7 and 8.[5]

(see Camp Haskell below)

Camps

Camp Alger

thumb|Camp Alger, Virginia, 1898Camp Alger was established May 18, 1898, near Falls Church, Virginia, and about 1 miles from Dunn Loring. General Graham arrived May 19 and assumed command. The troops commenced arriving the May 18, and by the last of that month there were 18,309 officers and men in camp. On the last day of June there were 23,511 officers and men, on the last day of July there were 22,180, on the last day of August the troops present at this camp. Total number of troops that went to Camp Alger 31,195.[4]

The number of deaths at Camp Alger from May 18 to October 11, 1898, was 71.

Typhoid

This death rate is not abnormal, and, judging from it, the locality can not be considered unhealthful. The Seventh Illinois Regiment, which was encamped there during the whole time, lost but one man up to the 14th day of December, a record probably not equaled by any other regiment in the service. The establishment of Camp Alger is justifiable upon the report as to the suitableness of the site, but considering the scarcity of water and the want of facilities for bathing, we are of opinion that it was very undesirable, and was not abandoned too soon.[4] [35]

Thoroughfare Gap

On August 2, 1898, the 2nd Division of the Second Corps marched to Thoroughfare Gap, 80 miles distant, and remained in camp there for about one month.

The number of deaths and at Thoroughfare Gap was 34.[4]

At war

Only two brigades of the 2d Army Corps saw combat in the Spanish–American War. They left for Santiago de Cuba to reinforce Gen. Shafter's army. An armistice having been reached between the U.S. and Spain ending the war's fighting on August 12, 1898.

The Separate Brigade, 3rd Division 2d Army Corps, under command of Brigadier General Henry M. Duffield, left Camp Alger June 15, 1898. They soon saw action in the Battle of the Aguadores, Cuba.[36] After which the brigade was transferred to the Fifth Army Corps as a provisional brigade, where it remained until the close of the war.

The Second Brigade, First Division of the Second Army Corps, commanded by Brigadier General George A. Garretson, left Camp Alger July 5, 1898.[37] This brigade was instead sent to fight in the Puerto Rico Campaign in the Battle of Yauco and the Battle of Guayama.

Camps continued

Camp Meade

Battalion (2 companies) 2nd Regt. U. S. Vol. Engineers, Capt. A. H. Weber, Commanding, joined at Camp Meade, Pa., August 12, 1898, with a strength of 7 officers and 180 enlisted men. Capt. Weber was made Acting Chief Engineer of the 2nd Army Corps September 17, 1898. The 2nd U. S. V. Engineers also built Camp McKenzie, Augusta, Georgia before being sent to Cuba on November 23, 1898.[3] [38]

Camp Meade was established August 24, 1898, near Middletown, Pennsylvania. Early in September the remainder of the corps was transferred to the camp.

The number of deaths in this Camp Meade to October 11, 1898, was 64.[4]

Winter camps

In November Camp Meade was discontinued and the troops not mustered out, distributed to the various camps in the South. The Second Army Corps was directed to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the island of Cuba, with headquarters at Habana; First and Second Divisions at Habana; Third Division at Mariel. This order for service in Cuba was not carried out.[5] [39] [40]

General Graham was relieved November 2, 1898, by Maj. Gen. Samuel B.M. Young, U. S. Volunteers, and the troops were moved to camps in the South, General Young making his headquarters at Augusta, Ga., the distribution being as follows:[5]

Camp McKenzie

Camp McKenzie, Augusta, Georgia, was originally named Camp S.B.M. Young, after Major General Samuel B.M. Young, U.S. Vols, Commanding Second Army Corps, who had a leadership role in the operations around Santiago. He was to be the camp's commanding officer.

Camp Fornance

Camp Fornance, Columbia, South Carolina, was named for Captain James Fornance of the 13th United States Infantry Regiment who was mortally wounded on July 1, 1898, near Santiago, Cuba, and died of his wounds on July 3. The Camp was abandoned in March 1899.

Third Brigade, Second Division, 1st Rhode Island, 2nd Tennessee, 1st Delaware

Camp Marion

Camp Marion, Summerville, South Carolina, was named after Brigadier General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion of the Revolutionary War.

Second Brigade, First Division 14th Pennsylvania, 3rd Connecticut, and 9th Ohio (Battalion)

Camp Wetherill

thumb|5th MA volunteers near Mill's Mill at Camp Wetherill, 1898Camp Wetherill, Greenville, South Carolina, was established in November 1898, was named for one of the first soldiers killed at the Battle of San Juan Hill, Alexander M. Wetherill. Photographs of the camp can be view in the Greenville County Library System digital collections.[41]

Headquarters Second Division

First Brigade, Second Division, 203rd New York, 2nd West Virginia, 4th New Jersey[42]

First and Second Brigades of the Second Division, Second Army Corps were designated as the 3rd Division of the 5th Army Corps, but was later reassigned to the 2nd Army Corps.

Camp at Spartanburg

Spartanburg, South Carolina

Camp Haskell

Camp Haskell, Athens, Georgia.

Discontinued January 21, 1899.

First Separate Brigade

January 16, 1899, the troops at Macon, Ga., and the troops at Albany, Ga., were made a separate brigade of the Second Corps.[5]

Under the command of Brig. Gen. Royal T. Frank, U.S. Volunteers.

Second Separate Brigade

Under the command of Brig. Gen. William J. McKee, U. S. Volunteers

Disbanded

February 1, 1899, the Second Army Corps was ordered to be reorganized and consolidated into two camps, one at Augusta, Ga., and one at Greenville, S.C., the corps to consist of three separate brigades.[5]

General Young remained in command until May 3, 1899, when the Second Corps was discontinued, all of its subdivisions having been disbanded.[5]

Second Corps Badge

General Orders No. 99, War Department, Adjutant-general's Office, Washington, July 15, 1898.[47] [48]

When the land forces of the United States are organized into army corps, divisions, and brigades, the same will be designated by the following symbols, flags, and pennants, and badges, made according to description and designs in the office of the Quartermaster-General:

SymbolsSecond Corps, a four-leaf clover.[49] [50]

The corps symbol is worn by enlisted men in the form of a small badge on the front of the campaign hat or in the center of the crown or the forage cap, and upon the left breast by officers. It is of felt of the color designating the division to which the wearer belongs.

Officers and enlisted men belonging to a corps and not attached to a division will wear the corps symbol, of the proper size, In red, bordered in white one-sixteenth of an inch and edged in blue one-thirty-second of an inch. If preferred, officers and enlisted men are authorized to wear the proper badge made of gold or yellow metal enameled in the proper colors.[51]

Notes and References

  1. Report on the origin and spread of typhoid fever in the U. S. military camps during the Spanish War of 1898, Issue 757 of House document Volume 2, Walter Reed, United States. Surgeon-General's Office, Victor Clarence Vaughan, Edward Oram Shakespeare, Publisher Govt. Print. Off., 1904.
  2. http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/medical_history/typhoid/attempts.cfm New Attempts at Typhoid Prevention
  3. Annual report of Major General William Montrose Graham, U. S. Vols., Brig. Gen. U. S. Army: embracing reports for part of the year, from September 1, 1897 to March 12, 1898, on the Department of Texas, from March 12 to May 18, on the Department of the Gulf, and the operations of the 2nd Army Corps, United States Army Dept. of Texas, United States Army, Dept. of the Gulf, United States Army Corps, 2nd, Publisher s.n., 1898
  4. Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain, Govt. Print. Off., 1899.
  5. Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain and Conditions Growing Out of the Same: Including the Insurrection in the Philippine Islands and the China Relief Expedition, Between the Adjutant-General of the Army and Military Commanders in the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, China, and the Philippine Islands, from April 15, 1898, to July 30, 1902, United States Adjutant-General's Office, Gov't. Print. Off., 1902.
  6. Wilson, John B., MANEUVER AND FIREPOWER THE EVOLUTION OF DIVISIONS AND SEPARATE BRIGADES, ARMY LINEAGE SERIES, CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY, UNITED STATES ARMY, WASHINGTON, D. C., 1998
  7. http://spanamwar.com/TroopANYCavalry.htm Roster of Troop A, New York Volunteer Cavalry
  8. http://spanamwar.com/TroopCNYCavalry.htm Roster of Troop C, New York Volunteer Cavalry
  9. http://spanamwar.com/Governorstroop.htm The Governor's Troop Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry
  10. http://spanamwar.com/Sheridantroop.htm The Sheridan Troop, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry
  11. http://spanamwar.com/FirstTroopPACav A Brief History of the "First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry" Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry
  12. New York in the Spanish–American War 1898: Part of the Report of the Adjutant-General of the State for 1900, Volume 2, New York State Adjutant General's Office, J. B. Lyon, state printer, 1900.
  13. http://spanamwar.com/1stnewjersey.html The history of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish American War
  14. http://spanamwar.com/7thohio.htm The history of the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish American War
  15. http://spanamwar.com/65thNewYork.htm The Sixty-Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry
  16. http://spanamwar.com/6thillinois.html A Brief History of the 6th Illinois Volunteer Infantry
  17. http://sill-www.army.mil/Famag/1928/SEP_OCT_1928/SEP_OCT_1928_PAGES_509_510.pdf 123rd FIELD ARTILLERY ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD
  18. http://spanamwar.com/6thMassroster.htm A Partial Roster of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
  19. http://spanamwar.com/8thohiohist.htm A History of the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
  20. http://spanamwar.com/8thohioroster.htm A Roster of the Dead 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
  21. http://spanamwar.com/13thpa.htm A brief history of the 13th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish American War
  22. http://spanamwar.com/12thpa.htm A brief history of the 12th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish American War
  23. http://spanamwar.com/8pa.htm The history of the 8th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish American War
  24. http://www.spanamwar.com/15thMinnCoH.htm The Odyssey of the 15th Minnesota, Co. H or About the sickest military outfit you could ever imagine
  25. http://spanamwar.com/3rdnyhistory.htm A brief history of the 3rd New York Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish American War
  26. http://spanamwar.com/9thohio.htm A Brief History of the Ninth OhioVolunteer Infantry
  27. http://home.usmo.com/~momollus/CiCmtg/Cole.htm Colonel Nelson D. Cole, 2nd MO Art., USV
  28. http://spanamwar.com/1stDelaware.htm A Brief History of the 1st Delaware Volunteer Infantry
  29. http://spanamwar.com/9thmass.html A Brief History of the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
  30. http://spanamwar.com/9thmassroster.html A roster of the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
  31. http://spanamwar.com/34michrpt.htm The Report of the 34th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
  32. http://spanamwar.com/34mich.htm Letters from the 34th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
  33. http://spanamwar.com/Connecticut.htm#1stCVI 1st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
  34. http://spanamwar.com/3rdva.html A Brief History of the Third Virginia Volunteer Infantry
  35. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03E4D9143CE433A2575AC0A96E9C94699ED7CF "CAMP ALGER IMPROVING.; Rapid Decline in Number of Typhoid Cases -- Almost No Other Sickness."
  36. Duffield, Henry Martyn, Copy of report of Brig. Gen'l Henry M. Duffield, of the operations of the Separate Brigade, 2d Army Corps, in the campaign about Santiago, Cuba, 1898, Record Printing Co., Detroit, 1898.
  37. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E03E5D81738E433A25755C0A9619C94699ED7CF "FROM CAMP ALGER TO SANTIAGO.; The Second Brigade Breaks Camp and Starts for Cuba"
  38. http://www.spanamwar.com/2ndengineerswelch.htm Michael Welch and the 2nd U.S. Volunteer Engineers
  39. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C00EEDC1F3DE433A2575AC1A96E9C94699ED7CF "CUBA TO GET SECOND CORP'S; Men Will Start for the Island About Oct. 15 to Do Garrison Duty"
  40. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E5D71139E433A2575BC0A9669D94699ED7CF "THE ARMY IS REORGANIZED; Third, Fifth, and Sixth Corps Discontinued; First Second, and Fourth Remodeled. HELD FOR SERVICE IN CUBA First, Commanded by Gen. Breckinridge, Headquarters at Macon, Ga.; Second, Gen. Graham, Augusta, Ga.; Fourth, Gen. Wheeler, Huntsville, Ala."
  41. Web site: Greenville County Library System. Camp Wetherill Digital Collection . July 13, 2015.
  42. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D05E2DE1F39E433A25751C1A9649D94699ED7CF "New Jersey Day at Camp Wetherill."
  43. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9804EFD81730E132A25756C0A9629C94689ED7CF "201ST MEN ARRIVE HOME.; Volunteers Come from Camp Wetherill"
  44. http://www.spanamwar.com/15thPAhistory.htm A Brief History of the 15th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
  45. http://www.spanamwar.com/4thwisconsin.html A Brief History of the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
  46. http://spanamwar.com/3rdengineers.htm 3rd U.S. Volunteer Engineers
  47. General orders, United States War Dept, Adjutant-General's Office, Military Secretary's Dept., 1899.
  48. Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1895: with appendix separately indexed, showing changes to January 1, 1899, United States War Dept., Government Printing Office, 1899.
  49. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85054468/1898-08-28/ed-1/seq-8/ The Times
  50. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85054468/1898-09-10/ed-1/seq-8/ SUIT ABOUT A BADGE
  51. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85054468/1898-09-26/ed-1/seq-3/ BADGES AND SYMBOLS

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