Spanish American War Stereoviews: From Cuba to Philippines, 1898 to 1899

Spanish American War Photo Archive

Photograph

Spanish American War stereoview archive depicting American commanders, naval power, coastal defenses, combat in Cuba, and the extension of U.S. warfare into the Philippines, 1898 to 1899. The group includes General Nelson A. Miles, imagery of the assault at San Juan, American warships and naval personnel, heavy coastal artillery, and Washington Volunteers firing from stone defenses at Taguig in the Philippines. Miles, then commanding general of the U.S. Army, directed the American invasion of Puerto Rico in July 1898, while the Taguig photograph belongs to the Philippine American War that followed the United States' acquisition of the Philippines from Spain. The photos extend beyond commemoration of the short war with Spain into the military expansion that followed the Treaty of Paris.
Photo archive of 11 stereographic photographs, each approximately 7 x 3.5 inches each, circa 1898 to 1899. The group includes cards issued as "Spanish American War Stereoscopic Gems," as well as a view of Washington Volunteers firing rifles from a stone wall at Taguig, Philippines. The latter is captioned "Fighting from stone wall defenses, Washington Volunteers, Taguig, Philippines" and carries the same caption on the verso in six languages; artillery and troops advancing in a view captioned "Storming of the Hill at San Juan"; a large "12 inch coast defense gun"; the U.S. cruiser Baltimore at sea; the old ship of the line New Hampshire; sailors assembled on the deck of a naval vessel; a torpedo boat or destroyer underway; and additional shipboard and military subjects. The concentration on ships, guns, commanders, and battle imagery corresponds to the broader contemporary stereographic treatment of the conflict.
The war with Spain lasted from April to August 1898, but these cards document the larger military transformation surrounding it. Battles around Santiago, including the fighting at San Juan Heights, became central episodes in the American visual narrative of the Cuban campaign, while Miles's subsequent expedition to Puerto Rico opened another theater of U.S. occupation. The Philippine subject records the consequences that continued after Spain's defeat. Some toning and scattered surface wear; photos and captions remain legible. Overall in very good condition. A compact visual record of the military imagery through which American audiences encountered the war with Spain and the country's almost immediate transition into colonial warfare in the Philippines.

Item #23937

Price: $480.00