Spanish-American War American Volunteer Soldiers and Regular Army 18th U.S. Infantry Regiment: Mobilization and Military Service Photograph Archive, 1898–1900

Spanish American War Photo Archive

Photograph

Spanish American War soldier photo archive depicting the 18th U.S. Infantry Regiment and the camp environment of American military service, circa 1898 to 1899, during the transformation of the Regular Army from scattered peacetime garrisons into an expeditionary force operating overseas. The largest photograph shows two long ranks identified as soldiers of the 18th U.S. Infantry, a Regular Army regiment serving within an institution that entered 1898 with only twenty five infantry regiments, generally dispersed in small detachments across western posts. Army Historical Program The photographs record the practical world surrounding that transition: formations and small groups of enlisted men, officers, tents and makeshift quarters, mounted personnel, horses and wagons, flags, and the dirt streets of a military encampment. The 1898 war carried the Army across both the Caribbean and Pacific, culminating in the occupation of Manila on August 13 and the subsequent conflict between American forces and the Philippine Republic beginning in February 1899.
Photo archive of 14 photographs, including a large albumen print and smaller silver gelatin photographs, Various sizes, ranging from approximately 3.5 x 3.5 to large 8 x 10 inches, circa 1898 to 1899. The largest albumen photograph depicts two extended lines identified as the 18th U.S. Infantry Regiment standing in uniform along a broad camp street, with officers at the head of the formation and rows of tents extending behind them. Other photographs show soldiers in mixed campaign and dark uniform coats before tents; another group stands before an open military tent; mounted soldiers gather in the field; a horse drawn wagon and driver appear along a rough road; soldiers stand beside camp buildings; and an individual serviceman poses in uniform. One photograph records an American flag displayed beside an organizational flag, while another shows soldiers and horses near wagons and camp equipment. A photograph of temporary quarters carries the archive's only substantial manuscript caption on the verso, provisionally reading: "This is a picture of our shack. Ben Robinson is standing in the doorway and the fellow walking down the street is Mc. Monahan. You can get an idea how we live. There is twelve of us ... in it." The final words are difficult to resolve, but the writer's phrase "how we live" identifies the structure as soldiers' quarters and turns an otherwise uncaptioned camp photograph into direct evidence of the housing conditions experienced by its occupants.
The photographs belong to a period when overseas war forced a Regular Army organized around small frontier posts to adapt rapidly to expeditionary operations. In the Philippines, approximately 11,300 American troops had reached Manila under Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt by July 25, 1898, and American forces occupied the city after the August campaign against Spain. The Treaty of Paris transferred the Philippines from Spain to the United States in December; armed conflict with the Philippine Republic began on February 4, 1899, and the Army subsequently organized forces across Luzon and the Visayas. Official Army correspondence places the 18th U.S. Infantry in the Visayan Military District by November 1899, alongside the 6th, 19th, and elements of the 23rd Infantry. The camp scenes document the infrastructure behind service with canvas tents and improvised quarters, horses and wagons for movement and supply, and small temporary military settlements. Some fading and toning, with scattered surface stains, creases, edge wear, and some loss to several mounts; the large albumen print shows substantial fading and surface abrasion but retains the photo clearly. Overall in very good condition. A field level photographic record of the 18th U.S. Infantry and the camps, transportation, quarters, uniforms, and formations that defined Regular Army service during the United States' transition from war with Spain to sustained military operations in the Philippines.

Item #23939

Price: $1,500.00