Springfield in the Spanish American War

CHAPTER VI

WE GO TO THE SOUTHLAND AND BEGIN TO FIND OUT WHERE WE ARE AT

ON Saturday evening, May 14, we started once more for the South, this time by train and had the distinguished honor of beating out the much-advertised 71st New York, which had been ordered to start at the same time, but forgot its tentage on board the steamers and was obliged to wait for several hours in consequence. Our train accommodations could have been much worse, the train being run in three sections of 14 cars each and as four companies travelled on each section this arrangement gave each company three cars, while a sleeping car was reserved for the officers and with a baggage car made up the section. With three cars to a company there was plenty of room for the men and we managed to sleep quite comfortably. At every station along the route we received plenty of greetings and this happened so frequently after we got below Mason & Dixon's line that the boys wondered a little, inasmuch as we were from "Black Massachusetts." But it was evident that all but a very few of the people of the South realized that the civil war was over and we got no heartier reception anywhere along the route than in Virginia and North and South Carolina.

We reached Washington early Sunday morning and made a brief stop just long enough to allow some of the boys to make a raid on a couple of milk wagons. To our disappointment the train did not run through the city but skirted it and we failed to get a glimpse of any of the show places. We kept on going and late Monday evening, the 16th, landed at Lakeland, Fla., where we went into camp, our destination having been changed by telegraphic orders received soon after crossing the Florida line.

Life on the train was not very exciting. We made but few stops and those mainly to change engines. In South Carolina we made our first acquaintance with wood burning engines. After these were hitched on it was a case of stopping every few miles to "wood up." When the train did not stop for wood it did for water and between them both progress was slow to us but we found that according to southern ideas we were going at express speed.

Our troop train was a great attraction for the children at the stations where we stopped and it was a common thing for the boys and girls of these places to hand us bunches of jessamine and magnolia flowers while the older folk looked on approvingly. The colored people were somewhat demonstrative but both they and the white folks never neglected an opportunity to sell us cakes and pies at every stop. The pies reminded us of those we had been getting at home, they were so different, but as a relief from canned meat and beans they were welcome. Occasionally when we stopped we found it possible to purchase bottled beer of an inferior grade, but better than most of the water we had to drink.

On the trip south Lieuts. Young and Vesper of B company established records as sleepers that put them far ahead in their class. Captains Leonard and McDonald had the same section in the sleeping car and about every night there could be heard a more or less vigorous protest from the former against Capt. McDonald's use of a 700 horse power pipe. Lieut. Harry Parkhurst of K was the victim of much "jollying" over a story printed in a New York newspaper to the effect that he was a nephew of the Rev. Dr. Parkhurst of New York, but he took it good naturedly.

At Dupont, Ga., Private William Ferrier of G foraged a little during a brief stop and captured a diminutive specimen of the "razor back" hog prevalent in that locality and bore him in triumph to the train. Any visions of pork chops which might have been indulged in were dispelled by a look at the pig's anatomy which was plainly visible through his skin but he was taken along just the same and met his fate at Lakeland when he was killed and roasted by Private "Dido" Hunt of G and served up to a small but select circle.

At one of the many stops in Florida a portly colored lady hung about the train and made violent love to the good looking officers, her comments on the personal appearance of some of them being rather more pungent than flattering. So far as known she did not steal any of them.

During the stay at South Framingham Privates E. N. Aiken and B. R. Madison of K company had blossomed out as composers and one of their effusions which was sung by the more or less able musicians of the company in camp and on the train to the tune of: "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town To-night" was as follows:

The above was Private Aiken's. Here is Private Madison's:

Our arrival at Lakeland was marked by an incident which went to show that we were not in the north. Just as our train pulled in a shooting affray, in which a couple of troopers from the Tenth U. S. cavalry, a colored regiment and some white people participated, occurred and a white citizen of the town was killed. As nearly as we could understand it the troopers were not to blame but shot in self defense but there was much excitement in the town and strong patrols of the First U. S. cavalry, a white regiment, were sent out. We were kept in the train that night and the next morning after a bath in one of the many lakes from which the town takes its name, marched to our camp at the fair grounds and on the shores of Lake Morton. The camp was pitched on an elevation and under the southern pine and cypress trees from which hung long festoons of Spanish moss. Much of this was gathered for bedding but it was soon abandoned for this purpose when it was found that it harbored numbers of lizards and sometimes small snakes.

Our neighbors at the camp were the First and Tenth regular cavalry and the 71st New York which arrived a day after we did. The 71st men being from Manhattan were inclined to be a bit fresh at first but they soon came to understand that the Second was not exactly a "farmer" regiment and let us alone. One disagreeable incident went to show that among the New York officers were some snobs. Sergeant James Gibbons of G while "down town" one day went into the dining room of the hotel and ordered his dinner. The commanding officer of the 71st and some of his officers were in the room at the time and as soon as he realized that an enlisted man was actually daring to eat in the same room with him his indignation became so great that he walked over to the table where Sergeant Gibbons was seated and ordered him to leave the place, saying that only officers were allowed in the dining room. Sergeant Gibbons did not feel like moving and the hotel proprietor assured him that he would be served as well as any officer. So he refused to budge and enjoyed his dinner, much to the disgust of the New York officer.

Life at Lakeland was fairly enjoyable. The temperature was high, ranging from 84 on one day it rained to 124 on a day it did not. We had our big wall tents we had brought with us from South Framingham and soon had them filled with more or less crude devices in the way of furniture. Mattresses there were none and our beds were Mother Earth which was of a brunette hue down there. Bathing in the lake was a favorite pastime between drills but after the muddy bottom had been stirred up a little it was a question whether we were dirtier before the bath or after it. There were all kinds of "Jo Jos" about a huge alligator who made his home in the lake but he had evidently heard of our appetites and kept out of sight.

The First cavalry, camped some distance on our right, had established a canteen soon after its arrival and it became a favorite place for our boys. A couple of days after our arrival we got our first mail from home and that day was a red letter one in our Lakeland life.

Just before reaching Lakeland some K company foragers had captured a goat at one of the stops but the owner pursued the animal to Lakeland and when he put in a claim for him Capt. Warriner ordered the "billy" given up. Our menu in camp was far more varied than on the train for "post" rations were being issued and the company cooks were "getting on to their jobs." Private Mandeville, who afterwards acquired much fame by being left behind at Fort Tampa, presided over the kitchen of G. In B company Walter Butler got up savory dishes and Private Harry Fisher looked after the culinary department for K. Butter was conspicuous by its absence from the table and one boy in K missed it so much that he dreamed of it. One night his dreams were so realistic that his cry of "Ma, please pass the butter," awoke his tent mates and that expression was the rallying cry in K for several days.

The death of Private Weslie Brass of Westfield, a member of I company, cast a gloom over the regiment and all the companies turned out to do escort duty when the body was shipped home. His was the first death in the regiment.

On Sunday, May 30th, orders came to break camp the following day and proceed to Tampa, which we did, arriving there on Monday afternoon, the 31st.

CHAPTER VII

WE STAY IN YBOR CITY AND THEN ENJOY (?) LIFE ON TRANSPORTS IN THE HARBOR

OUR stay in Tampa lasted from May 31st to June 7th and it was not wholly unenjoyable. In some respects the place was better than Lakeland, but we felt the heat far more than was the case in that town and the camp location was not as good as that of our camp there. But we were near Tampa and there were many opportunities for us to get to the city, our camp being in one of the suburbs some three miles from Tampa and known as Ybor City. Its population was made up mainly of Cubans and negroes and a number of cigar factories were located there. The Cubans were all "patriots" of course, but our disenchantment as to Cuban patriots had already begun and we paid them little attention. On our right was camped a battalion of the Fourth regular artillery (heavy) and this was probably the occasion of a rumor which had persistent circulation for several days that we were to be transformed from infantry to a heavy artillery regiment and assigned to sea coast duty.

We had a lovely time pitching our tents and making camp. Owing to a delay in laying out the camp it was not until after dark on the day of our arrival that we set to work to pitch our tents and as a result it was not only late before we got to sleep but the next morning considerable work had to be done in rectifying the alignment of the company streets. The soil was nice white sand which made fairly good beds.

On the afternoon of the next day we found out what a Florida "shower" could do when it tried. The rain came on unexpectedly and within a very few moments everything was in a flood. But few of the boys had taken the precaution to dig trenches around their tents and after the rain began to come down in sheets they were compelled to get out in it and dig or else have their quarters flooded. Here was where the value of the rubber blankets issued to us at South Framingham was shown.

It was while we were at Ybor City that our regiment was definitely assigned. We were put into the First Brigade of the Second Division of the Fifth army corps, our brigade commander being temporarily Col. Van Horn of the 22nd infantry while Gen. H. W. Lawton was in command of the division. This set at rest all the rumors about our being heavy artillery, cavalry and several other things. It also meant that we were to go to Cuba among the very first of the invading troops and there was no end of enthusiasm when this was understood.

During our stay in Ybor City Wagoners Kingston of B, Shene of G and Boule of K became expert drivers of the army mule wagon although their trials with the mule were many and various. In B street there were some pathetic scenes when the members of the Kanewah club got together and talked over how nice it would be "to be there" even if the gasoline stove did not always work.

Payday came June 4th and we got our first "whack" at Uncle Sam's good money. It was welcome, for since leaving South Framingham but little had been in circulation among our boys and we gave the paymaster the "glad hand." In return, he lined us up by companies and gave us greenbacks and a little silver. We had expected a full month's pay but were disappointed, our pay being calculated from May 3d, the day we had officially been mustered in, to the first of June. There were many applications for passes to visit Tampa that day and the majority of them were granted. The Seminole hotel and the stores in Ybor City and Tampa did a rushing business that afternoon and evening.

The "Wee Haws" of K contributed not a little to the gaiety of our camp life at this time and one of their songs to the air of "Rally 'Round the Flag" and reflecting upon the subsistence department was popular. It went like this:

About this time some brainless individual sent alarming news home in a letter, which was published in the Springfield newspapers, to the effect that sickness was prevalent in our camp and that a large proportion of the men of the three companies from that city were in the hospital seriously ill. As a result we soon began to get letters of anxious inquiry from the folks at home, and it was some time before we could fully reassure them that the reports had been extremely exaggerated and that there was but little illness and none of a serious nature in our ranks.

While in Ybor City we lost two men, Privates Luther of K and Monteverde of G. Both were ordered to be discharged from the service, because of having enlisted while under age and without the consent of their parents or guardians. Monteverde was reluctant to leave the regiment and pleaded hard to be allowed to go with us to Cuba even as a civilian employee, and when that was refused he offered to go without any pay. But this was found to be impossible and he and Luther were obliged to return home. The case of Private John K. DeLoach of B company was a hard one. He had enlisted in South Framingham and in some way his relatives, who resided in Atlanta, Ga., heard of it, and as he was under age and had not their consent, applied for his discharge. Orders to have him discharged were issued but they failed to arrive while we were in Tampa, and did not reach us until after the regiment had landed in Cuba and done its share in capturing Santiago. DeLoach had done his duty during the most arduous part of the campaign, and as a result was given a "bob tail" discharge and left to get back to the United States as best he could. Sometimes the rewards of patriotism are not great, and this was certainly one of the instances.

June 6th orders were received to break camp and proceed to Port Tampa, there to go on board the transports for Cuba. We broke camp all right, got our tents down and all baggage packed and saw them sent away and then proceeded to wait. We waited all that afternoon and night and until late in the afternoon of the next day before our belated transportation was arranged for. As a result of a blunder in the quartermaster's department, we were compelled to bivouac that night without any shelter. This was our first real acquaintance with the fact expressed in the statement attributed to Gen. Sherman, that "War is h—l."

Late in the afternoon of June 7th, we marched to the railroad and went on board a train which after a couple of hours brought us to Port Tampa, distance about eight miles. Here we found some practical illustrations of the beautiful manner in which the quartermaster's department was working. It had been stated to Col. Clark that on arriving at Port Tampa we were to immediately go on board the transports, but after disembarking from the train and waiting for some time it was found that no transports had been assigned to us. Nothing could be done in the matter that night, and we were to be left to shift for ourselves as best we could. There were no barracks in Port Tampa, and it was too late to go into camp even if we had our tentage with us, which we did not. After considerable scouting, Col. Clark discovered that quarters might be found in the freight sheds on a long pier, and we started for them only to have the entire regiment halted and held up for some minutes at the point of the bayonet of a sentinel of the First Illinois regiment, who was on guard at the entrance to the pier and had orders to let no one pass. This obstacle was finally surmounted and we marched onto the pier and made ourselves comfortable as best we could.

During that night on the pier the foraging instincts of Private "Dido" Hunt of G company became active, and as a result he and several members of that company passed the long hours of the night very comfortably. The freight sheds were divided into sections, and in that allowed to G was a lot of freight. Included were two innocent looking barrels, but guided solely by instinct "Dido" decided to investigate their contents. With this end in view he spread his roll and blanket by the side of the barrels, and, lying on his side began to cut a hole through the staves of one of them. This was rather difficult because of the sentries, but it was finally accomplished, and much to the forager's intense satisfaction, the insertion of his hand through the hole and into the barrel, revealed to him that it was filled with bottled beer. Satisfying himself in the only proper manner, that there was no mistake, he acquainted the members of his squad and a few others with his find and soon an impromptu picnic was in progress. Under the very noses of the sentries, the contents of that barrel of beer disappeared before morning, and to those in the secret the night passed very pleasantly.

The next morning four companies and headquarters of the Second were transferred to the transport Orizaba, the companies being G, B, K and D. The transport already had on board the Eighth and Twenty-second regular infantry, and as a result our boys were crowded about on the decks and compelled to sleep anywhere they could. The officers were crowded into the staterooms and their experiences on the Orizaba were not much more enjoyable than those of the men. Some of the regulars, with a fine contempt for volunteers, did their best to make things as unpleasant for us as possible, but the majority were of a different disposition and aided us all they could, which unfortunately was not much.

We expected to sail that day but did not. The same could be said about our expectations and disappointments every succeeding day until we did finally sail on the 14th. Before that happened we were again transferred, this time to the well remembered transport, Knickerbocker. This event happened on the 13th and when we found that the Knickerbocker's number was 13, that she had that number of letters in her name and that about everybody and everything connected with her was more or less mixed up with the alleged unlucky number some of us began to wonder what would happen. Fortunately nothing did, but that was because somebody, not connected with the war department, or with this world, was looking after us. The third battalion was added to our force on board the Knickerbocker, the second being on the Seneca and the Manteo.

On the evening of the 13th the 13 hoodoo began to work. A steam pipe burst and some of the boys, thinking a general explosion would follow, jumped from the deck to the dock, but although there was considerable fuss and excitement no one was hurt. That night sleep on the Knickerbocker was out of the question, for a gang of negro roustabouts was engaged all night in loading provisions onto our steamer and their cries, together with the noise of the steam winches prevented any sleep. On the afternoon of the next day, the 14th, the steamer finally cast off and started down the harbor in the wake of the other transports. After being tied up in Tampa harbor for six long days we were at last at sea and bound for Cuba.

CHAPTER VIII

WE HAVE A LOVELY SAIL ON THE PALATIAL KNICKERBOCKER AND REACH CUBA WITHOUT MISHAP

OUR voyage to Cuba on Transport No. 13, unofficially known as the Knickerbocker, will long linger in our memories. The Knickerbocker was a lovely ship but her loveliness was of such a nature that it was seldom referred to without a free and unlimited use of adjectives in the ratio of more than 16 to 1. After a while it got to be a case of "Don't speak of her past, boys," and we seldom did. The present was bad enough and as for her future, all of us had grave doubts concerning it. There was a story from apparently authentic sources, that before the government, in a moment of temporary aberation, engaged the services of the Knickerbocker as a transport, she had been engaged in conveying Italian emigrants from New York to New Orleans, and her interior condition when we boarded her gave conformation of the stories.

Many words could be written concerning the Knickerbocker and our opinion of her, but as a good share of them would form language not generally used in the best society, it will be perhaps as well to draw the veil of silence over a good part of it.

Her captain's name was Betts and he was an aged individual who savored much of the sea and who evidently had been the victim of an early or late disappointment, either in love or something else, that resulted in souring him towards himself and everybody else. The name of the steward of the boat is unknown, but this did not bother the boys much, their usual designation of him being "thief" or "robber" or any term of opprobrium that came handy. If he was a poor man when the Knickerbocker sailed with us from Tampa harbor, there was no reason why he could not have returned with money enough to start a fair sized bank account, for he sold us everything there was to sell, and considerable that he had no right to, and he always charged us Klondike prices for everything. He was never under suspicion of giving away anything, not even himself. Before the voyage was half over there came near being a mutiny among the crew which had discovered, so they said, that the steward was taking the provisions destined for them and selling them to such of our boys as had money and had become weary of the luxurious and varied fare given us by the government. At the same time his extortions had become so burdensome to our boys that muttered threats against him were heard and but for some of the cooler heads among the soldiers he might have been the victim of the vengeance both of the crew and the troops.

There were thirteen staterooms on the boat and into these were crowded 32 officers. The men were "bunked" in the hold, and if there was any provision for ventilation other than the hatches, no trace was ever found of it. On the first night out the men slept on the decks and so were enabled to pass the night in considerable comfort, for if the deck planks were hard, there was at least some air and the cool sea breeze made sleeping possible. But on the second night out there came trouble. The surgeon was fearful that the night dews would have a bad effect on the men, and had been told so much of the evil effects of sleeping out in the air in tropical latitudes that he believed it best for the men to sleep below decks. He pressed his views upon the commanding officer, and the result was an order to the officer of the day to allow no men to sleep above decks on that or the succeeding nights of the voyage.

Naturally, when this order was communicated to the men, there was a protest. There was a decided difference of opinion between the men and the surgeon as to the evil results from sleeping on deck, and the men were inclined to rebel against the order. However, Capt. McDonald of B company was officer of the day, and no matter what his sympathies were, orders were orders. So soon after "taps" had sounded he and the guard made a tour of the boat and the sleepers were informed that they must retire to the bunks below and complete their slumbers. Then there was a howl of remonstrance, but it was without avail. The sleepers were rounded up and hustled below. In protest against this came all sorts of noise from the sleeping quarters. Songs and yells, and there was much satire in many of the songs, came up from below. The surgeons were alluded to as "Horse doctors" and "Salts," and one chorus that came floating up through the hatches ran something like this: