Fort Hoskins and Yamhill were two of the earliest uses of the U.S. Army in the newly acquired Northwest lands gained in the middle 1840’s. The sites, long abandoned, have undergone extensive archaeological excavations. Protected as public parks today, a visit gives a fascinating insight into the antebellum Regular Army and the interactions between Native Americans and newly-arrived white settlers intent on occupying new grounds.
The Spanish-American war, forgotten mostly today, was a very popularly received event among the American public. The ongoing rebellion in Cuba was recurrent front-page news. Newspapers ever eager to entice readers with lurid tales of Spanish atrocities. Forgotten by most now, the Spanish-American War is remembered by numerous monuments spread around the country. Like the war they memorialize, those monuments tend to be overlooked and passed by today without much notice.
European nations were holding their breath as relations between Spain and the United States worsened in 1898. While much of the attention centered on Cuba and the Caribbean, the Philippines also gathered some thought. Several of the nations had ongoing commercial relationships within the Philippines. To officially protect their nationals living and working in the Spanish Manila naval ships were sent. One of those nations with more than a casual interest in events in the Philippines included Germany.
The men of the Second Oregon waited for a month and a half in Cavite, Philippines. July went on and the 1st California and 14th US were moved out of Cavite into the field taking positions to the south of Manila. Other units from later arriving forces did the same. The Oregonians were not excited about being left behind to drill back at Cavite while the others were out on the firing lines.
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The Spanish-American War enjoyed ramped up emotions across the United States. Oregon was by no means immune in the enthusiasm to teach Spain a lesson. The state’s National Guard – a part-time militia more trained in strike-breaking than actual warfare – consisted of a brigade of two regiments . President William McKinley requested the State to furnish the Army with one regiment in the war with Spain, so a little selecting had to be done initially. And with the distance involved between Oregon and Cuba, there was little chance of Oregon troops being involved in the main war there. Dewey’s 1 May victory at Manila Bay, however, gave the men from the Beaver State another opportunity, but instead of going transcontinental, the Second Oregon would need to go trans-Pacific to participate off to the Philippines.
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You can tell important seminal moments in many American cities by some memorials and parks found within the city. Philadelphia has the Liberty Bell. San Antonio has the Alamo. Indianapolis has the massive Soldiers and Sailors Monument from the Civil War. Portland has a leafy park across from the Federal Courthouse and the former Multnomah Courthouse where a statue stands proudly in the middle of the park. At first glance, someone might think the Civil War is being remembered in some way. But the rest of the monument has nothing to do with the Civil War. It is a monument honoring the dead of the Second Oregon Volunteers who fought in the Spanish-American War. Surrounding the monument, a series of marble stumps resemble artillery shells. The battle names inscribed have nothing to do with Oregon in Cuba or Spain, but everything to do with the Philippines.
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Others beyond the golden dead (Medal of Honor winners have their names inscribed in gold at cemeteries administered by the American Battlefields and Monuments Commission (ABMC)) earned medals for valor. Their headstones are inscribed with their awards, as well, here at Meuse-Argonne ABMC Cemetery, just not in gold. You have to look a little harder.
This is the second of a series looking at some of the men and women lying buried at America’s largest cemetery in Europe, Meuse-Argonne ABMC Cemetery in Romagne, France. Here, we look at the award given out on the second rung of heroism in the pantheon of awards for heroism in the American military system – the Distinguished Service Cross.
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Meuse-Argonne ABMC Cemetery is by far the largest of the cemeteries administered by the American Battlefields and Monuments Commission from the First World War. In fact, the cemetery is the largest ABMC cemetery in Europe, second in size in the World only behind the giant cemetery on the south side of Manila.
The Meuse-Argonne ABMC Cemetery is located directly in the heart of the area American soldiers fought and died for from 26 September 1918 until the end of the war on 11 November. It was the longest and hardest campaign the American Expeditionary Force was tasked with during the war. Success came, but only after long struggles as the AEF learned what it meant to wage an industrial scale war. The learning curve we see in evidence among the 14,246 men buried here.
Quick facts you can pick up from the cemetery brochure: There are 22 sets of brothers included among the dead; the cemetery covers 130.5 acres; 268 Stars of David and 486 graves of soldiers whose identity remain unknown; 954 names are inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing – men whose remains were never recovered.
Because of the sheer size of this cemetery, I am going to take a couple of blog posts to try and cover a few of the stories lying here.
There are also nine men here who were awarded the Medal of Honor, eight died as a direct result of their actions. They will be whom I concentrate my thoughts upon today.
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General John J. Pershing resisted calls from the British and French to insert incoming American units as replacements for existing units. Pershing and President Woodrow Wilson both wanted American units to fight as an amalgamated unit on the Western Front. They wanted a true American army to provide a backbone for the future. But then came the German Spring Offensives of 1918. These offensives shook the Allied front, then threatened to push the British back to the Channel Coast and the French beyond Paris. Considering this emergency, Pershing relented, finally allowing some of his units to fight with the French and the British. Some of the consequences of their work with the British are in evidence here at Somme ABMC Cemetery – American Battlefields and Monuments Commission.
The politics involved bringing American forces to fight alongside British and Commonwealth units is the stuff for another post. Today, we concentrate on the end results – the cemetery.
Continue readingThe Spring Offensives of 1918 rocked the Allies to the core. For a moment, it appeared the Great War could actually be lost. Enter America and the American Expeditionary Force – AEF. General John J. Pershing had been pushing against the desires of his fellow Allies to insert American troops as they became available into the ranks of the French or British armies. In the emergency of spring 1918, Pershing finally relented, agreeing to allow American divisions already present into the front lines as needed. The Aisne-Marne ABMC – American Battlefield and Monuments Commission – Cemetery is a result of that decision.
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