THE SECOND OREGON VOLUNTEERS IN THE PHILIPPINES BY WAY OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

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.