Florida and the Spanish-American War of 1898

From: Reminiscences of the Experiences of Company L, Second Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, U.S.V., in the Spanish American War, by Major Frederick E. Pierce (Greenfield, MA: E.A. Hall & Co., 1900), 14-20.

We supposed we were going to Tampa or Key West, in Florida, but were delighted when orders were changed. We reached Lakeland the night of May 16, and disembarked on the morning of the 17th.

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CAMP MASSACHUSETTS, LAKELAND, FLORIDA

This spot is charming and the site selected an ideal one, situated on the picturesque banks of Lake Morton in a grove of tall white oaks, whose drooping branches were festooned with great bunches of beautiful Spanish moss. It was at this camp that Private Brass of Company I died of pneumonia. It was our first loss by death and a feeling of sadness and awe crept over the entire camp. The funeral, which was held at the little Episcopal church near by, was a great tribute to the worth of the volunteer, who had given his life in the service of his country. Nearly every Company in the Regiment, with the field and staff officers, attended; and as Richard Harding Davis expresses it,

“He was given a funeral that a marshal of France might have deserved and one which taught a fine lesson.” “It showed that the man in the uniform of his country is the man his countrymen honor above all other men.”

Private Miller of L Company was sick at the same time with pneumonia, and I well remember the two cots side by side, and when poor Brass died, all that separated the dead from the living was a sheet hung between the two cots.

Referring to Richard Harding Davis, he was rather a conspicuous figure at that time in our camp, and created quite a favorable impression upon those who came in contact with

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him, but we have to smile when he compares the Second Massachusetts to the Seventy-first New York. It shows he isn’t posted upon Western Massachusetts.

He says: “The New York men were city bred; they had the cockney’s puzzled contempt for the country. Their nerves had been edged by the incessant jangle of the cable cars, and the rush and strain of elevated trains. Their plates had been fed on Sunday papers and Wall Street tickers. Their joys were those of the roof gardens and Muschenhiems.”

“The 2nd. Mass. men on the other hand were from the smaller towns in Western Massachusetts. They were farmers’ sons and salesmen in village stores; some of them were country lawyers, and many of them worked in the mills.” He spoke of their pining for one more look at a stone fence and a drink of water out of a bucket drawn from the well. (They were all used to drinking out of wooden buckets.)

He hits the truth the nearest when he says “The New York boys held the Spaniards in such fine contempt that as one expressed it, ‘They wouldn’t do a thing to them.’” He goes on to say that “later they kept their word.” We were very fortunate at Lakeland in making many lasting friendships.

The banker of the town was a man by the name of Neuenkamp, a German of good education, who had been a consul at some South American port at one time. I had taken the precaution to establish my credit at this bank so that in case of need I could obtain money through it on my personal checks. My Masonic associations also helped me, as Mr. Neuenkamp was master of the Lodge at Lakeland.

He then offered to give the Masons in the Regiment a reception and great preparations were made for the affair, but we were ordered away from Lakeland the very day of the reception. The race prejudice in Florida is very great and the distinction between the whites and blacks is very sharply

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drawn. One had only to step into a barber shop or to board a street car or railroad train to find the whites had nothing in common with the colored population.

While at Lakeland a colored trooper shot a white man, and the race prejudice was so strong that the wildest excitement existed. The trooper tried to get shaved in a barber shop and was refused, whereupon he whipped out his revolver and began demolishing the shop. He succeeded in doing this, but a stray shot struck an inoffensive citizen passing by and killed him. I was shaved at the barber shop the next day, or rather on the side-walk, as the shop itself was completely wrecked.

A few of the officers started a club in town and gave an entertainment one afternoon, consisting of banjo playing, singing, etc. I shall never forget the recitation, “Presenting the flag,” given by Lieutenant Vesper of Company B. Poor fellow, we buried him at sea, and by you who have witnessed the last sad rites of a burial at sea our feelings can be best appreciated. It is sad enough when it is a stranger, but when your friend and fellow comrade is to be buried it is nearly heartbreaking.

There is something grand about it, too. Wrapped in Old Glory the fitting shroud of a hero, with comrades as bearers, the band playing a solemn dirge, and the chaplain reading the impressive service for burial at sea, it is grand, though sad. We witnessed many scenes like this on our homeward voyage.

You have read of General Francis V. Greene. While at Lakeland, I acted as banker for the Regiment, and the bank required my indorsement to personal checks before they would cash them. General Greene had just received his commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers and ordered to Manila. He came to the bank that day and wanted a check cashed so he could leave for San Francisco at once.

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The banker required identification and I identified General Greene, but that was not sufficient, I must endorse his check. The General at first declined my proffer to endorse for him, but later, in his anxiety to leave at once he came to me and asked for the endorsement.

Let me place myself on record as saying that I think the American soldier is the best in the world. I expected we volunteers would be severely criticized by the Regular officers we came in contact with, but such was not the case.  You read accounts of criticism from some of the higher ranked officers, but it is in my opinion caused through jealousy or ignorance.

General Young, now in the Philippines, who in my way of thinking is much too old to command troops on such a campaign, is on record as saying, “it was a mistake to take the volunteers with the Fifth Army Corps.” I don’t know where he formulated his ideas, certainly not from his connection with us. He was in command of the brigade to which we were attached while at Lakeland for a short time, but if he made up his mind then, he showed it in a peculiar way. I remember his stopping Major Whipple and myself on the piazza of the hotel at Lakeland, one afternoon and addressing the Major, said he desired to ask a question relative to a dress parade we had just come from. He said, “I ask this question, not to criticize your Regiment but because I don’t know myself.” The Major, wishing to grind me a little, I suspect, replied, “General, if you have any questions on tactics or regulations, Capt. Pierce is authority.”

General Young stated the question and I was glad I could answer him off-hand and correctly. We saw nothing of him, practically, after we left the States, and he left Cuba before the battle of “El Caney.” When he wanted a good penman for his headquarters, I notice he came to our Regiment and Company L was honored by the selection of one

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of our men. Private Barnes, one of the cleanest boys in Company L, was detailed for this work and accomplished it with much credit to himself and to the organization to which he belonged.

The average volunteer in the ranks is more intelligent than the regular. This is necessarily so for we draw our material from the school, counting-house, factory, store or farm, and usually get better educated men in consequence.

If the Second Regiment was considered outclassed, why did every Division Commander in the Corps request that we be attached to them and every Brigade Commander ask that we be included in his brigade? If we were not satisfactory, why were we constantly pushed to the front? When they wanted a man with experience and good common sense to superintend the construction of roads, bridges or entrenchments they sent to the Second Regiment and requested that Major Whipple be detailed. I recall no hesitancy on the part of those in command in placing Colonel Clark in command of the brigade when Colonel Van Horn became incapacitated. In fact I have heard his work, while in that position, highly commended by Regular Army officers. I have always been sorry he was not retained permanently as our brigade commander.

When they finally wanted a postmaster for the Division, it was to the Second Regiment they came for the man. I state these few of many cases to show what rot it is for these jealous old fogies to criticize our Regiment when they could have assigned plenty of regulars to these positions had they preferred them, or thought them more efficient.

It certainly was not our fault that we were armed with the “Springfield” rifle, or “smoke-stacks,” as they were commonly called. We wanted the “Krag” but they refused to issue them to us. In fact, they thought at that time the Springfield rifle was a superior gun. I really think it is superior

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to the Krag as far as stopping qualities are concerned, and if we could have used smokeless powder, as they are doing now in the Philippines, I would not care to exchange for the Krag-Jorgensen. You notice they armed the volunteers sent to Porto Rico later with the “Krag.” You read that we were handicapped with so many recruits. The same conditions, and even worse, prevailed in the regular Regiments. The Eighth United States regulars received sixty recruits on board the “Seneca” who had never fired a rifle and were not even provided with uniforms or equipments until just before we landed.

I wish to say that this spirit of criticism did not prevail amongst the Eighth and Twenty-second United States Regulars, two of the best regiments in the service, and brigaded with us. Major Conrad, in command of the Eighth, told me he wished Companies I and L could be attached to his Regiment permanently.

There are some 3000 lakes in the county of Lakeland alone, beautiful sheets of water, and we enjoyed many a delightful plunge in the cool of the morning of after sundown.

There was a slight drawback to this pleasure in the snakes and alligators which abound in and about these lakes. The alligators seem quite harmless as they float about on the surface, occasionally raising their heads as if in wonder at our intrusion. We had a man in our company who was quite an expert snake catcher. I have seen him catch a large whip snake, resembling our black snake, at least six feet long, and holding it with his right hand near the head wind its body about his arm clear to the shoulder. I remember the creepy sensation which came over me hearing a couple of small boys tell about killing two moccasins the day before, right where we were bathing. The quality of the food issued here was good, but to strong healthy men it seemed to be

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lacking in quantity. As one of my men facetiously remarked, the camp should be named “Little Eat” instead of “Massachusetts.”

OUR CAMP IN THE SUBURBS OF TAMPA, FLORIDA

From Lakeland we went to Ybor City, and again we were blessed with a fine camping ground. I enjoyed those few days in the suburbs of Tampa. Those of you who have been to this Florida resort know that it is well worth the trip just to stop at the beautiful Tampa Bay hotel, a “palace in Fairyland.” They have a salt water plunge in connection with the hotel and we enjoyed going over if only for a swim in the tank. It was a grand and magnificent sight to enter this hotel, and especially at night, when the brilliancy of the electrics set off the gray uniforms of the officers and foreign attaches and the beautiful gowns of the ladies.

Here one saw the social side of the men you read about. Such celebrities as General Miles, Shafter, Wheeler, Lawton, Chaffee and Kent could be seen often in the hotel rotunda or strolling along the lengthy piazzas. It was at this hotel that some of the officers of the Second learned to look with disfavor upon those in command of the other Volunteer Infantry Regiment in our Corps. The Colonel was no gentleman, and openly insulted the wife of one of our captains by speaking to her in a nasty way about the Second.

He had his reward and the tears were scarce with us at the disgrace of their Regiment later. Orders finally came to us to proceed to Tampa Bay and board transports. We were obliged to leave Private Miller behind as he was too weak from sickness to accompany us. He probably felt as keen disappointment as any of us at his being left behind. But if he could not fight for his country on a foreign soil he had a hard fight for his life in the poorly equipped hospitals

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of the south. A man’s merit is weighed by his endeavors and he is entitled to as much credit as though he had accompanied us.

We suffered much annoyance here just before sailing in receiving and dispatching our mails. I understand our letters home were held for five days at Tampa, partly because of poor facilities for handling it and more especially to prevent rumors spreading as to our intended departure and destination.

Our trials began here in earnest. Ordered to strike tents and be ready to march at once, we lay out in the cold without any covering that night, and it was late the next day when we received marching orders. We finally marched to the train and proceeded to Port Tampa. We found the transport “Orizaba,” the boat assigned to us, occupied by another Regiment.

It was here our first fight should have been made, but instead the boys were obliged to spend the night in an old freight shed on the wharf. The next day, instead of righting matters, the Regiment was split up, one battalion going on board the “Concha,” one battalion and Headquarters on the “Orizaba,” and one battalion on the "Seneca;” afterwards the two battalions on the “Concha” and “Orizaba” were transferred to the “Knickerbocker” of unlucky number thirteen, and Companies E and M, with our Major, were sent on board the “Manteo,” I and L remaining on the “Seneca.” The histories of these two latter Companies, from this time until our landing on Cuban soil, is distinct and separate from the rest of the Regiment.