The Spanish–American War Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States that commemorates those American military personnel who died in the Spanish–American War. Constructed by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and dedicated on May 21, 1902, the memorial consists of a granite column in the center of a small grass-covered plaza. A granite sphere and bronze eagle with outstretched wings stand atop the shaft. The memorial faces west; to its rear across Lawton Avenue is a flagstone terrace on which are placed four cannon, aimed east.
Spanish–American War dead at Arlington National Cemetery The Spanish–American War was a ten-week conflict that occurred in the spring and summer of 1898. Cuba had been waging a war of independence against Spain since 1895, an effort largely supported by the United States (which had extensive economic interests on the island). To ensure the safety of American citizens and property in Cuba, the United States sent the battleship to Havana in late January 1898. The Maine exploded under mysterious circumstances and was destroyed with large loss of life on February 15. American newspapers whipped up war fever, and held Spain responsible for the ship's destruction. The United States Congress enacted a joint resolution demanding independence for Cuba, and President William McKinley signed it into law on April 20. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations on April 21. The same day, the United States Navy began a blockade of Cuba. Spain declared war on April 23. On April 25, Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had existed since April 21.Trask, p. 57.
The Spanish–American War began on April 25, 1898, and ended on August 12, 1898. Cuban and Spanish dead vastly outnumbered American deaths. While 2,910 American military personnel died during the war, just 345 were combat deaths. The rest died of disease.Dyal, Carpenter, and Thomas, p. 67. More than 1,800 Americans were buried in Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. On July 8, 1898, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the repatriation of American dead, and appropriating funds for this purpose. Additional legislation was enacted on February 9, 1900; May 26, 1900; and June 6, 1900. Many of the dead were buried at Arlington National Cemetery, either because their families desired it or the remains could not be identified. Of the dead, 226 were disinterred in Cuba, 20 from Puerto Rico, and 24 from Hawaii.Quartermaster Corps, p. 82-84. Accessed 2013-06-11. This represented the first time in history that Americans who died in battle overseas were repatriated to the United States for burial.Bigler, p. 46. Most of the military dead were buried in what is now Section 22, while members of the Rough Riders (or 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry) were buried in Section 23.Hinkel, p. 124. Civilian nurses (all of whom died of disease) were buried in what is now Section 21.Gurney, p. 70.
First Spanish–American War Memorial
Some time in early 1900, four guns captured during the war were erected in the Spanish–American War dead burial field.Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1900, p. 300. Accessed 2013-05-20. The two modern guns were taken from the Spanish Navy armored cruisers Vizcaya and Infanta Maria Teresa."Survey of the World." The Independent. May 29, 1902, p. 1269. Accessed 2013-06-11."Fame of War Heroes." Washington Post. May 22, 1902. The provenance of the two smaller bronze cannon is less clear. One newspaper of the day said they came from a Spanish coastal battery in Cuba (which the paper did not identify), but the Washington Post was more specific and said they came from a coastal battery near Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca (also known as "Morro Castle") at Sevilla near Santiago de Cuba."No Memorial Shaft." Washington Post. April 26, 1900.The Arlington National Cemetery Web site claims the two bronze cannon were captured from Spain, but does not say where they were captured. The Web site claims the two modern guns belonged to the United States Navy, but other sources noted herein disagree with this. See: "Spanish–American War Monument." Monuments and Memorials. Exploring the Cemetery. Visitor Information. Arlington National Cemetery. No date. Accessed 2013-06-13. All four guns were mounted on granite pedestals. The bronze cannon were spiked, while the modern guns had their breechblocks removed.
No trees were immediately planted around the site, leaving it barren but also visible from the Potomac River.
The Second Spanish–American War Memorial
The Capron effort In February or March 1899, as Sections 21, 22, and 23 were being prepared for the burial of Spanish–American War dead, Secretary of War Elihu Root chose a promontory on the eastern edge of the burial field as the site for a new Spanish–American War memorial. Veterans of the war strongly supported the construction of a memorial, but no action was taken. Agnes Kissam Capron, wife of Captain Allyn K. Capron, Sr. (an Army artillery officer who died of typhoid fever in September 1898), began lobbying Congress in April 1900 to appropriate money for a memorial and Representative John H. Ketcham introduced H.R. 11091 to authorize it."History of Bills and Joint Resolutions", p. 58. Accessed 2013-06-11.
But Mrs. Capron left for the Philippines to engage in Red Cross work shortly after her lobbying effort began, and no action was taken by Congress.
National Society of Colonial Dames effort At its April 1900 National Council meeting in Washington, D.C., the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America voted to seek to place a memorial to Spanish–American War dead at Arlington National Cemetery. The genesis of this effort is unclear, but a committee to consider "the subject of a tablet at Arlington in memory of the officers, soldiers, and sailors of the Spanish–American War" was appointed some time prior to the biennial National Council meeting.National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 1900, p. 80. Accessed 2013-06-12. Winifred Lee Brent Lyster, wife of Dr. Henry Francis LeHunte Lyster of Michigan and a relative of Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee, conceived of and was the primary advocate for the memorial.National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 1902, p. 29-31. Accessed 2013-06-12.Dr. Lyster joined the 5th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment at the outset of the American Civil War and rose through the ranks to become Medical Inspector and Acting Medical Director of III Corps in the Union Army. He served from the First Battle of Bull Run to the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Mrs. Lyster wrote the popular song Michigan, My Michigan in late 1862, which later became the unofficial state song. See: Moore, p. 2238-2241. Accessed 2013-06-12. The Memorial Committee proposed a bronze tablet bearing the name of all those who died (from whatever cause) during the war, and that this tablet be erected before the National Council meeting in May 1902. The National Council approved a motion to have a tablet erected, but left the design and content up to a committee (to be appointed by the chair), which was given the power to act on the resolution.National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 1900, p. 80-81, accessed 2013-06-12; National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1913, p. 95, accessed 2013-06-12.
Fundraising, design, and site selection
Lyster was appointed chair of the society's Spanish War Memorial Committee. She wrote more than 2,000 letters asking for funds for the memorial.National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 1902, p. 30. Accessed 2013-06-12. Almost $7,300 ($ in dollars) was raised.National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 1902, p. 13-14. Accessed 2013-06-12.
Choosing a site for the memorial was not difficult. The Army Quartermaster Corps controlled Arlington National Cemetery, and in March 1901 Lyster asked the Quartermaster General, Brigadier General Marshall I. Ludington, for permission to erect the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Permission was granted, provided the federal government bore none of the cost. It is unclear just when the society obtained the pre-determined 1899 site, however. The Secretary of War had chosen the site in early 1899, and the existing memorial was already located there. Obtaining the site for the Society memorial was not a foregone conclusion. The record is clear, however, that Justine Van Rensselaer Townsend,She was the wife of Albany Medical College professor Dr. Howard Townsend, and the granddaughter of billionaire New York landowner Stephen Van Rensselaer III. President of the National Society of Colonial Dames, approached Secretary of the War Root directly and secured the existing location for the Society's memorial."Spanish War Memorial." Boston Evening Transcript. May 22, 1902, p. 3. Accessed 2013-06-12.National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 1902, p. 50. Accessed 2013-06-12.
A Committee on Estimates and Designs, a subcommittee of the Spanish War Memorial Committee, was established to oversee the design of the memorial. The process by which designs were solicited and chosen is not clear. However, the winning design was submitted by Society member Edith Bucklin Hartshorn Mason of Rhode Island.National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1906, p. 34. Accessed 2013-06-12. The National Society of Colonial Dames was required to obtain the consent of the Quartermaster Corps for the memorial's design. Major Theodore A. True, an officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Myer, served as the representative of the Quartermaster General at the cemetery. True expressed concern over the original design. The design was changed and resubmitted several times before it met with True's approval. True submitted the final draft design to Brigadier General Ludington. Ludington approved it and forwarded it to Secretary of War Elihu Root. Root confirmed True and Ludington's decision and on October 23, 1901, informed the Society that it could erect its memorial."Spanish–American War Monument." Monuments and Memorials. Exploring the Cemetery. Visitor Information. Arlington National Cemetery. No date. Accessed 2013-06-13.
With the design approved, the Spanish War Memorial Committee's attention turned toward the language to be inscribed on the memorial. Lyster and another Spanish War Memorial Committee member, Hortense Addison Batré,She was the wife of Mobile, Alabama, stock broker, banker, and natural gas company executive Alfred Batré. visited the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, in the summer of 1901, and were impressed by the inscriptions written on the pediment above the main doorway of each exhibit hall. They learned that these were written by the poet Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine. Townsend was acquainted with Gilder, and Lyster and Batré asked Townsend to convince Gilder to provide language for the bronze tablet. Townsend met with Gilder, and after some initial resistance he agreed to write the inscription.
Dedication The monument was unveiled and dedicated on May 21, 1902. President Theodore Roosevelt permitted all civilian and military government employees to be excused at noon so that they could attend the dedication ceremony."Dedication of Monument." Washington Post. May 15, 1902.
The day of the event, 150 representatives to the National Council of the National Society of Colonial Dames convened in Washington, D.C., to conduct the business of the society before adjourning in the afternoon to attend the dedication at Arlington National Cemetery."Colonial Dames Convene." Washington Post. May 21, 1902.