Exploits and Adventures of a Soldier Ashore and Afloat
9781465650702
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
The destruction of the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor, on the night of February 15, 1898, was the key to the mysterious “Pandora Box,” containing maps of new United States possessions, the commission of an admiral, the creation of a President, the construction of a formidable army and navy, the humiliation of a proud nation, and numerous other undisputed ascendencies. The uncivilized, brutal, and oppressive methods resorted to by the Spaniards in conducting military operations on the Island of Cuba and other territory adjacent to the United States had long been a theme of discussion by patriotic and sympathizing Americans. When the news flashed over the wires that the big man-of-war, the Maine, had been blown up and two hundred and sixty-six members of her gallant crew had been sent to a watery grave, the hearts of American youths burned with indignation and every mother’s son yearned to avenge what was considered Spanish treachery. What followed is entered in the archives of American history and is familiar to all. The call for volunteers was responded to universally, there being so many applicants to fill the ranks that only the flower of the American youth was accepted. When the news was wired broadcast that Commodore Dewey had fairly annihilated the Spanish fleet in Asiatic waters, without the loss of a man, there was a burst of enthusiasm that can well be imagined by those too young to remember the occasion. At 9.00 A.M. on the second of May, 1898, this news was received in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It was followed by a telegram from the Captain of the “Governor’s Troop,” Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, of Harrisburg, which stated that twelve vacancies existed in that troop and that in accordance with the request of Governor Hastings these vacancies should be filled with the first volunteers from the city of Hazleton. In two hours’ time the recipient of the telegram, Mr. Willard Young, had notified and enlisted twelve of Hazleton’s stalwart sons, and at 7.40 A.M. the next morning, amidst the waving of the national colors and cheers from the populace the boys were escorted by the famous old Liberty Band to the Lehigh Valley Station where, after bidding adieu to relatives, sweethearts, and friends, they boarded a train for Mt. Gretna, the military rendezvous.
