Identifier: springfieldinspa00wardwal (find matches)
Title: Springfield in the Spanish American war
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: Ward, Walter W
Subjects: Massachusetts Infantry. 2d Regt Massachusetts Naval Brigade. Co. H Spanish-American War, 1898
Publisher: Easthampton, Mass., Press of Enterprise Printing Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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settle up their affairs and get everything inreadiness for leaving. Information about the Prairie had already been pretty welldisseminated about the city. It was known that she wasformerly the fast steamer, El Sud, of the Morgan line andwas capable of doing excellent duty as one of Uncle Samsauxiliary cruisers. At the time she was in the Brooklynnavy yard being changed over from a passenger and freightvessel to a war ship and the job was requiring longer timethan had been anticipated. The quarters of H company and the state armory were thebusiest places in Springfield that afternoon and evening.The jackies w ere getting their dunnage rolls and equip-ment together and relatives and friends were on hand to sayfarewell and see their boys off. Owing to the time atwhich the company had orders to leave the armory, 1.30 a.m., it was hardly expected there would be much of a crowdon hand to give the command a suitable farewell but thiswas a mistake. Long before the hour at which the company 16
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was to leave the streets leading to the union station werecrowded and more enthusiasm was shown than had been thecase in Springfield for many a day. It was at 1.30 oclock inthe morning of the 24:tli that the company, fully armed,equipped, in the regulation uniform of the jackies of thenavy left the armory and marched through Main street to theunion station to take the 2.20 train for New York, specialcars for the company having been attached to the train. Inspite of the lateness of the hour Springfields citizens and therelatives, friends of the company were determined not to letthe command leave the city without some demonstration.All night long up to the time for leaving the armory the build-ing was filled with the relatives, friends of the members aswell as those who while not bound to them by any intimateties yet wished by their presence to show appreciation of thespirit which had prompted the young men to answer theircountrys call, even though it involved sacrifices hard indeedto m

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