12th
New York enlistments at their armory in 1898
Source: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-lost-12th-regiment-armory-columbus.html
The Crime; the Victims; and the Perps.
Part 2 of 4- The Victims- 12th New York Volunteer Infantry
The only image found for this unit is one of enlistments taking
place at their New Yawk City Armory at Columbus Avenue at 61st
Street. This armory was opened in 1887,
and “[t]housands of invitations were sent out, it is said, but after about 3000
people were admitted to the armory, the rest were kept out at the point of the
bayonet.”
The 12th New York Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service on May 13,
1898 at Peekskill, New York. At the time of muster in, the unit consisted of 43
officers and 978 enlisted men. Initially, the unit was first sent to Camp
Thomas at Chickamauga, Georgia. Conditions in this camp were terrible. It was
overcrowded, unsanitary, and disease-ridden.
Following muster into federal service at Peekskill, NY on May 13, 1898,
they arrived by choo-choo near Chattanooga, TN at Camp Thomas on the
Chickamauga battlefield on May 20th.
Life at Camp Thomas was grueling with limited water, poor food and lots
of disease. Many units were quickly
sent to Tampa for the Cuban invasion, but the 12th NY was not one of
them.
As the summer passed, Spanish forces world-wide suffered defeats and the
likelihood of the 12th being needed for combat swindled. So, they remained at Camp Thomas until August
24th when they were sent to Lexington, KY.
At Camp Hamilton, even prior to the shooting and beer theft, the
12th’s conduct was not exemplary.
The October 9th Shooting and
Aftermath
The Regiment was outraged on October 9th, when one of
its members was shot dead by the Provost Marshalls (Military Police) in
Lexington, as reported on the front page of the New York Times:
Source: New York Times, October 11, 1898, page 1. (Clipped and made to two columns)
Apparently a similar story ran in the Lexington Herald (copy not
found) but this incensed the Commander o the 12th New York, who
defended the conduct and honor of his troops with the following:
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader,
October 13, 1898, page 5.
As the uproar over this shooting was calming, Halloween arrived,
and so did the shipment of beer for the 12th New York to enjoy. But, someone else got most of it!
Although some sources suggest that the theft was widely reported
and the brewers dropped their charges due to free publicity, I found nothing to
confirm that, but it sounds plausible.
After the beer theft, their enlistments continued to drag on. Finally,
… on November 13th the regiment
departed Lexington for Americus, GA where a new camp was set up. On December
26th the 12th Regiment left camp en route for Cuba, where it arrived on the 1st
of January 1899 and took up garrison duty at Matanzas and Cardenas. On March
20th, 1899 the regiment was sent home to New York City where it arrived on
March 27th and was mustered out on April 20th, 1899.
Source:
The unit was mustered out of service on April 20, 1899 at New York City.
At the time of muster out, it consisted of 46 officers and 945 men. During its
term of service, the unit suffered from high losses. Twenty-three enlisted men
died of disease, one man died as the result of an accident, and one man
committed suicide. Forty-seven additional men were discharged on disability.
Ninety-one men deserted!
Losses by unit. All started with about 50 officers and 1,000
enlisted, with some
replacements arriving during their service period. Source:
|
12th |
160th
Indiana |
3rd
Kentucky |
OFFICER
losses |
|
|
|
Resigned or discharged |
30 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
ENLISTED
losses |
|
|
|
Transferred |
13 |
69 |
27 |
Discharged-disability |
47 |
59 |
60 |
Discharged- courts martial |
- |
- |
8 |
Discharged by order |
210 |
117 |
129 |
Death from disease |
23 |
11 |
17 |
Death- accidental |
1 |
- |
2 |
Murder or homicide |
- |
1 |
1 |
Suicide |
1 |
- |
- |
Deserted |
91 |
15 |
56 |
TOTAL
ENLISTED LOSSES |
386 |
272 |
300 |
|
|
|
|
Another wonderful piece making history come alive.
ReplyDeleteHow did you stumble onto this? Good stuff.
Stumbling (also spelled serendipity) on to the beer theft began when I acquired a "trapdoor" rifle, which a researcher had listed as used by the 160th Indiana Volunteer Infantry (the subject of tomorrow's installment). Pulling on that string, the exact soldier was identified by name, and the genealogical info on him was not hard to find. I also found a copy of the regimental history book published about 1900-1902, which mentioned the beer theft, and partially blamed the 3rd Kentucky. From there it is just following leads, hunches and Google-fu. Being pretty familiar with military history of the period and the sources available provided a good feel for where to look, and I enjoy this sort of stuff. So even though it takes a lot of time, it keeps me entertained.
DeleteSubsequently I discovered an item from the 3rd Kentucky, and have found a second trapdoor from the 160th Indiana, and a Krag rifle from the 3rd Kentucky but I have not been able to identify the soldiers for those rifles (yet). Artifacts in hand really spur an interest in finding out more about who, what, where, when and why.
A collecting obsession helps old retired folks pass time, but it could be worse. I know people who collect cannons, "20th century armor" (as apposed to knights in shining...) and two who collect examples of toilet paper. Also people who like antique cars, baseball cards, bayonets, cartridges, beanie babies, slot machines, pepper shakers, etc, but those folks are all just crazy people.
JB
LOL! Pulled on a loose thread and got fascinated in the unraveling of the story. The most fun I had with something like that was trying to track the signal/salute gun made from a 3" Ordnance Rifle I saw when driving past the American Legion Post in Clearlake California.
DeleteThe John Hartford song, "I Would Not Be Here" comes to mind. https://youtu.be/GkkOKZYYpJI?si=yLcBrOYKqy2tinKf
Oh...there is a Registry of Existing Civil War Cannon. When I contacted the guy in charge of it and gave him the muzzle markings I got a thank you. Seems it was one of many that were not listed. Watervlete never responded, even though that was where the conversions were done.
Very interesting posts JB, thanks. The Lexington railroad officials to the 12th New York....."Now youse can't leave".........holding the train.....:)
ReplyDeleteThanks JB!
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that most history is filled this kind of stuff. Oh, the stories we might have had about Alexander's troops on The Granicus or Romans Legionnaires serving on Hadrian's Wall or The Great Danish Heathen Army if only paper and literacy was more abundant (and to be fair, could survive this long).
Amazing stuff, JB. Pretty much a chronicle of 90% of military careers. Stuck at some crappy base for too long, then deployed to some other crappy place, get beer, lose beer, get discharged/retired. Even in wartime military life is 90% boredom, 10% stark terror.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Sarge. Assuming translating “Crappy Base” into modern English comes out “The Pentagon”.
DeleteJust sayin!
juvat
For "The Pentagon" I would substitute, "The Crappiest Place on Earth."
DeleteI must be missing something in the casualty report. No KIA or WIA?
ReplyDeletejuvat
Juvat- They never left CONUS until after hostilities were over by both the armistice and peace treaty before they went anywhere.
DeleteDisease was the primary cause of death, in pretty significant numbers.
JB