Jose Marti was a Cuban poet and journalist who was the heart of the Cuban Insurrection. He had been be imprisoned for his anti-Spanish writings, and travelled to Europe before eventually coming to live in the United States. Here he continued his work to remove the Spanish from Cuba. With the outbreak of the Cuban Insurrection, he returned to Cuba to become the spiritual leader of the Insurrection until being killed in action on May 20, 1895. The museum contains the belongings of Marti, as well as his manuscripts, etc.
Antonio Maceo's Birthplace, Calle Los Maceo, No. 207, Santiago, Cuba
Antonio Maceo was one of the leaders of the Cuban Insurrection against Spain, fighting in both the Ten Years War, and against Spain prior to the intervention of the United States. Maceo was killed in battle on December 7, 1895 at the age of 51. He had suffered 26 gunshot wounds in his military career. The museum now contained within his birthplace contains artifacts of his career. http://www.cubaweb.cu/museos/m105.html
Fort San Filipe is a an old Spanish fortification on Sangley Point dating back to 1609. The fortification is made of granite, and has walls which are approximately thirty feet high. A stairway leads to the upper level of the structure where a museum contains exhibits concerning the navy and its influence on Philippine history. Antique ordnance and projectiles can be seen on the lawn. http://www.philippine.org/01prov/cavite.html
Monument to Andres Bonofacio, Cavite
Andres Bonofacio became the president of the "Katipunero" or "Society of the Sons of the People (of the Philippines) in January 1896 and began planning an uprising against the Spanish. A power struggle developed, and Aguinaldo had Bonofacio court-martialed. He was executed on May 10, 1897. The house where Bonifacio was court martialed now contains a memorial to Bonofacio "the Father of the Philippine Revolution" (Maragondon). http://www.philippine.org/01prov/cavite.html
San Juan
Visit the sights of Old San Juan, such as San Felipe del Morro Fort, Fort San Cristóbal (the largest fortification ever built by the Spanish in the New World), El Cañuelo and the city walls. For more information see the website of the National Park Service at http://www.nps.gov/saju/forts.html
ALABAMA
Pond Spring (Joseph Wheeler Plantation), Hillsboro, Alabama.
Visit the site of the famous general who served in both the Spanish American War and the American Civil War. To find out more about the site, visit http://www.wheelerplantation.org/
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco
The San Francisco National Cemetery holds the remains of several famous individuals from the Spanish American War. They include Frederick Funston (a Congressional Medal of Honor winner who served with Cuban Insurrectionists and also as an officer in the American army. He served in both Cuba and the Philippines), William Thompkins (a private in the 10th Cavalry who won the Congressional Medal of Honor), and William Shafter (the overall commander of the U.S. troops serving in Cuba during the War). See http://www.nps.gov/prsf/prsfphoto/spanamer.htm and http://www.nps.gov/goga/prsf/cemetery.htm
CONNECTICUT
New London
Two guns from the REINA CRISTINA are in place in front of the United States Coast Guard Academy's Hamilton Building. To see the guns, click here.
FLORIDA
East Martello Museum - Key West
Beginning on February 15, 1998, the East Martello Museum will feature an exhibit entitled "A Community Remembers the MAINE" which will feature 400 artifacts related to the ill-fated vessel. http://keywest.com/usmaine2.html
Hotel Tampa Bay, 401 West Kennedy Blvd., Tampa
This Hotel was the command center as the troops were concentrated for the invasion of Cuba. On its verandas, old enemies of the American Civil War met as officers of the new invading army. Officers' family joined them at this famous location. The picturesque four storey hotel is now the home of the University of Tampa. The building contains the Henry B. Plant Museum. Plant was the railroad magnate who owned the hotel and the single-track rail line that served the military forces in the area.
Fort DeSoto, in Pinellas County, at the entrance to Tampa Bay (813) 866-2484
Fort De Soto, the construction of which began in 1898, has the only four 12-inch seacoast rifled mortars (model 1890 mounted on 1896 carriages) in the continental United States. Also at the fort are two 6-inch Armstrong rapid-fire rifled guns (model 1898) which were originally mounted at Fort Dade, and are the last two guns of that model year in the United States.
The site often has Spanish American War living historians who aid in bringing the site back to life.
For more information, visit their website by clicking here!
GEORGIA
Fort Screven, Tybee Island (912) 786-4077
This fort was built in 1875, but was manned during the Spanish American War. The Tybee Museum is within the fort, located in an 1898 Coastal Artillery Battery.
IOWA
Ottumwa - One of the guns of the INFANTA MARIA TERESA is located in Greater Ottumwa Park's campground at the intersection of South Wapello Street and Highway 34. For more information, click here!
MAINE
Bar Harbor - In the town park overlooking the docks are two 10" columbiad ("Rodman") cannons. These cannons had been placed on Egg Rock, an island off the coast, to protect the entrance to the harbor in 1898. They were later removed to Bar Harbor and to their present location.
MARYLAND
Fort Washington, Oxon Hill (301)763-4600
Fort Washington was originally built to replace a fortification that was destroyed in the War of 1812, and enlarged over the years. One of the last updates to the fortification involved was the construction of a two gun battery in front of the masonry fort, overlooking the Potomac River. The reinforced concrete emplacements that once held 2 four inch guns are all that remain of the Spanish American War era improvements.
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis
The Naval Academy has a variety of sites of interest. The salvaged foremast of the USS MAINE is in place along the Severn River wall. Guns taken from both the Spanish cruisers VIZCAYA and the MARIA TERESA after the Battle of Santiago are on display on the grounds of the college. The Academy also has a museum and a visitors' center showing the history of the institution. These facilities contain exhibits on the many famous naval personnel and weapons used in the Spanish American War.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston
The Charlestown Navy Yard was an early shipbuilding center. By the time of the Spanish American War, it had greatly diminished in activity, and was no longer used for shipbuilding. After years of virtual disuse as the navy dwindled in size, it came back to life as a manufacturing and repair center for the new steel navy of the 1890's. The Yard's ropewalk was still used and had supplied the rope for the USS DOLPHIN of the famous ABCD fleet in 1884. With the outbreak of the Spanish American War, the yard again came to life, with its 1,200 to 1,400 workers repairing fifty vessels for use by the U.S. Navy. The site is now a large museum showing all phases of shipbuilding and repair completed in the yard during its 174 year history. There are over fifty historic structures at this site, which is also home to the venerable USS CONSTITUTION, the USS CASSIN YOUNG and the NANTUCKET Lightship.
NEW JERSEY
Fort Mott
Fort Mott, in Fort Mott State Park, Salem County, (near Pennsville, Exit 1 on the New Jersey Turnpike) was used in the defenses during the Spanish American War, with the present fortifications having been built in 1896. Mines were apparently strung across the river from the fort to aid in the nation's defense. Visitors can tour the fort, learning about its history through interpretive signage. For more information about the site, call (609) 935- 3218 or visit its website at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/forestry/parks/fortmot.htm
NEW MEXICO
The Las Vegas City Museum
The Museum.located at 725 Grand Avenue, Las Vegas, New Mexico 87701 (Phone: 505 425-8726) has an exhibit on the Rough Riders who, for years, held their reunions at Las Vegas. The exhibit has uniforms, buttons, bullets, photos, etc. Visit the museum website at http://www.moravalley.com/lv-mus/index.htm
NEW YORK
Palmyra - This is the hometown of William Sampson. In the village park is a gun removed from the Spanish vessel, Oquendo, destroyed at the naval Battle of Santiago.
Sagamore Hill - Oyster Bay
Sagamore Hill was the where Theodore Roosevelt called home from 1889 until his death . This was the place where his family dwelled and where Roosevelt truly considered to be his home even while serving as the assistant secretary of the Navy, and as Colonel of the "Rough Riders". It was at this home where he was notified that he had been nominated for governor of New York in 1898, vice-present in 1900, and president in 1904. http://www.liglobal.com/t_i/saghillhttp://www.nps.gov/sahi/
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, New York City
The reconstructed birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt is a National
Park site that can be visited. http://www.nps.gov/thrb/
NORTH CAROLINA
Bogue Banks, NC - Fort Macon, a large, five-sided brick fort built
between 1829 and 1834 was regarrisoned during the Spanish American War.
For information on the fort, see http://www.nccoast.com/tourism/attractions/fortmacon/fortmacon.htm
and http://www.clis.com/friends/default.htm.
For info. on the fort during the Spanish American War, click
here!
OHIO
Birthplace of William McKinley, 40 N. Main Street, Nile (330) 652-1704
William McKinley, President of the United States during the Spanish American War was born in Niles in 1843. Now the site is occupied by a monumental museum which contains artifacts from McKinley's presidency. http://www.mckinley.lib.oh.us/muse.htm
PENNSYLVANIA
Grave of Captain Gridley, Erie
Captain Charles V. Gridley, the commander of the Cruiser OLYMPIA at the Battle of Manila Bay, is buried in Lakeside Cemetery. Gridley, already in poor health prior to the battle, was hastened to his death by the effects of the battle. He died in Japan, on his way home to the United States. Gridley was immortalized in Dewey's famous statement "You may fire when ready, Gridley" at Manila Bay.
USFS OLYMPIA, Penns Landing, Philadelphia (215) 925-5439
The USFS OLYMPIA, Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay can be visited at Penns Landing. The vessel is the sole survivor of the battlefleets of the Spanish American War era, and only one of three warships from the period to still exist worldwide! The visitor can wander through three of the vessel's decks, and get a feel for what life was like on board a warship of the period. http://www.libertynet.org:80/~seaport/
RHODE ISLAND
Naval War College, 686 Cushing Road, Newport (401) 841-4052
The Naval War College, still a new innovation at the time of the Spanish American War, was originally run by Commodore Stephen Luce and then by Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan. This was the center of the new ideas concerning the growth of the U.S. Navy, and its need to become an ocean-going, deep water navy. It was here where Mahan first delivered his lectures on seapower which were later published as the famous work "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783." The original Founders Hall still stands, and serves as the museum. The museum has exhibits on the evolution of the modern navy, and the growth of the college. http://users.ids.net/nwc/museum.htm
SOUTH CAROLINA
The Battery, Charleston
The Battery, a park along Charleston's historic waterfront, has two items of interest. First, the park has one of the capstans from USS MAINE. Secondly, the park has a 1.5 inch rapid-fire gun which was apparently taken from a captured Spanish naval vessel during the war.
Battery Huger, Fort Sumter, Charleston
Within the walls of old Fort Sumter, a famous site from the American Civil War, is the immense Battery Huger. Though completed immediately after the Spanish American War, she shows the state of the art of coastal defense during the War. Sitting in the parade ground of the fort, and spanning its entire length, Battery Huger is a huge concrete gun emplacement which held two 12 inch breechloading rifles which were to help defend the Charleston Harbor entrance. The guns themselves have been removed. Today, part of the gun emplacement houses the site's museum.
Battery Jasper, Fort Moultrie, Charleston
Located just outside of Fort Moutrie, Battery Jasper is a large concrete gun emplacement which housed four ten Inch disappearing guns. These guns could fire a 570 pound shell up to 8 miles. Visitors can wander through the structure which contains magazines, ammunition hoists,v battery commander viewing area, etc. Eventually, the battery will be restored, though the guns will probably not be re-installed.
Fort Moultrie, Charleston
Contained within the walls of this historic fort is a series of exhibits showing the evolution of seacoast fortification ordnance. One of the exhibits shows the ordnance that is typical of the Spanish American War era, including 4.7 inch rifles, 15 inch rifles and older 15 inch Rodman guns in emplacements typical for each gun.
VIRGINIA
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington
Arlington National Cemetery has a variety of sites of interest to the Spanish American War historian. One of the most famous sites in the Cemetery is the USS MAINE plot. This area holds the graves of 62 known and 167 unknown crewmen lost in the explosion of the USS MAINE. The site is marked with the mainmast of the USS MAINE, which was salvaged and brought to the cemetery. http://www.bolling.af.mil/anc/history.htmhttp://photo2.si.edu/memorial.html
Elsewhere within the cemetery is a monument to all of the soldiers and sailors who died in the Spanish American War. Another monument is dedicated to the Spanish American War nurses. A third monument dedicated to the Theodore Roosevelt's "Rough Riders." (this monument readsAt Arlington National Cemetery there is a Rough Riders Monument. It reads: "ROUGH RIDERS'/ IN MEMORY OF/ THE DECEASED MEMBERS/ OF THE 1st U.S./ VOLUNTEER CAVALRY/SPANISH AMERICAN WAR/ERECTED BY THE MEMBERS AND/FRIENDS OF THE REGIMENT/1906" http://www.bolling.af.mil/anc/history.htm
The cemetery also holds the remains of many Spanish American War veterans and heros, including General John J. Pershing, naval hero Richmond Hobson, Admiral William Sampson (overall naval commander at the Battle of Santiago), Bradley Fiske (Spanish American War naval officer and inventor) and the first colonel of the "Rough Riders," Leonard Wood. http://www.bolling.af.mil/anc/history.htm
Norfolk, VA - the Hampton Roads Naval Museum has a permanent exhibit
on the activities of the Flying Squadron during the Spanish American War.
For more information, see http://naval-station.norfolk.va.us/hrnm2.html
WASHINGTON D.C.
Grave of Admiral Dewey - National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW (202-537-6200)
The grave of Admiral George Dewey, the commander of the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron which defeated the Spanish Pacific naval forces at the Battle of Manila Bay is buried in the Cathedral's Bethlehem Chapel. The Chapel was completed in 1912, and is the site of daily services. http://www.cathedral.org
Leutze Park - Washington Navy Yard, 901 M Street
Leutze Park contains naval ordnance from many time periods, including pieces captured from Spain during the Spanish American War. http://www.history.navy.mil/visit/visit6.htm
Navy History Museum - Washington Navy Yard, 901 M Street SE
This museum, which presents an overview of the history of the U.S. Navy, contains exhibits on the growth of the new steel navy and the U.S. Navy's actions during the Spanish American War. The museum itself is located within the former breech mechanism shop of the Naval Gun Factory, which was built between 1887 and 1899, corresponding to rise of the new steel navy. The museum contains about 48,000 square of display area, housing approximately 5,000 artifacts. http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org8-2.htm
"The Hiker" Monument
This monument depicts a Spanish American War soldier walking http://photo2.si.edu/memorial.html
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