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The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Pershing and His Pig’s Blood Bullets

Pershing and His Pig’s Blood Bullets

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It might be difficult today to imagine the United States as a true colonial power, but in the years following the 1898 Spanish-American War, the U.S. became a major global power. The idea of American Imperialism crept into the public consciousness for the first time. During the war, the United States captured several key Spanish possessions, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.  The War in the Philippines At first, it looked as if the U.S. was fighting to grant the...

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The Spanish–American War – The Battle of San Juan Hill

The Spanish–American War – The Battle of San Juan Hill

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When we think of the Spanish-American War's Battle of San Juan Hill, most of us likely think of future president Theodore Roosevelt and his band of Rough Riders gallantly charging a well-defended Spanish fortification. While that memory of the battle is certainly true, it doesn't give Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, or the other 8,000 U.S. troops there – including Black troops – the credit they so richly deserve.  San Juan Hill: Where Courage and Unity Led to Victory The Spanish-American War...

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The Battle of Manila Bay

The Battle of Manila Bay

The first major battle "The Battle of Manila Bay" of the Spanish-American War was also one of the U.S. Navy's most resounding victories. Much has been written about how and why the Spanish-American War started, what the catalyst for the war was, and who's to blame for it all. Once Spain declared war on the United States and the U.S. Congress responded in kind, the U.S. Navy was ready for action. When the war broke out, the Spanish had a formidable squadron of ships stationed in the...

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Famous Navy Unit: USS Frank E. Evans

Famous Navy Unit: USS Frank E. Evans

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"Most Holy Spirit, who didst broodUpon the chaos, wild and rude,And bid its angry tumult cease,And give, for fierce confusion, peace;Oh, hear us when we cry to TheeFor those in peril on the sea…."     William Whiting (1825-1878) The circumstances of a warship's lineage and history, including its end of days, sometimes assume both heroic and dramatically calamitous features. Between 1943 and 1946, fifty-eight US Navy Destroyers of the Sumner class were built in eleven shipyards....

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LtGen Arthur MacArthur Jr., U.S. Army (1861-1909)

LtGen Arthur MacArthur Jr., U.S. Army (1861-1909)

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With no less than 620,000 deaths recorded over four years of intense fighting between Confederate and Union forces, the American Civil War remains the bloodiest conflict in American history. Playing host to battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg, the Civil War holds tales of unprecedented violence, ferocious bravery, and unparalleled heroism. Among these many tales is that of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr. whose bravery at the most critical moment inspired his...

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MajGen Frank Baldwin, U.S. Army (1861-1906)

MajGen Frank Baldwin, U.S. Army (1861-1906)

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Receiving the Medal of Honor for valor in combat puts one in the hallowed company of but a few thousand individuals to ever grace the earth. But by the time you earn two Medals of Honor, you are one of 19 persons to have ever done so. Perhaps it is because the Medal of Honor is quite often awarded posthumously but receiving two and living to talk about it is a rare feat in the world. Frank Baldwin would do just that in the 1800s and live to become a General by World War 1. His first would come...

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Did Your Cell Phone Pay for U.S. Wars?

Did Your Cell Phone Pay for U.S. Wars?

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Wars are expensive, and there was a time when the United States paid for them with money instead of going into debt. Back in those days, however, the American government collected revenue very differently. Those old-timey methods of paying the bills led to more than 100 years of telecommunications excise taxes, including cell phone taxes that some believed were still paying for America's 1898 war with Spain. Congress did originally pass an excise tax to pay for the Spanish-American War, but it...

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MajGen Joshua Chamberlain, U.S. Army (1861 – 1866) – His Lost Medal of Honor

MajGen Joshua Chamberlain, U.S. Army (1861 – 1866) – His Lost Medal of Honor

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The long-lost Medal of Honor belonging to the "Lion of Little Round Top" has been found. It awarded to then-Colonel (and later Maj. Gen.) Joshua Chamberlain, for his "distinguished gallantry" in leading the 20th Maine volunteers on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, came by mail to the Pejepscot Historical Society in Maine in July from a donor who wished to remain anonymous. The Location of Joshua Chamberlain's Original Medal of Honor Historians from the Smithsonian Institution, the...

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Facts on the Spanish-American War (1898)

Facts on the Spanish-American War (1898)

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On April 25, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain following the Battleship Maine's sinking in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As a result, Spain lost its control over the remains of its overseas empire - Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands. Background of the Spanish-American War Beginning in 1492, Spain was the first European nation to sail westward across the Atlantic...

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The Philippine-American War

The Philippine-American War

After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Treaty of Paris (1898) transferred Philippine sovereignty from Spain to the United States, ending centuries of Spanish control over the politics and economy of its longstanding former colony. Filipino leaders, however, did not recognize America's authority and had no intention of ceding their homeland to a new colonial power. The decision by U.S. policymakers to annex the Philippines was not without domestic controversy, either....

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MajGen Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corps (1898–1931) – Medal of Honor Recipient

MajGen Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corps (1898–1931) – Medal of Honor Recipient

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Smedley Butler may be the best-known double Medal of Honor recipient and one of the most popular military Generals in U.S. history. Butler served 33 years in the Marine Corps and had a role in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, the Philippine-American War in Manila, the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Banana Wars in the Caribbean, the Mexican Revolution, and World War I. Butler's first Medal of Honor was earned during the Mexican Revolution when the then-major fought block to block in the streets...

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Military Associations: Veterans of Foreign Wars

Military Associations: Veterans of Foreign Wars

There are many notable US veterans organizations, but one of the most notable is surely the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The VFW organization is over 100 years old, founded in 1913 in Denver, Colorado. Multiple veterans organizations founded in 1899 on returning to the country after the Spanish-American War consolidated to form the VFW. It currently counts its membership at over 1.15 million. The only way of obtaining membership in the VFW is by being an American citizen, served in the United...

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