The 9th New York Volunteer Infantry served its term of service within
the continental U.S.
Unit History:
The Ninth New York National Guard regiment volunteered and was selected to enter the federal service for Spanish American War. The regiment was accordingly named in General Orders, No. 8 of the general headquarters of the New York National Guard, dated April 27, 1898.The Ninth New York was ordered to depart Camp Townsend on May 24, and
embark on the steamer GLEN ISLAND bound for New York City. After a
parade through the city, the regiment embarked on a ferry to carry it to
Jersey City, New Jersey. Finally, in Jersey City, the regiment climbed
aboard the cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad bound for the former Civil
War battlefield of Chickamauga. It was there that a training camp was
being built – Camp George Thomas. On its arrival on May 26, the regiment
was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division of the Third Army
Corps, joining the 1st Arkansas Volunteer
Infantry, the 2nd Kentucky Volunteer
Infantry. The regiment was only in the camp a few days when
complaints began to be heard about meager rations and a lack of fresh
food, giving an indication of what could be expected in the future at
the camp.
The regiment spent its days at Camp Thomas in training, drills, target practice, guard duty and other staples of camp life. While in camp, the regiment was presented with two stands of regimental colors - one from the Sons of the Revolution of New York, and the other from the veterans of the former 9th New York Volunteer Infantry. Also, Companies C and L of the regiment were detailed to the nearby town of Lytle where they served as the provost guard in the town where a series of houses had been broken into. The companies were on this duty for about a week.
The Ninth New York struck up a strong relationship with the 2nd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry with
which it was brigaded. At one point, the band of the 2nd
Kentucky began playing "Yankee Doodle" and marched
through the 9th New York's camp accompanied by other men from the former
regiment. The New Yorkers cheered, throwing their hats in the air.
"Yankee Doodle" was followed by "Rally 'Round the Flag." In response,
the band of the 9th New York broke out in "Dixie" bringing cheers from
the Kentuckians, and followed it up with "My Old Kentucky Home." The
southerners broke out in rebel yells that drowned out the music. The
good will between the regiments continued during their stay at the camp.
As the spring turned into summer, the Ninth New York found itself
still at Camp Thomas. The camp had swelled to well over 50,000 troops.
Unfortunately the infrastructure was inadequate, as was the water
supply. Sanitation was sorely lacking. Men from all over the country
were brought together in an era when travel was somewhat unusual. As a
result men were exposed to stains of diseases and illnesses to which
they had little immunity. Sickness from the unsanitary conditions and
new illness strains spread rapidly through the camp as the men drilled
under the hot summer sun. Finally, with the 9th New York still in Camp
Thomas, on August 12, an armistice was reached between the United States
and Spain, ending the war’s fighting.
Within a week of the armistice, the men of the Ninth New York began to make it known, through letters to hometown newspapers, that they were ready to be mustered out. With the armistice, they no longer saw a reason for remaining in the service. The enlisted men found them in disagreement with their officers who were suggesting that the regiment could still serve a role in the occupation forces of Cuba or Puerto Rico. The enlisted men believed that this would serve the officers as they tried to further their military careers, but felt that such action did not serve the enlisted men who were eager to get on with their civilian lives. Besides...illness was beginning to take its toll.
Sadly, one of the most notable aspects of the history of the regiment is the horrible medical treatment received by its men, apparently at the hands of its own surgeons. The conditions witnessed by the soldiers spilled out to the public through newspaper accounts of the ensuing trials of various responsible individuals. Two lieutenants of the 9th New York "testified about the vile condition of the ground around the [hospital] tents. A filthy drain ran through the camp. Piles of refuse were alive with maggots and the place could not be kept clean." A man who volunteered to help nurse the soldiers stated that "While in the typhoid fever ward I saw men covered with flies with no one to help them. I remember a man from the Ninth New York in Ward C. He was covered with maggots." Maggots were a recurring theme in most accounts. Lt. G. J. Hardy of the 9th New York reported finding Pvt. Liebgold unconscious. He was lying nude and unwashed on a cot in the sun. His body was rolling from side to side and his eyes were glassy. Maggots were crawling on his body. It was a terrible and damnable piece of neglect." In another case, Pvt. Nunn of the 9th New York who was serving with the ambulance corps had passed away. His body was found in the hospital two days after death and after an autopsy had been performed. The body was, again, infested by maggots and no plans were made for interring the body. Some accounts were so bad the even the newspapers refused to print them.
There were specific charges against the regiment' surgeons. In one case Major Hubbard was charged with causing the death of one of the patients. Quartermaster Sgt. Frank of Company B had apparently been in an altercation, was knocked down. He fell on a railroad track and had an arm and leg nearly severed by the wheels of a railroad engine. He was taken to a nearby station house and was being attended by local and railroad physicians and Surgeons. Maj. Hubbard arrived on the scene and immediately began to verbally attack and insult the physicians without even taking the time to find out the condition of Sgt. Frank. Hubbard demanded that Frank be removed. He tried local hotels, but none would take him. Hubbard then insisted that Frank be taken back to Camp Thomas. The local surgeons attempted to warn that moving Frank would kill him. Hubbard disregarded their statements, and continued to rant about the lack of care the man was receiving...for an hour, and without providing Frank any aid himself. Hubbard had Frank put on a train for Camp Thomas. Sgt. Frank died enroute.
During its term of service, the regiment lost four officers and
thirty-nine enlisted men to disease, a high number for any regiment. By
comparison, the "Rough Riders" lost one
officer and nineteen men to disease. Additionally, two enlisted men were
killed in accidents and 27 men deserted.
A month later, on September 13, the Ninth New York began its trip back to New York via Cincinnati and Buffalo, and arriving at New York City on September 16. The regiment was quartered in the armory of the Ninth New York National Guard. After being given a thirty day furlough on September 20, the Ninth New York was mustered out of the federal service on November 15, 1898. At the time of mustering out, the regiment consisted of forty-four officers and 1,164 enlisted men.
The war officially ended on December 10, 1898 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
"Blue and the Gray," Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) June 24, 1898, 1.
Correspondence relating to the War with Spain And Conditions
Growing Out of the Same Including the Insurrection in the Philippine
Island and the China Relief Expedition. Vol. 1 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1902)
"Hospital of Horror," The Kansas City Star. September 9, 1898, p. 1.
"Inhumanity," The Cincinnati Post. (September 2, 1898), 9. 7.
"Mostly Lies," The Syracuse Journal (Syracuse, Kansas). September 9, 1898, p. 2.
New York in the Spanish American War, 1898, Revised Edition.
(Albany: J. B. Lyon Co., State Printer, 1902) Vol II.
"Ninth New York Notes," Chattanooga Daily Times (Chattanooga, Tennessee), May 29, 1898, p. 4.
"Provost Guard at Lytle," Chattanooga Daily Times
(Chattanooga, Tennessee), June 22, 1898, p 5.