The following is a brief history of the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry. The unit did not see service outside of the continental U.S.
Unit History:
The unit was formed from volunteers from Arizona, Oklahoma, Indian Territory and New Mexico, and was therefore called the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry. The individual companies of the regiment were formed and mustered into the federal service between July 4 and July 23, 1898 at the following locations:
Company A - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Company B -Las Vegas, New Mexico
Company C - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Company D - Las Cruces, New Mexico
Additional Companies:\
Phoenix, Arizona,Once the individual companies were formed, they were consolidated at
the Whipple Barracks in Arizona and Fort Reno in Oklahoma. The 1st
Territorial Volunteer Infantry was still located at these places when
the armistice was agreed to between the United States and Spain on
August 12, 1898 ending the war's fighting. On September 23 and 24, the
two portions of the regiment were ordered to Camp Hamilton at Lexington,
Kentucky, arriving on September 25 and 28th respectively. At Camp
Hamilton the regiment was assigned to the Third Brigade, Third Division
of the First Army Corps.
It seems that the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry had a strong
impact on the various regiments encamped at Camp Hamilton. On the night
of their arrival, the men of the regiment went visiting to the other
regiments in the camp. The other regiments took up the practice
themselves and their men also began visiting with the other regiments,
creating a strong feeling of comradeship grew among many other
regiments, including the 160th Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry and the 12th New York Volunteer Infantry. One
evening the some of the Native American members of the 1st Territorial
Volunteer Infantry entertained the men of the 12th
New York with a "war dance." The regiment also had a number
of excellent boxers who put on exhibitions of boxing and bag punching,
inviting the other regiments to put forth their own boxers to take part.
The regiment also had a number of excellent riders, and Sgt. Beard of
the 1st Territorial invited people with wild horses to bring them in and
have the regiment's riders "tame them." Unfortunately, the comradeship
of the regiments took a severe hit when, on October 9th, Private Nygren
of the 12th New York Volunteer Infantry
was shot and killed by a Private Kitchen of the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer
Infantry while the latter was on duty as a Provost Guard. It was later
determined that the incident was in the line of duty, but some men of
the 12th New York began a plot to avenge
what they considered a wrong, and on the night of the 10th attempted to
carry out their plan against Private Kitchen. Gen. Wiley, hearing
of the incident, sounded “To Arms” and the entire 160th
Indiana and a battalion of the 3rd Kentucky were ordered out with
ten rounds of ammunition per man and marched five miles to
Lexington. There they were ordered to patrol the streets and
arrest every soldier regardless of rank or pass. It was long after
midnight when they returned nearly 400 prisoners to camp. The incident
generated ill will between the men of the 12th
New York and the men of the 160th
Indiana who were only doing their duty. It had been a bloody
night in Lexington. In addition to the death of Pvt. Nygren, the Provost
Guards of the 160th tasked to maintain
order reportedly had two other incidents – the killing of Sgt. Richard
Green of the 7th U.S. Volunteer Infantry (the “7th Immunes”), Co. A by
Cpl. Edwards of the same company. Five other men were wounded that
evening while the 160th Indiana and the
3rd Kentucky attempted to restore order.
Also in October, nearly all of the men of the 1st Territorial had the opportunity to go to the see a large circus, which was a rare experience for men from the sparsely populated portions of the country. Around this same time the relatives of the Company M's Sgt. Fred W. Hunter received notifications that he had died in the hospital. His relatives contacted the regiment to ask for more details, only to learn that he had not died but was convalescing after an illness. Second Division of the First Army Corps.
As the temperature began to get colder, the shortage of warm underwear and heavy overcoats became an issue. The men brought this attention to Lt. Col. Mitchell who commanded the regiment in the absence of Col. McCord. McCord assured the men that requisitions would be made to alleviate this problem.
The number of Native Americans in the regiment is notable. Among the
Native Americans in the regiment was Sgt. Palmer, a full-blooded member
of the Osage Nation who was described as being "a most pleasant
gentleman." Another was Private Mexwalter. Unfortunately Mexwalter was
in downtown Lexington and something occurred and a fight broke out. The
townsmen claimed he was drunk. The result, however, was that Mexwalter
was pelted with bottles, and was gravely injured. It is not known if he
survived.
The Spanish American War officially ended on December 10, 1898 with
the signing of the Treaty of Paris. At
this time the regiment was still at Albany, Georgia, where it would
remain until the regiment was mustered out between February 11 and 15,
1899. At the time of mustering out, the regiment consisted of 46
officers and 1,118 3nlisted men.
"The Circus," The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky).
October 13, 1898, 5.
Clerk of Joint Committee on Printing, The Abridgement of Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899). Vol. 3, p 494.
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) 627-628.
First Territorial," The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky). October 14, 1898, 5.
First Territorials," The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky). October 14, 1898, 5.
"Old Time War Dance," The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky). October 4, 1898, 5.
"Some Good Boxers," The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky). October 16, 1898, 7.
Statistical Exhibit of Strength of Volunteer Forces Called into Service During the War with Spain; with Losses from All Causes. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899).
"Was Roughly Handled," The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky). November 12, 1898, 5.
Wilkinson, Todd, Springfield-Greene County (Mo.) Library Local History & Genealogy Department