The 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
served in Cuba from June to August,
fighting in the battle of El Caney on July 1, 1898 Initially the
regiment consisted of 47 officers and 896 enlisted men. The regiment was
in the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division of the 5th Army
Corps.
The front of the medal shows a shield within the corps insignia of the Fifth Army Corps of which the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a part. Behind the corps insignia are two crossed rifles. The text reads: 2ND MASS, INF. USV / CUBA / 1898. The back of the medal has no ornamentation. The medals hangs from a pin bar, the front surface of which has a place for the soldier's name to be engraved, though no name is engraved on this example.
The medal was apparently not issued by the federal government nor by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was either produced privately for the soldiers of the regiment, produced commercially for sale to anyone commemorating the service or return of the regiment, or produced for a reunion. There is no maker's mark nor engraver's mark indicating who produced the medal.
If any of our readers has more information on the medal - who produced it, when it was issued or for what reason - please contact us to let us know!
