This is a colorized photograph of my 1st cousin (three generations removed), 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱. He was an officer in the United States Army who served during the 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵-𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗿. The conflict originated while Cuba was in a war for independence from Spain. After violence between Cuban rebels and pro-Spanish loyalists escalated on January 12, 1898, the United States sent the battleship USS Maine from Key West, Florida to protect American interests in the region. At 10:00AM on the morning of January 25, the ship arrived in Havana’s harbor where it remained at anchor for the next three weeks.
Then at 9:40PM on the night of February 15, the USS Maine suddenly exploded in a massive blast while most of the crew was asleep or relaxing in their quarters. The ship was obliterated and 266 of the 354 crew members were killed instantly. Within minutes, the wreckage sank to the bottom of the harbor. The cause of the disaster was never determined but that didn’t stop the “yellow press” from speculating that a torpedo or mine destroyed the ship. The American public was quick to blame Spain and “𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯!” became a popular rallying cry.
On March 21, the U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry concluded that a naval mine had caused the explosion although later investigations suggested that it was likely caused by an accidental fire in the coal storage bunker that detonated five tons of gunpowder in the ammunition storage room. However, much of Congress and the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war.
Amid the escalating crisis, Congress passed a joint resolution recognizing the independence of Cuba and delivered an ultimatum demanding that Spain withdraw, which was signed by President William McKinley on April 20. The next day, Spain responded by severing all diplomatic relations with the United States. So President McKinley implemented a naval blockade of Cuba on April 22 and on the following day issued Proclamation 412 calling for 125,000 volunteers from every state of the union to serve in the “War with Spain”. Spain declared war on the United States on April 24 and the United States reacted the next day by declaring that a state of war had existed since April 21, 1898.
Minnesota answered the President’s call for volunteers by mobilizing its troops on April 29. With the large numbers of young men wanting to serve their country, Minnesota had no problem with filling its quota of soldiers by May 7. President McKinley issued Proclamation 415 on May 25 with a second call for volunteers. The Fifteenth Minnesota Infantry was raised and the state expected so many volunteers that it created a temporary camp at the state fairgrounds near St. Paul. This regiment was organized on July 2 and prospective soldiers began arriving at Camp Ramsey on July 5. By July 18, 1,326 men had enlisted.
William Riley Maynard was 19 years old when he enlisted in the Fifteenth Minnesota Infantry on July 12, according to records in his file that are available in the National Archives. The regiment was one of the largest groups ever assembled in Minnesota. At Camp Ramsey, soldiers participated in training and drills. William is listed as a corporal in the Company “C” muster roll published in the Saint Paul Globe on July 14, 1898. The newspaper article states: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘵𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘰. 𝘈 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 … 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 “𝘊” 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨” of July 14 with Joseph G. Morrison of Litchfield as Captain. Company “C” came from Meeker County.
The Fifteenth Minnesota Infantry was mustered into service under the command of Colonel John Chester Shandrew on July 18 but by that time, Spain had already surrendered Cuba to the United States after the annihilation of the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Santiago. The United States and Spain began negotiating a cease-fire on July 30 and the Fifteenth never saw active service. The armistice was signed on August 12. Colonel Shandrew resigned the same day after becoming extremely ill and Lieutenant Colonel Harry Alexander Leonhauser was promoted to the command of the regiment.
Colonel Leonhauser moved the regiment to Fort Snelling on August 23 due to an outbreak of typhoid fever. Four-hundred soldiers in the Fifteenth Minnesota Infantry were hospitalized during the three-month-long epidemic and eighteen of them died. The regiment departed Camp Snelling on September 15 and arrived in Pennsylvania at Camp Meade on September 18 to complete basic training. On November 15, the Fifteenth was moved to Camp Mackenzie near Augusta, Georgia where William and his regiment were encamped until March 27, 1899.
It was while William was stationed at Camp Mackenzie that he mailed a letter to his parents and enclosed this photograph. The back of which is inscribed with the words: “𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘙. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘊 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘵𝘢, 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 6, 1899, 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩-𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘳.”
On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, thus officially ending the Spanish-American War. Cuba was liberated from Spanish rule and the United States took control of Guantánamo Bay. Under the terms of the peace treaty, Spain ceded sovereignty over Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Phillippines to the United States. In the end, Spain lost the last of its colonies in the Americas. The United States ratified the peace treaty on February 6, 1899.
The Fifteenth Minnesota Infantry was mustered out at Camp Mackenzie on March 27. Four days earlier, the “enlisted men of the 15th regiment presented Colonel Leonhauser with a beautiful sabre” as a farewell gift, according to a newspaper article in the March 27 edition of the Star Tribune. He was cheered by the entire regiment, and the band played ‘Auld Lang Syne’ after a presentation speech was made by the sergeant of Company “C”. The richly decorated sword was adorned with 22-karat gold mountings, American eagle made of pure silver on the pommel, thin steel scabbard with gold decorations, and a gold collar bearing Minnesota’s coat of arms. The blade was engraved with the words: “Presented to Col. Harry Leonhauser by the enlisted men of the 15th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry”. The cost of the gift was $200 (equivalent to $6,300 in today’s currency).
The Spanish-American War was the first overseas conflict fought by the United States and involved campaigns in both Cuba and the Phillippines. The lopsided victory marked a turning point in American history as the United States was emerging as a world superpower. Although the war only lasted 113 days, the American victory unified the country and patriotism was at an all-time high. In a letter to Theodore Roosevelt, Secretary of State John Hay famously wrote that the Spanish-American conflict was a “𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳”. William never saw combat during his term of service and was discharged in April of 1899.
