Today In Wyoming's History: July 31: 1899 The Wyoming Battalion, having been in the Philippines for exactly one year, embarked on the Grant at Manila and started their journey home. Attribution: On This D
Saturday, July 31, 1999
Thursday, July 29, 1999
Saturday, July 29, 1899. The results of the Hague Convention.
Final Act of the International Peace Conference; July 29, 1899
The International Peace Conference, convoked in the best interests of humanity by His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, assembled, on the invitation of the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, in the Royal House in the Wood at The Hague on the 18th May, 1899.
The Powers enumerated in the following list took part in the Conference, to which they appointed the Delegates named below:
In a series of meetings, between the 18th May and the 29th July, 1899, in which the constant desire of the Delegates above mentioned has been to realize, in the fullest manner possible, the generous views of the August Initiator of the Conference and the intentions of their Governments, the Conference has agreed, for submission for signature by the Plenipotentiaries, on the text of the Conventions and Declarations enumerated below and annexed to the present Act:
I. Convention for the peaceful adjustment of international differences.
II. Convention regarding the laws and customs of war by land.
III. Convention for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva Convention of the 22d August, 1864.
IV. Three Declarations:
1. To prohibit the launching of projectiles and explosives from balloons or by other similar new methods.
2. To prohibit the use of projectiles the only object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases.
3. To prohibit the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope, of which the envelope does not entirely cover the core, or is pierced with incisions.
These Conventions and Declarations shall form so many separate Acts. These Acts shall be dated this day, and may be signed up to the 31st December, 1899, by the Plenipotentiaries of the Powers represented at the International Peace Conference at The Hague.
Guided by the same sentiments, the Conference has adopted unanimously the following Resolution:
" The Conference is of opinion that the restriction of military charges, which are at present a heavy burden on the world, is extremely desirable for the increase of the material and moral welfare of mankind."
It has, besides, formulated the following wishes:
1. The Conference, taking into consideration the preliminary step taken by the Swiss Federal Government for the revision of the Geneva Convention, expresses the wish that steps may be shortly taken for the assembly of a Special Conference having for its object the revision of that convention.
This wish was voted unanimously.
2. The Conference expresses the wish that the questions of the rights and duties of neutrals may be inserted in the programme of a Conference in the near future.
3. The Conference expresses the wish that the questions with regard to rifles and naval guns, as considered by it, may be studied by the Governments with the object of coming to an agreement respecting the employment of new types and calibers.
4. The Conference expresses the wish that the Governments, taking into consideration the proposals made at the Conference, may examine the possibility of an agreement as to the limitation of armed forces by land and sea, and of war budgets.
5. The Conference expresses the wish that the proposal, which contemplates the declaration of the inviolability of private property in naval warfare, may be referred to a subsequent Conference for consideration.
6. The Conference expresses the wish that the proposal to settle the question of the bombardment of posts, towns, and villages by a naval force may be referred to a subsequent Conference for consideration.
The last five wishes were voted unanimously, saving some abstentions.
In faith of which, the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Act, and have affixed their seals thereto.
Done at The Hague, 29th July, 1899, in one copy only, which shall be deposited in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and of which copies, duly certified, shall be delivered to all the Powers represented at the Conference.
Last edition:
Wednesday, July 26, 1899. Newsboy Leader Quits.
Monday, July 26, 1999
Sunday, July 25, 1999
Tuesday, July 25, 1899. The Great Meet of the Newboys.
I haven't been covering it, but the summer of 1899 featured the Newsboy Strike in New York City, which was directed at the Hearst newspapers.
July 25, 1899: “Great Meet of Newsboys”
It was not the only newsboy strike in US history, but it is remarkable as a youth lead labor strike.
Last edition:
Friday, July 21, 1899. Ernest Hemingway born.
Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Friday, July 21, 1899. Ernest Hemingway born.
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois to Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a physician, and Grace Hall Hemingway, a musician.
Last edition:
Thursday, July 6, 1899 Ordered home.
Tuesday, July 6, 1999
Thursday, July 6, 1899 Ordered home.
Today In Wyoming's History: July 6: 1899 The Wyoming Battalion received its orders in the Philippines to return to the U.S. Attribution: On This Day.
Kansas state infantry, February 1899.
They were undoubtedly mighty glad to receive them as well.
The Philippine Insurrection is all but forgotten by 99% of Americans. Those who do remember it have some particular connection with it or are students of history.
They Wyoming Battalion was a battalion of infantry augmented by a battery of artillery. The infantry was drawn from volunteers from Buffalo, Douglas, Sheridan and Evanston, commanded by Maj. Frank M. Foote of Evanston. The artillery came from Cheyenne. They had volunteered for action in Cuba, not the Philippines, but the U.S. Army was so small, there was no way to exploit the Navy's defeat of the Spanish Navy in the Far East other than through using volunteer troops who had not been committed to Cuba. During their service the unit suffered high causalities, losing 3 men in combat, 12 died of disease, and 75 men became unfit for service due to wounds, illnesses and injuries. As with the remainder of the U.S. Army during the Spanish American War, many more soldiers from Wyoming died of disease and illness caused by poor sanitation and diet and inadequate medical care, and from numerous tropical diseases, than were ever felled by a foe’s bullet.
Coming before the Dick Act, these units fit into an odd category between the Regular Army, which they were not part of, and existing state militia units, which they were also not part of. State raised, they are regarded as National Guard units today, which makes sense in that their history more closely aligns with the National Guard, and the Guard found itself doing recruiting to fill out its ranks for the Punitive Expedition, World War One, and even in the lead up to World War Two.
The Philippine Insurrection, indeed the US presence in the Philippines in general, was controversial from the onset. A strong anti-colonial impulse in the US, natural for a nation which had once been a foreign colony, had operated against going to war with Spain in the first place, as members of Congress feared that Cuba would be annexed to the US as a colony. Preventing that from occurring had been a condition of the declaration of war, but other Spanish possessions had been omitted as they were completely out of mind. To naval strategists, including the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, striking at Spanish possession is the Pacific and Far East made perfect sense, but to most Americans it simply wasn't something that was likely to occur. As a result of this, nothing had addressed Spain's Far Eastern territories.
Given this, the war was not universally popular from the start. The use of state troops contributed to that, as the troops had not enlisted for service in a colonial enterprise. To address some of this, the Army, now freed of combat in Cuba, began to replace state units with regular troops. This did not address all the problems, however, particularly as the Army began to increasingly resort to harsh measures, giving rise to atrocities. The war was officially declared over on July 4, 1902, although in reality it continued on at least until 1915.
A good argument can be made that the Spanish American War as the US's first modern war. It came about rapidly and haphazardly, like many wars following it did. The long range implications of the war were not foreseen, including that the war would give rise to a long, unexpected war following it. The initial war was popular, but as the implications of it lingered on, the war succeeding it was not.
Last edition:
Thursday, July 1, 1999
Saturday, July 1, 1899. "Birth" of Indiana Jones.
According to George Lucas, this is the birthdate for his fictional character, Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr.
Last edition:
Friday, June 30, 1899. Safe passage for Spanish troops at Baler.
Labels: 1890s, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1900s, Army, Philippine Insurrection, Philippines, Prisoners of War, Spanish American War, Spanish Army, U.S. Navy
Wednesday, June 30, 1999
Friday, June 30, 1899. Safe passage for Spanish troops at Baler.
In a somewhat bizarre episode of the Spanish American War/Philippine Insurrection, on this day in 1899, the Spanish soldiers at Baler, who had held out for a year in a fortified church, were recognized as friend of the Filipino people and granted safe conduct.
A film about this event was earlier reviewed by us here:
1898: Our Last Men In the Philippines
Baler had been under siege from June 26, 1898, until June 2, 1899, which exceeded the period of time during which Spain was at war with the United States. The troops under siege had not realized that Spain had departed, and when informed, they refused to believe it and kept fighting. Ultimately, the besieging Filipinos became concerned for the garrison and began to supply it with food, beverages and cigarettes. An American expedition to relieve the garrison was launched and failed.
Finally, on June 2, 1899, the garrison surrendered.
The surviving Spanish troops upon their return to Spain.
The Spanish troops were lauded by Aguinaldo, but two Franciscan Priests who had been at the church, Fr. Félix Minaya and Fr. Juan López, plus a captured Yorktown seaman, George Arthur Venville, were kept as prisoners. The priests were freed when the US occupied the town on June 3, 1900 but Venville was executed by Filipino tribesmen.
Last edition
Monday, June 26, 1899. Birth of Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia.
Labels: 1890s, 1899, 1910s, 1918, Christianity, Communism, Monarchy, Orthodox, Personalities, Protestant, religion, Russia, Russian Civil War, Russian Revolution
Saturday, June 26, 1999
Monday, June 26, 1899. Birth of Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia.
Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (Maria Nikolaevna Romanova) born. She was the third child of Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna and was murdered with the rest of her family on July 17, 1918. She was 19 years old at the time. She was canonized as a Passion Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church as a result.
Of some interest, her parents were second cousins, and her mother, who was a Lutheran German, initially did not want to marry her father due to religious reasons. Her mother was ultimately persuaded to change her mind partially due to it being represented that she did not have to renounce Lutheranism in order to convert to Orthodoxy, although she ultimately became quite devout.
Last prior edition:
Sunday, June 25, 1899. The Great Wall of China Hoax.
Friday, June 25, 1999
Sunday, June 25, 1899. The Great Wall of China Hoax.
Four reporters in Denver concocted a tale about American businesses that had a contract to demolish the Great Wall of China to construct a road. The reporters were Al Stevens, Jack Tournay, John Lewis, and Hal Wilshire, of the Post, the Republican, the Times, and the Rocky Mountain News. The plot was hatched due to a chance meeting while hoping to catch a legitimate news story.
The fable has proven to have been legs, and has occasionally been revived as a supposedly true story.
Last prior edition:
Wednesday, June 21, 1899. Treaty No. 8.
Monday, June 21, 1999
Wednesday, June 21, 1899. Treaty No. 8.
The Crown and various First Nations of the Lesser Slave Lake area signed a treaty regarding 320,000 sq miles of territory in Western Canada.
Last prior edition
Saturday, June 17, 1899. It's flooding down in Texas*
Thursday, June 17, 1999
Saturday, June 17, 1899. It's flooding down in Texas*
Terrible floods occured in Texas after 8.9 inches of rain fell over 66,000 square miles. The Brazos flooded, and 284 people lost their lives.
Footnotes:
The title today is taken from Texan Stevie Ray Vaughn's blues song of that name.
Last prior edition:
Tuesday, June 13, 1899. The Battle of Zapote River
Labels: 1890s, 1899, 1920s, 1922, Army, Douglas MacArthur, Ft. D.A. Russell, Personalities, Philippine Insurrection, Philippines, U.S. Navy, Wyoming
Sunday, June 13, 1999
Tuesday, June 13, 1899. The Battle of Zapote River
The hard fought Battle of Zapote River occured this day seeing the U.S. Army prevail against much larger numbers from the First Philippine Republic, due to superior arms and training, and Naval support.
The loss in the second-biggest engagement of the Philippine Insurrection caused the Philippine forces to resort to guerilla war thereafter.
Cpt. William H. Sage won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in the battle.
With 9 men volunteered to hold an advanced position and held it against a terrific fire of the enemy estimated at 1,000 strong. Taking a rifle from a wounded man, and cartridges from the belts of others, Capt. Sage himself killed 5 of the enemy.
Sage would go on to serve in the Border War in Mexico and rose to the rank of major general during World War One. After the war, he commanded Ft. D. A. Russell in Wyoming, where he became fatally ill. He died in 1922 at age 63, just one month away from retirement.
Douglas MacArthur entered the U.S. Military Academy.
Last prior edition:
Friday, June 11, 1899. Pope Leo XIII concecrates the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Friday, June 11, 1999
Friday, June 11, 1899. Pope Leo XIII concecrates the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart.
Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to Thy Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.
Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: ‘Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever.
Last prior edition:
Thursday, June 10, 1909. The Lincoln penny introduced.
Thursday, June 3, 1999
Saturday, June 3, 1899. Death of Strauss.
Johann Baptist Strauss II, popular Austrian composer, died at age 73.
Pel & Ploma commenced publication.
I know nothing about it whatsoever, but the illustration is really cool.
You would have thought the Wild Bunch heist north of Rock River would have been front page news, but nope.
Renegade Indians in Jackson Hole. . . .
Last prior edition:
Friday, June 2, 1899. The Wild Bunch Robs the Overland Flyer at Wilcox and the Philippine Republic declares war on the United States.
Wednesday, June 2, 1999
Friday, June 2, 1899. The Wild Bunch Robs the Overland Flyer at Wilcox and the Philippine Republic declares war on the United States.
Today In Wyoming's History: June 2: 1899 The Wild Bunch robbed the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 near Wilcox, taking between $30,000 and $60,000. This robbery is famous in part for the large amount taken, but also for the destruction of a rail car by explosives which were used to open a safe. This is depicted in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Attribution: On This Day.
The Overland Flyer in 1906.
Longtime Wyoming residents may wonder where on earth Wilcox is. That's because, it isn't. It's a named spot on the railroad just north of Rock River. If this same crime occured today, people would report it as having occured north of Rock River. It occured very near the junction with the Fetterman Road.
I've driven past this spot thousands of time and never realized where it was. This was a bold action, as Rock Rover was more substantial than it now is (the explosion clearly could have been heard from there) and Medicine Bow not all that far to the north.
The First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States, although clearly the war, which the US termed an insurrection, had been going on for some time.
To recognize it as a war would have required a declaration of war, which in turn would have recognized the sovereignty of the Philippine Republic, which would have made a mockery of the US position on the islands.
Almost always, when people accuse the US of being involved in "colonial wars", they're full of it. This, however, was a colonial war.
Last prior edition:
Tuesday, June 1, 1999
Thursday, June 1, 1899. White Horse Pass.
White Horse Pass.
Last prior edition:
Wednesday, May 31, 1899. The Harriman Alaska Expediction departs.
Monday, May 31, 1999
Wednesday, May 31, 1899. The Harriman Alaska Expediction departs.
The scientific Harriman Alaska Expedition left Seattle for the coast of Alaska.
Last prior edition:
May 30, 1899. Decoration Day.
Sunday, May 30, 1999
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Tuesday, May 18, 1999
Thursday, May 18, 1899. Republic of Zamboanga established
The Republic of Republic of Zamboanga was established in the Philippines. It quickly devolved into being an American protectorate. General Vicente Álvarez, who lead its establishment, fell due to intrigue with the American forces followed by the fall of the remaining Spanish fort.
On the same day, the US took control of Jolo.
Last prior edition:
Wednesday, May 10, 1899. Song and Dance.
1890s, 1899, Dancing, Education, Movies, Music, Nebraska (Omaha), Omaha Nebraska, Personalities, Texas
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