9th Regiment, Infantry
New York Volunteers

Spanish American War

Camp Thomas - Chickamauga Park  Lytle, Georgia 

The 9th New York at Camp Thomas

Below are a few articles about the 9th New York during its stay at Camp Thomas, please click on link to view: 

July 24, 1898  August 10, 1898  August 24, 1898  September 1, 1898  September 14, 1898

Below is a very brief description of Camp Thomas during the Spanish American War :

In 1895, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was dedicated. The site of a major Civil War battle in September of 1863. Congress passed legislation, in 1896, allowing the Military Park to be used as a training grounds for the Army. The thinking behind this was to help West Point Cadets and other Military students with strategy of battles and battlefields. Instruction would also be available to State Militias to increase their readiness for warfare, if needed.

As war with Spain looked inevitable, in early 1898 the Chickamauga Battlefield Park came under consideration as a place of troop concentration and a training point. The reason were sound as Chickamauga Park offered good railroad links to many parts of the country including the Gulf Coast and the south Atlantic Coast. Beside the adequate railroads, the climate was warm and would help acclimate many of the Northern troops to Cuban weather conditions.

By April of 1898, Chickamauga Park was being prepared for troops of the Regular Army. Park officials and employee made arrangements for new storehouses for the Quartermaster and Commissary. Wells were drilled throughout the park and later pipes and hydrants were installed. On April 14, the first troop arrived at Chickamauga Park was the all black 25th Infantry on route from Montana to Florida. On April 21, Major General John R. Brooke arrived at camp and took command of the camp. He made his headquarters at Lytle Hill on April 25, that same day, war was declared on Spain. More and more regular army troops arrived during the month. The total strength of the regulars was around 7,300 men consisting of seven infantry divisions, six cavalry regiments and ten batteries of artillery. On April 23, the site was named Camp George H. Thomas in honor of the Civil War General who had fought on the very ground the men now camped on.

By May 14, all the regular army units had departed Camp Thomas. The following day, the volunteer units started arriving. There numbers would swell to at least 45,000 by the end of the month. The voluntary units came from many states including Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, New York, Montana, Indiana, West Virginia, and Ohio along with others.

Camp Thomas was generally warm and dry. The water supply was clean and plentiful, while the forested tracts provided protection from the hot summer sun. The largest complaint was the dusty soil that would get repeatedly trampled daily into even finer dust. Rules were drawn up to ensure the healthy environment of the camp. Water barrels should be covered when not being used, food should be fully and carefully cooked, garbage removed, tents and bedding aired out daily, and sinks filled in daily. As the summer went on, complaints of sickness at the camp rose sharply. The rise is sickness in the camp came from the troops leaving for Tampa or other sites. Many troops left in a hurry and left their camps in disarray. Many left the area covered with trash, kitchen receptacles and overflowing sinks full of garbage, refuse, and excrement. Animal corrals were left uncleaned. Sewage from some camp facilities drained into Chickamauga Creek. The presence of so much litter attracted millions of flies and evidently contributing to the spread of typhoid fever. In early July, an epidemic of typhoid fever struck the camp. About 500 cases of the disease were reported. Camp Thomas was not prepared to deal with the outbreak of disease and many soldiers were taken into private homes in the Chattanooga area for treatment. During this time 425 soldiers died at Camp Thomas, more than were killed in combat during the four months' war with Spain. Following the war an investigation determined that over 750 soldiers died at Camp Thomas. Many others soldiers lived the rest of their lives with other complications caused by the typhoid fever. In addition to typhoid fever, malaria soon made its appearance at the camp.

On August 8, Secretary of War Russell A. Alger ordered the camp to begin closing. Ill Soldiers in the two camp hospitals, Sternberg Hospital and Leiter Hospital, were sent home on furlough to recover. Other troops were sent to other camps or discharged and sent home.

By the middle of September all units except seven battalions of the Sixth and Eighth U.S. Volunteer Infantry had departed. More than 72,000 troops had been in the camp. The park was in ruins, many trees had been destroyed, some being used for firewood, some cut for poles, while others were destroyed by cavalry horses and other livestock that ate the bark. More than 3,000 sinks were disinfected and filled, buildings were dismantled, refuse burned, ditches filled, and manure from the corrals used to check erosion. Resurfacing the roads and removing dead timber continued into the winter. Work by park laborers went to replace historical markers broken during the occupation. In all, more than $25,000 was spent refurbishing the battlefield after the Spanish-American War.

The military presence stayed at the park with the opening of Fort Oglethorpe in December, 1904.

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