Private Carl Cramer, originally from Huntsville, Alabama served in the 1st Alabama Volunteer Infantry, Company F. He wrote a number of letters to his father from Camp Cuba Libre, located near Jacksonville, Florida.
The main subject of the letters deals with efforts within the regiment to have the regiment mustered out. After the armistice was agreed to between the United States and Spain, many of the troops who remained in camps in the U.S. did not see the need for them to remain in service. In some cases, regimental officers attempted to volunteer their regiments to service the in the occupation forces in Cuba and Puerto Rico. This set up a situation wherein the rank and file of the regiment made their opposition to the continued service known. Cramer's letters tell of this sort of situation within the First Alabama Volunteer Infantry.
The letter has not been altered from its original form except where a note [in brackets] was added for clarification. Obviously Pvt. Cramer had no idea that his letter would be shared in a format that would be viewable all over the world. The letter the typical level of education of the typical private of the time.
The Letters:
Letter 1: [The letter is written on stationery that has a Camp Cuba Libre letterhead, with crossed U.S. and Cuban flags below an eagle. The letterhead has a bit of poetry as part of the letterhead which reads as follows:
"Conquer we must when our cause it is
just,
And this be our motto, 'In God is our trust'
And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave"
"Jacksonville, Florida, Aug 22nd 1898
Dear Papa
we are having lots of out of the officers of our reg[iment] on account of our mutinous attempt as they want to call it but we laff at them and tell them that we will mak up a purse of $500:00 if any one of them can prove it as a mutinous act to put in a request that this Reg be one of those to be disbanded and none of them has taken it up yet they put it under the head of the 22nd article of war. so we --- contend that it does not come under the head of article of war and are going to fight it out if they dont let those that we have signed go through we are going to write them over again and send them to Gen ----- through the mail so that they cant get hold of it before it goes, and we are going to see if it comes under the head that they put it several of the boys are scared and gave consulted some lawers [lawyers] about it. will so long
Aug 23rd
we had a hot drill this morning we went out about 4m. out from camp
and round came out the back way in to the Camp again and it was hot sure
enough our cloathes were all wet when we got back it came out in
the paper yesterday evening had the report out that the first Ala
wanted to be mustered out and it is true but McDonald had it
put in this morning that we dont want to be mustered out but we will get
the petition up again and send it to Washington, well I hope we will get
out we are all strung up to a high pitch to see how it will turn out. I
am not fealing very well Today I have a cold and a tired
fealing I dont feal like doing any thing but lay round and sleep. all
the boys that were in the hospital in Miami came in this morning and the
most of them look week and thin. Ike Winston & [Cpl. Herbert]
McLaurin went to town yesterday and said they ate two whole chickens and
then when they got through the parties that they ate dinner with told
them that chickens cost 50 cts a piece in Jacksonville but they did not
pay for them well I think that is about all the news I am
looking for some letters this morning so I will stop now till I hear
more news"
Letter 2: [The letter is written on same
stationery as letter 1]:
"Jacksonville, Florida, August 25 1898
Dear Papa
I was on gard yesterday and had a good time of it I was on gard at the 1st bregaid [brigade] comisery [commissary] and they gave us 12 men 3 Corp [corporal] 1 Sarg [sargeant] and we divided it up in 4 reliafs instead of 3 so we went on only every 8 hours instead of 6 makeing 6 hours off and 2 on. and I got out of drill this morning by going over to the Reg Comisery and getting the meat for the Co. I receaved your letter of the 22nd yesterday and also papers sunday and am enjoying both, we have got up a petition to the sec of war and that is not all one of the boy here got a (30) days furlow [furlough] and we got him to go to washington. and present it there for us, of coarse it would not do for any boy to sign his name to any letter he may send to a paper for he would get into it if he did, yes they say here that [Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh] Lee's command will go to Cuba on the 1st of oct but but we don't think we will be with him if he does, next time you spell President dont spell it this was (Presitent) for it is not right. ha ha, I caught you that time. I have written to Mr. Oancre (?) and am waiting for an answer, I think Bockmann is counting his friendship power to big of coarse I dont mind writting him but yhy [why] he should think I would write him before I would write to you I cant see that is a d-l of a note for him to think I should write to a stranger before I would write to my Father he can just go to Grass & he ever hears any thing more from me if D. tells you it is L's doings tell him L. told me it was his doings it came out in the (Florida Times Union & Citizen) to day that the 1st Ala would be mustered out on its own request and at the bottom of it was (we of the Reg sign our selves 950) [see the article below] so if it will do any good to get in the paper's we will get out, for we have sent the report to all the papers we can think off. I will send the report in this letter. Camp is getting quiet again their payday money being nearly all gone and having borrowed all they can and spent it they get pretty quiet, they had a racket in Co E yesterday evening and one boy hit another over the head and nearly killed him and if he dies they say the fellow that hit him will be shot they say he hit him for nothing that the boy that got hit never said a word to the one that hit him, I dont see why they want to drill us so hard if we are not to do any more fighting in cuba or hard marches there for we see no use in it Gen. Fitzhugh] Lee says we dont have any cleaning up to do over there but the boy's wont believe it they have done so much of it they dread every move they have to make on account of it and the boy's wont believe any thing else but that they have to clear and up ground when they get over there well this about all the news. I am well and hope this will find you the same.
L.L.S C."
Pvt. Cramer enclosed a copy of the newpaper article that included the peiition. The article reads as follows:
"From 950 Volunteers.
To the Editor: We see in your estimable paper this morning a statement to the effect that the First Alabama is anxious to go to Cuba. With reference to enlisted men, we beg to state that such cannot be the case, for at least 950 of us signed a petition to his excellency, the President of the United States, requesting that the First Alabama be given consideration among volunteer regiments to be selected for mustering out, it being the understanding at the time that the President would accommodate the wishes of the men themselves in regard to the disbandment of the volunteer portion of the army, and we knew of no better method to feel the pulse of the regiment than by a vote in the manner we adopted.
It was said of George Washington that he was first in war and first in peace, and we, having been the first to respond from Alabama under the President's call for troops to defend the nation's flag and the nation's honor, now that the object for which we volunteered seems to be accomplished, we feel that as much honor attaches to a desire to return to our former peaceful vocations as does to the performance of police and scavenger duty in Havana and other ports of Cuba.
Hoping you will recognize this, and give it space in your columns, we beg to subscribe ourselves,
950 OF THE BOYS.
Aug. 23."
Kuykendall, David - Original letters from Pvt. Carl Cramer