A Brief History of the 202nd New York
Volunteer Infantry
By John LaBarre
and Patrick McSherry
The band of the 202nd New York Volunteer Infantry. The photo was
taken on October 5, 1898 taken at Camp Meade, Middletown,
Pennsylvania. Notes on the photo indicate that the band leader and
six band members are not included in the photo (courtesy of John
LaBarre)
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General:
The 202nd New York Volunteer Infantry served as part of the post-war
Army of Occupation in Cuba.
Unit History:
The 202nd New York Volunteer Infantry was organized at the 65th New York
National Guard armory in Buffalo, New York. Recruiting for the regiment
began on July 19,1898 with special preference being given to men who were
already members of the National Guard.
Companies A, B, C, D and E were quickly filled and mustered in on July 19,
followed by Companies F and G on July 21, Company H, July 25th, Companies
I, K and L, on August 1, and Company M, on August 8. As the companies were
mustered in, they were sent to Camp Black, located on Long Island. At the
time of mustering in, the regiment consisted of forty-three officers and
1,255 enlisted men under the command of Col. Stephen T. Seyburn. Seyburn
was a graduate of West Point. He was a captain in the 10th U.S. Infantry
and had served as a military attache in Germany. He was described as being
tall, slender and reserved.
Within four days of the regiment’s final company being mustered into
service – on August 12 - an armistice was agreed to between the United
States and Spain. This ended the actual fighting between the two nations.
On September 13 the regiment left Camp Black, being ordered to Camp Meade,
located at Middletown, Pennsylvania. The regiment arrived at Camp Meade
the following morning. Here the regiment was assigned to the Second
Brigade, First Division of the Second Army Corps. While at Camp Meade, the
members of the regiment had the opportunity to vote in their hometown
elections through the regiment.
On November 16, the regiment broke camp having been ordered to Camp
Haskell, located at Athens, Georgia, arriving two days later. At Camp
Haskell, the regiment was assigned to the First Brigade, Third Division of
the Second Army Corps. The regiment was at Camp Haskell for only but two
weeks, but they were a tumultuous two weeks. On November 30 there was a
drunken fight in the company street of Company C, the result of too much
whiskey being available. In the tumult, Quartermaster Sgt. Becker of
Company H shot Pvt. Kelly of Company C. Reputedly, Pvt. Kelly was not even
involved in the fight but was merely a spectator. Kelly died the following
day from his wounds. Immediately after the shooting, the men of Company C
attempted to lynch Quartermaster Sgt. Becker, but the effort failed due to
the timely arrival of the provost guard.
The regiment was next ordered to Cuba by way
of Savannah, Georgia. The men broke camp on December 3, arriving in
Savannah by train two days later. At Savannah, the 202nd New York was
ordered aboard the U.S. Army Transport MINNEWASKA.
The regiment arrived at Havana, Cuba
on December 9 and was the first American regiment to arrive at the Cuban
capital by sea. The following day, the Treaty
of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish American War.
On the morning of December 11, the regiment marched from the MINNEWASKA at the San
Jose wharf to the Christina railroad depot, a distance of about one and a
half miles. The regiment marched by the most direct route, not detouring
to follow the major thoroughfares in the city. It was noted that there
were no crowds along the streets to watch regiment pass. Periodically
someone would yell “Viva Americanos” “Viva Spanola” or Viva Cuba Libre,”
but most of the onlookers, which included Spanish soldiers, were quiet.
The headquarters and staff, with companies A, C, E, F, H, I, K, and L,
boarded a train bound for Guanajay, province of Pinay del Rio, and went
into camp outside of the town at Camp Barrett. Major Wood and the second
battalion, consisting of companies B, D, G and M, proceeded to the town of
Pinar del Rio, which was the department headquarters. Here the battalion’s
camp was on a hilltop about a mile outside the town itself in the very
picturesque countryside. For the men, beef was frequently on the menu as
they had forty-two head of cattle brought from Texas who were grazing in
the plentiful grass nearby. The second battalion returned to Camp Barrett
in January,1899.
In late December, Col. Seyburn of the 202nd New York raised the American
flag over the town of Mariel. Afterwards, the colonel had 500 rations of
food distributed to the poor of the city. He spoke to the gathered
civilians, saying through an interpreter:
“In the solemn act [of raising the flag]
you must not see any meaning other than paternal love and protection,
never domination. We do not wish to see differences between parties. All
Cubans ought to unite with us, so as to re-create Cuba.
In the name of my government and nation I assure you that proceeding in
this way you will obtain a free and happy country.”
In February 1899, a few members of the regiment came down with yellow
fever. To fight this outbreak and stop its spread, these soldier’s
uniforms, blankets, etc. were destroyed or disinfected. An isolation ward
and a detention camp established, and the main camp moved to the opposite
side of the town, with this new camp being named “Camp Young,” in honor of
the commander of the Second Corps. The relocation of the camp had actually
been under consideration for several weeks but had not occurred since no
water supply other than that at Camp Barrett could be found. To provide
water for Camp Young, water was brought in by cart from about three miles
away. Wagons could not be used since part of the road was too dangerous
for four-wheeled vehicles.
On March 18, 1899, the 202nd New York Volunteer Infantry again
boarded the U.S. Army Transport
MINNEWASKA (which
had been renamed the U.S. Army Transport THOMAS) bound for Savannah,
Georgia. The regiment reached the quarantine station at Savannah on March
20, docking in the city four days later.
The 202nd New York Volunteer Infantry was mustered out of service on
April 15. Sadly, while the regiment was being mustered out, Pvt. Bates of
Company M died from disease contracted in Cuba
At the time of mustering out, the regiment
consisted of forty-six officers and 1,027 enlisted men. During its
period of service the regiment lost one officer and thirteen enlisted
men to disease. In addition, one enlisted man was killed in an accident
and another (Kelly of Company C) was murdered. Also, twenty-seven men
deserted the regiment.
The 202nd New York Volunteer Infantry, Co. C. The men in the
front rank are holding their "Trapdoor"
rifles. (courtesy of John LaBarre)
Bibliography:
“Col. Seyburn Arrives,” Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, New York).
July 6, 1898, 6.
“Col. Seyburn Dies at Detroit Home,” Buffalo News (Buffalo, New
York). February 12, 1923, 22.
Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain Including the
Insurrection in the Philippine Islands and the China Relief Expedition
April 15, 1898 to July 30, 1902. Vol. 1 (Washington DC: Center for
Military History, 1993) 608.
“Cuba is Falling Into Line,” The Lexington Herald (Lexington,
Kentucky). December 26, 1898, 4.
“Died While Mustering Out,” The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia).
April 16, 1899, 16.
“Greeted with Great Joy,” The Tacoma Daily Ledger (Tacoma,
Washington). December 13, 1898, 1.
New York in the Spanish American War, 1898. (Albany: James B. Lyon,
1900), Vol. 3, 499-500.
“Our Flag at Mariel”, The Meriden Weekly Republican (Meriden,
Connecticut), December 29, 1898 · Thursday, December 29, 1898, 1.
“Soldiers are Voting,” Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota),
November 1, 1898, 1.
“Too Much Whiskey,” The Journal and Tribune (Knoxville,
Tennessee). December 2, 1898, 3.
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