Asturian-American Migration Forum

The 1898 Spanish-American War made the United States a world power in just a few months. West Virginia initially supplied one regiment of infantry in the call-up of federal troops. The regiment consisted of 12 companies, organized into the 1st West Virginia Volunteer Infantry and mustered into service in Kanawha City in May 1898. The regiment was sent to Camp Thomas, Georgia, to join units from throughout the east. In June a second regiment, the 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, was formed.

Both these regiments were composed of National Guardsmen from around the state. Two companies were also raised in the state for the regular army, one company from Parkersburg and one from Wheeling. They became part of the 4th U.S. Volunteer Infantry. In addition, two companies of black troops were raised for the 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, one from Charleston and one from Parkersburg.

A great percentage of troops raised for the Spanish-American War never got into action. The 1st West Virginia remained at camp in Georgia, and the 2nd West Virginia remained at camp in Pennsylvania. There is no record of deaths among the troops, but disease was a constant killer in the overcrowded camps in the United States and in the active campaign areas in Cuba. While no West Virginia troops actually saw combat, the state did supply one famous personality to the war, Andrew Rowan, a Monroe County native, who carried the famous ‘‘Message to Garcia’’ in early 1898.

This Article was written by Stan Cohen

Thanks, Ron!

Cuba was a common stopping point for Asturians who later arrived in the US. (My grandparents, for example, spent three years in Havana before traveling to West Virginia.)

I wonder what effect, if any, the Spanish-American War had on later emigration from Spain? Did the Spaniards who emigrated think about that war? Did it lead them to think that the US would be an economically advantageous place to live and work? Did the war figure into Americans' attitudes toward the new Spanish immigrants?

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¡Gracias, Ron!

Cuba fue un punto de parada muy común para los asturianos que luego llegaron en los EE.UU. (Mis abuelos, por ejemplo, pasaron tres años en La Habana antes de viajar a Virginia Occidental.)

¿Me pregunto cuál efecto, si alguno, la Guerra Hispano-Estadounidense tuvo sobre la emigración de España más luego? ¿Qué pensaban los españoles que emigraron sobre la guerra? ¿Se llevan a pensar que los EE.UU. sería un lugar ventajoso económicamente para vivir y trabajar? ¿Figuraba la guerra en las actitudes de los estadounidenses hacia los inmigrantes nuevos españoles?