USAHEC: USAHEC Educators' Toolbox (DoD Systems): Spanish American War and Indian Wars

Indian Wars

Little Big Horn: The Billy Jackson Story
This is the personal account from Billy Jackson, a Soldier who served as a scout for the 7th Cavalry during the Battle of Little Bighorn ("Custer's Last Stand").
Little Big Horn: The Charles DeRuido Story
This is the personal account from Charles DeRuido, a scout with the 7th Cavalry during the Battle of Little Big Horn ("Custer's Last Stand").

Spanish American War

Photo Pack, Spanish American War
PDF photograph pack containing images from both Cuba and the Philippines during the Spanish American War.
Frank Anders Medal of Honor Citation, Philippines
Photo of an elderly Corporal Frank L. Anders displaying his Medal of Honor earned during fighting on Luzon, Philippines in 1899, with citation.
PART 1 - John LaWall Memoir, Philippines/Spanish American War
Part one of a three part memoir from John LaWall, written in 1901, describing his time and reflections on the war and his experiences.
PART 2 - John LaWall Memoir, Philippines/Spanish American War
Part two of a three part memoir from John LaWall, written in 1901, describing his time and reflections on the war and his experiences.
PART 3 - John LaWall Memoir, Philippines/Spanish American War
Part three of a three part memoir from John LaWall, written in 1901, describing his time and reflections on the war and his experiences.

Boxer Rebellion

Personal letter from John P. Clancey during the Boxer Rebellion
This letter, written in 1900, is from John P. Clancey to his father while Clancey served in the Army during the Boxer Rebellion in China.

Short Vignettes for your Classroom

From 1979 through 1985, the Military History Institute (USAMHI) of the USAHEC drew submissions from students and scholars from within the MHI and from throughout the country to publish as Military History Vignettes. Each of these short stories is a well-researched look at a specific topic in military history and is perfect for small group readings and critical thinking discussion in the classroom.

To find additional Military History Vignettes that do not pertain to a specific era, click here.

103: Military Education and the Army Officer
Theme: Leadership / Unconventional/Innovation
Description: General Sherman established The School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry, which was the direct ancestor of the Command General Staff College and later the Army War College.
Notable Persons/Locations: General Sherman; Leavenworth, Kansas
111: Thanksgiving
Theme: Unconventional/Innovation / Morale
Description: American soldiers brought Thanksgiving to Cuba.
Notable Personas/Locations: Brigadier General Leonard Wood; Santiago de Cuba
115: I'll See It When I Believe It
Theme: Organization & Conduct / Morale
Description: Some men of the frontier became legends before they had accomplished anything.
Notable Personas/Locations: George Custer; Charles Gordon; Theodore Roosevelt; “Buffalo Bill” Cody; General Nelson Miles
123: For Their Own Goad
Theme: Leadership
Description: Post-Spanish-American War Cuba is an example of the historical problems Military Governors face when replacing their own administration with local leadership.
Notable Persons/Locations: Elihu Root; General Leonard Wood; Cuba
129: The Greatest Man...in the United States
Theme: Personal Courage & Selfless Service
Description: Lieutenant Steele praised Teddy Roosevelt’s service in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
Notable Persons/Locations: Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Roosevelt; Lieutenant Matthew Forney Steele
130: He's My Brother
Theme: Personal Courage & Selfless Service
Description: Two brothers escaped a bloody Indian attack and were reunited with their mother.
Notable Persons/Locations: Lavina Eastlick; Merton Eastlick; Johnny Eastlick; Minnesota Frontier
196: Emory Upton's Travels
Theme: Organization & Conduct
Description: In 1875, Lieutenant Colonel Emory Upton was commissioned by the Secretary of War to travel around the world and collect reconnaissance about foreign armies.
Notable Persons/Locations: Lieutenant Colonel Emory Upton
252: Reflections on Officer Education
Theme: Leadership
Description: Although many officers doubt the usefulness of their education, the best soldiers are able to turn their theory into practice on the battlefield.
Notable Persons/Locations: Captain W. H. Carter; Ft. Leavenworth, KS
255: After-Action Report and Lessons Learned
Theme: Logistics
Description: The experiences recorded in After-Action Reports help the military to improve itself. In this case, a Colonel declared that U.S. troops needed more/better hospitals.
Notable Persons/Locations: Colonel Dallas Bache; Wounded Knee
274: The General and the Press: Eighty-Seven Years Ago
Theme: Organization & Conduct
Description: Major General William Rufus Shafter clashes with the press covering the Spanish-American War.
Notable Persons/Locations: Santiago de Cuba; Major General William Rufus Shafter

Lectures at the USAHEC

The USAHEC has several lecture series covering all eras and topics in military and U.S. Army history.

A War of Empire and Frontier: The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902
Dr. David J. Silbey, Associate Professor of History, Algeria College
Lecture Date: June 18, 2008
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It was America's first imperial war and America's last war of the frontier. It was a war of battles, of frontal assaults, of artillery, and flank attacks, and barbed wire and trenches. It has been termed an insurgency, a revolution, a guerrilla war, and a conventional war. As David Silbey demonstrates in this taut, compelling history, the 1899 Philippine-American War was in fact all of these.
The Custer Conundrum: Exploring Leadership and the Contradictory Life of George Armstrong Custer
Mr. T.J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize Winner for Autobiography and History
Lecture Date: October 18, 2017
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George Armstrong Custer proved himself a highly capable commander from the battlefields of the American Civil War through the hills of Texas, to his final moments on the Great Plains. On Wednesday, October 18, 2017, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) will host Mr. T.J. Stiles, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, as he presents a lecture entitled, "The Custer Conundrum." The lecture will examine the complicated nature of leadership principals in the U.S. Army through the lens of the peculiar combination of Custer's skills as a combat leader and failings as a regimental field commander.
The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West
Peter Cozzens, Author
Lecture Date: July 19, 2017
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No epoch in American history is more deeply shrouded in myth than the Indian Wars of the American West. According to author Peter Cozzens, the past 125 years of American popular history, academic scholarship, film, and fiction have depicted the era as a struggle between absolute good and evil, changing the roles of heroes and villains to accommodate the shifting national consciousness. On Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Cozzens will present a lecture at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania to illuminate the wars and the U.S. Army's role in the destruction of one culture enabling another to flourish.

Links to External Resources

Center of Military History Spanish American War Resources
The U.S. Army Center of Military History records the Army's official history. Their collection contains numerous secondary sources.
Center of Military History Late 19th Century Sources
The U.S. Army Center of Military History records the Army's official history. Their collection contains numerous secondary sources from the fighting with Indian tribes to fighting along the Mexican border.
Library of Congress Classroom Materials
Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection Teaching guide and primary sources for the classroom.
National Archives Primary Sources
Primary sources from the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Timeline-based website of teaching materials. This link directs you to the 1877-1900 era.