Spanish American War veterans

Members of the United Spanish War Veterans of Ohio posed in uniform with weapons. The U.S.W.V. was a fraternal organization that eventually included men who fought in the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the China Relief Mission. It was organized into "Departments" by state, and then into smaller groups called "Camps." The organization lasted until 1992, when its last remaining member died at age 106. The Spanish American War was the shortest war in United States history, lasting less than four months. More than 15,000 Ohioans served in the militia and the volunteer army during the war during this time. Of those, few were involved in major action, although 230 died of disease. The Treaty of Paris, negotiated in part by Ohioan Whitelaw Reid, formally ended the war on December 10, 1898, and Spain relinquished to U.S. control the territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines