The USS Nashville Launched in 1895, the Nashville was the only gunboat of its class. Along with firing the first shot in the war, it also captured four Spanish vessels and assisted in cutting the Atlantic telegraph cable between Cuba and Spain. The Nashville arrived in the Philippines in December 1899 and provided firepower against the insurgents. The ship patrolled there until June 1900, when the Boxer Rebellion in China broke out. She carried a detachment of Marines assigned to an international force putting down the rebellion. |
Initial Gun Resolution Nashville’s mayor and city council requested that the U.S. Congress return to its namesake city the gun from the USS Nashville that fired the opening shot of the Spanish-American War. |
Playful Soldiers Relieving the Boredom of Camp Life Soldiers from an unidentified regiment take a few minutes to ham it up for the camera. Constant drilling and routine added to the monotony of training camp. The men did their best to entertain themselves with football, baseball, poker, and other games. Competition between companies and other state regiments lifted morale and fostered camaraderie. Standing, from left to right, are: Ed Vick, Ed Walsh, and Bob Ray. |
Lieutenant John Leland Jordan Lt. Jordan, of Nashville, proudly wrote to his mother from the Philippines, telling her that his home state comrades were known as the "Fighting Tennesseans." Jordan served in the First Tennessee Infantry, USV, and later joined the 37th Infantry of the U.S. Amy. Almost a third of the Tennesseans volunteered for the regular Army as the regiment prepared to disband in 1899. In a June 1900 letter to his mother, Jordan wrote with amusement that he had brought back three monkeys from another island, "one a big old fellow with gray side whiskers that is a fine pet. By treating him nicely I soon got him thoroughly tamed. He can whip any of the dogs around here and knows every man in my company who has ever pulled his tail…." |
Lieutenant John F. Bright Lt. Bright wrote from Panay Island to his mother in Nashville about the horrors of war:
Feb. 18th 1899 My Dear Mother, War with all its horrors has at last burst forth upon us... The bullets were coming down like hail inside the prison walls…. Then there was one continuous round of fireing all night—It was a grand sight one that I shall never forget. Dewey’s fleet was sending shell after shell over our heads to the Insugents intrenchments which made the earth fairly tremble... [W]e were soon in the hottest part of the fight... Just as we reached the outskirts of the city the fireing became very heavy on all sides, and Mauser & Remington bullets were playing a tune among the bamboo bushes over our head... To have them singing within two inches of your ear is far from pleasant…. With an old time Rebel Yell we made the charge [and] we got across without loosing a man... The grass and bushes were thick with dead and wounded, We could hardly walk for them... There was a constant roar of cannon and rifle shots all night—With the sky red for miles from the burning bamboo huts, as far as the eye could see, which served to remind us that they were somebodies homes... We had not realized what war was until marching back over the battle field and viewing the ruins and desolation on all sides. When we reached the city we were cheered on all sides by our own troops and citizens... At last the Tennessee boys had covered themselves with glory. |
The Nashville Banner welcomes home the 1st Tennessee Infantry, commanded by Col. Francis Gracey Childers of Clarksville The men’s bravery in the opening clash of the Philippine Insurrection was cited, and the First was one of the most decorated regiments of its day. It was the last of the state volunteer regiments to leave the Islands, though many of the men stayed on, fighting in the Regular Army. |
Troops, probably of the 1st Tennessee Infantry, on the steps of the Capitol in Nashville Because the US flag carries campaign streamers, it is thought that this company has returned from fighting in the Philippines. The First was the only Tennessee regiment to see combat during either the Spanish-American War or Philippine Insurrection, and it served with gallantry. The regiment was made up of men from Nashville, Columbia, Lawrenceburg, Waverly, Clarksville, Big Sandy, and Springfield. |
Section researched and written by Susan L. Gordon, Archivist.