history – Page 9 – Pat Answers Archives

On April 25th 1898 the US Declared War on Spain

Remember the Maine

On April 25,1898, the United States formally declared war against Spain.

The Monroe Doctrine, which since 1823 had viewed any European intervention in the Americas as a threat to U.S. security, coupled with the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor, precipitated U.S. engagement.

Coverage by Hearst newspapers and the nascent film industry solidified public support for involvement in Cuba’s struggle for independence.

Within months, Spain’s overseas empire, which had begun with Columbus’s voyages of discovery, finally collapsed under the United States’ two-pronged war strategy. Commodore George Dewey sailed to the Pacific the day war was declared. On May 1 the Spanish fleet was defeated in the Philippines. The U.S. Marines and other troops, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, helped defeat Spanish forces in the Americas.

The U.S. and Spain signed a peace treaty in December 1898. Spain gave up its claims to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Guam and, for twenty million dollars, transferred the Philippines to the U.S. The U.S. emerged from the war as a significant player on the world stage.

Remember the Maine

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April 24th in American History

The Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress.

On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved the appropriation of $5,000 for the purchase of “such books as may be necessary for the use of congress.”

The books, the first purchased for the Library of Congress, were ordered from London and arrived in 1801. The collection of 740 volumes and three maps was stored in the U.S. Capitol, the Library’s first home. On January 26, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson approved the first legislation that defined the role and functions of the new institution.

The Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. The Library’s mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people, and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.

Library of Congress c1900

April 23rd events

Lee resigned his commission in the US Army on April 20th 1861 and took command of the forces in Virginia on April 23rd 1861.

Little remembered American history regarding April 23rd.

Robert Edward Lee was the most famous general of the Confederate Army during the War Between the States and fought with distinction.

In the immediate days leading up to the American Civil War, Lee was appointed Colonel of the First Regiment of Cavalry (March 1861).

Abraham Lincoln signed the papers. Just three weeks later Lee was offered the rank of Major General in the US Army and given command of Fort Mason in Texas, a state that had seceded from the Union in February 1861.

In a letter written by Lee to his son in early 1861, it is clear that he had no faith in the Confederacy: “I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union.”

However, when pressed, Lee did admit that he would take up arms to defend Virginia. When Virginia seceded from the Union, it became obvious and clear to Lee that he would become involved in a military campaign against his own state. He asked the head of the US Army, Winfield Scott, if he could stay at home for the duration of the war. Not surprisingly, Scott refused his request.

As a result, Lee resigned his commission in the US Army on April 20^th 1861 and took command of the forces in Virginia on April 23^rd 1861.

The order was given by Commandant Charles Macauley for the destruction of the navy yards in Norfolk, Virginia, to stop them falling into Confederate hands. Though great damage was done after the order was carried out, the Confederacy still managed to salvage much that was of value including the hull and mechanism from the ‘USS Merrimac’, a powerful steam frigate. She was to later appear as ‘USS Virginia’.

Riots in support of the Confederacy continued in Baltimore. This cut off the rail links the Union wanted to use for the movement of troops and they had to use sea routes instead, which were slower and more vulnerable to poor weather. A meeting took place in western Virginia in support on the Union and Lincoln’s power.*

(*See the Tales From The Deep State post referencing the questionable legality regarding the creation of the State of West Virginia.)

Robert Edward Lee