Indiana in the Spanish-American War - Timeline

* Entries in Italics indicate Indiana connection.

1888
George Eastman introduces the Kodak, a square box camera using roll film, making photography practical for the first time (Carruth, 349).

November 6
Republican Benjamin Harrison of Indiana is elected president of the United States (Carruth, 348).

1889
Singer Manufacturing Company of Elizabethport, New Jersey, produces and markets the first electric sewing machine known in the U.S. (Carruth, 351).

April 22
The great Oklahoma land rush begins at noon; thousands of settlers race to stake a claim (Carruth, 350).

First May Day celebration is held in Paris (Grun, 445).

May 31
Flood kills 2295 persons when dam on Conemaugh River above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, breaks due to heavy rain (Carruth, 352).

1890
Census shows U.S. population of 62,947,714; the center of population is placed 20 miles east of Columbus, Indiana (Carruth, 354).

July
Idaho and Wyoming are admitted to the Union as the 43rd and 44th states (Carruth, 354).

December 15
Sitting Bull, chief of the Sioux Indians, is killed by Red Tomahawk in a skirmish with Indian Agency police in South Dakota (Carruth, 356).

1891
James Naismith, a physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts, invents the game of basketball (Carruth, 357).

August 24
Thomas A. Edison files the first patent for a motion picture camera (Carruth, 359).

1892
January 1
Ellis Island in upper New York Bay becomes the receiving station for immigrants (Carruth, 360).

November 8
Democrat Grover Cleveland is elected president of the U.S. (Carruth, 362).

1893
Natural gas found in Indiana provides power for an estimated 300 new factories (Phillips, 194).

January 17
Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii is deposed by a revolution. American Sanford Dole, protected by U.S. Marines, heads a provisional government, which is ended on April 13 (Carruth, 362, 364).

Spring
Worldwide financial panic and economic depression begin (Carruth, 363).

May 1
World's Columbian Exposition officially opens in Chicago, Illinois (Carruth, 363).

1894
Indiana Department of Statistics estimates average annual wage of miners in Indiana at $287 (Phillips, 326).

Indiana National Guard units, including 2 black companies, are called by Governor Claude Matthews to calm striking coal miners in Sullivan County (Gatewood, 118, 118n).

April 20
136,000 U.S coal miners strike for higher wages (Carruth, 367).

May 11
Strike at the Pullman railroad car plant in south Chicago begins; a general railway strike by the American Railway Union, headed by Eugene V. Debs of Indiana, follows (Carruth, 369).

June 28
U.S. congressional resolution makes Labor Day a legal holiday (Carruth, 369).

August 8
Hawaiian Republic is officially recognized by the U.S. government (Carruth, 368).

September 4
12,000 garment workers strike in New York City protesting sweatshop conditions and piecework wages (Carruth, 369).

1895
U.S. and Great Britain come close to war over 80-year-old boundary dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana (Carruth, 370).

Indiana General Assembly authorizes the reorganization and reequipping of the Indiana National Guard (Phillips, 63, 64).

February 24
Cuban revolt against Spain breaks out (Carruth, 370).

1896
Swedish philanthropist Alfred Nobel dies; Nobel prizes are established for those who have benefitted mankind in physics, physiology and medicine, chemistry, literature, and peace (Grun, 450, 451).

Governor Matthews removes the 2 black companies from the Indiana National Guard and designates them as "separate" companies A and B (Gatewood, 118).

April 23
First moving pictures on a public screen are shown in New York City (Carruth, 374).

June 4
Assembly of the first Ford automobile is completed in Detroit, Michigan by Henry Ford and associates (Carruth, 375).

October 1
Rural free postal delivery is established in West Virginia (Carruth, 374).

November
First U.S. ice hockey league is formed in New York City (Carruth, 375, 376).

November 3
Republican James A. Mount is elected governor of Indiana (Phillips, 51).

November 3
Republican William McKinley is elected president of the U.S. (Carruth, 374).

1897
Indiana General Assembly passes labor law prohibiting children under the age of 14 from working in manufacturing; no one under 16 or no woman under 18 is allowed to work more than 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week (Phillips, 332-333).

Indiana General Assembly passes law making it mandatory for all children between ages of 8 and 14 to attend school (Phillips, 389).

April 19
First Boston Marathon is won by John J. McDermott of New York City in 2 hours, 55 minutes, 10 seconds (Carruth, 377).

May 24
U.S. Congress appropriates $50,000 for relief of Americans in Cuba. Later in the year, Spain releases Americans imprisoned in Cuba (Carruth, 376).

July 2
Coal miners' strike shuts down mines in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia (Carruth, 377).

1898
January 25 Battleship U.S.S. Maine arrives at Havana, Cuba (Carruth, 378).

February 9
Letter written by Spanish minister to U.S., stolen and published in New York Journal, calls U.S. President McKinley weak and questions his honesty (Carruth, 378).

February 15
U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana harbor; 260 officers and crewmen are killed. Cause of explosion is not known (Carruth, 378).

April 11
U.S. President McKinley requests authorization from Congress to use armed force to end the civil war in Cuba (Carruth, 378).

April 19
U.S. Congress adopts joint resolution authorizing President McKinley to use military force in Cuba and demanding Spain's withdrawal from the island (Carruth, 378).

April 22
President McKinley orders a blockade of Cuban ports; Rear Admiral William T. Sampson sails from Key West, Florida with a large fleet (Carruth, 378).

April 22
Congress passes Volunteer Army Act authorizing the organization of the First Volunteer Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders, commanded by Colonel Leonard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt (Carruth, 378, 380).

April 23
U.S. President McKinley calls for 125,000 volunteers to fight in war with Spain (Carruth, 380).

April 24
Spain declares war on the U.S. (Carruth, 380). 1898 April 25 U.S. Congress passes declaration of war against Spain effective April 21 (Carruth, 380).

April 25
U.S. Congress passes declaration of war against Spain effective April 21 (Carruth, 380).

April 25
Black leaders in Indiana begin movement to recruit an "independent colored regiment" whose services will be offered to Governor James Mount (Gatewood, 121-22).

May 1
In the Philippines, Commodore George Dewey commanding a six-ship squadron, destroys a larger Spanish fleet with only 8 U.S. wounded (Carruth, 380).

May 24
Battleship U.S.S. Oregon reaches Key West, Florida after 67-day voyage from San Francisco, California. Need for a canal across Panama is demonstrated (Carruth, 381).

May 25
President McKinley issues a second troop call, this time for 75,000 volunteers (Carruth, 380).

May 26
Governor Mount telegraphs U.S. Secretary of War Russell A. Alger requesting acceptance of Indiana's black regiment with black officers in addition to Indiana's quota under the second call for volunteers (Gatewood, 123, 123n).

May 27
Secretary Alger sends telegram to Governor Mount denying the request for the black regiment (Gatewood, 123).

May 28
Governor Mount sends request to Secretary Alger via Indiana Senator Charles W. Fairbanks asking to add to Indiana's quota a black battalion which could be attached to one of the "immune" regiments recruited by the U.S. War Department (Gatewood, 125).

June 6
Upon receiving an unfavorable response concerning Indiana's offer of a black battalion, Governor Mount and Senator Fairbanks appeal directly to President McKinley (Gatewood, 126,127).

June 8
Governor Mount receives word from U.S. Adjutant General Henry C. Corbin that War Department regulations have been modified so that black companies can keep black captains (Gatewood, 127, 127n).

June 12
17,000 U.S. forces leave Key West, Florida under General William R. Shafter, to capture Santiago de Cuba, Spain's largest naval base in Cuba (Carruth, 380).

June 21
Governor Mount is informed that Indiana's quota of soldier volunteers includes 1 regiment and 2 black companies (Gatewood, 128).

June 24
U.S. troops win first major land battle against Spain at Las Guasimas, Cuba (Carruth, 380).

July 1
U.S. troops, including the Rough Riders, take over San Juan Heights and El Caney, Cuba with heavy casualties on both sides (Carruth, 382).

July 3
U.S. ships destroy the Spanish fleet attempting to break the blockade at Santiago (Carruth, 382).

July 7
President McKinley signs legislation annexing the Hawaiian Islands (Carruth, 380).

July 8
Forces under Admiral Dewey occupy Isla Grande in Subic Bay near Manila, Philippines (Carruth, 382).

July 15
Indiana's 2 black companies, A and B, are mustered into the U.S. volunteer service at Camp Mount in Indianapolis (Gatewood, 130).

July 17
General José Toral and 24,000 Spanish troops surrender to U.S. General Shafter at Santiago de Cuba (Carruth, 382).

July 25
U.S. forces invade Puerto Rico with little resistance (Carruth, 382).

July 28
Ponce, Puerto Rico's second largest city, surrenders to Americans (Carruth, 382).

August 7
Rough Riders and other U.S. forces leave Cuba to escape epidemics (Carruth, 382).

August 9
U.S. force defeats Spanish force at Coamo, Puerto Rico (Carruth, 382).

August 12
U.S. war with Spain ceases; Spain agrees to give Cuba its independence and to cede Puerto Rico and Guam to U.S. The status of the Philippines will be discussed later (Carruth, 382).

September 2
Indiana's black companies leave Camp Mount for Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, where they are to be attached to the 8th Infantry, a black immune regiment (Gatewood, 132).

October
Indiana black companies and 8th Infantry move to Chickamauga Park, Georgia (Gatewood, 133).

November 8
Republican Theodore Roosevelt is elected governor of New York (Carruth, 382, 384).

December 10
Treaty ending Spanish-American War is signed in Paris (Carruth, 384).

1899
Slaughtering and meat packing is the largest industry in Indiana (Phillips, 280).

January 20
Indiana black companies leave Chickamauga Park to return to Indianapolis (Gatewood, 137).

January 28
Indianapolis Recorder reports the celebration of the return of Indiana's black companies with a banquet by Indiana Soldiers' Aid Society at Bethel AME Church in Indianapolis (Gatewood, 138).

February 4
Philippine guerrillas fire on U.S. forces at Manila marking the beginning of rebellion for independence (Carruth, 384).

February 10
President McKinley signs peace treaty with Spain; Cuba gains independence, U.S. gains Puerto Rico, Guam, and, for $20,000,000, Spanish holdings in the Philippines (Carruth, 384).

1900
U.S. cigarette production reaches 4,000,000,000 gaining on cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco in popularity (Carruth, 389).

1900
Ball Brothers Co. of Muncie is largest producer of glass canning jars in the U.S. (Phillips, 297-298).

April 30
U.S. Congress passes act establishing the Territory of Hawaii; Sanford B. Dole is appointed first governor (Carruth, 388).

June 21
U.S. military governor of the Philippines, General Arthur MacArthur grants amnesty to Filipino rebels (Carruth, 388).

November 6
Republican Winfield T. Durbin, commanding officer of the 161st Indiana Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, is elected governor of Indiana (Phillips, 75).

November 6
William McKinley is reelected president of the U.S. and New York governor Theodore Roosevelt is elected vice president (Carruth, 388).

1901
Queen Victoria of England dies; her son Edward VII becomes king (Grun, 454).

January 10
First great oil strike in Texas gushes in on the Spindletop claim near Beaumont, Texas (Carruth, 393).

February 2
Army Nurse Corps is organized as a branch of the U.S. Army (Carruth, 390).

April 19
The rebellion in the Philippines is ended by proclamation (Carruth, 392).

September 6
President McKinley is shot and dies September 14 (Carruth, 390).

September 14
Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as 26th president of the U.S. (Carruth, 390).

1902
June 28
U.S. Congress passes Isthmian Canal Act which authorizes and finances construction of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama (Carruth, 394).

July 1
U.S. Congress passes Philippine Government Act declaring Philippine Islands an unorganized territory and authorizing a commission to govern the territory (Carruth, 394).

July 4
First Pacific communications cable is opened; President Roosevelt sends message around the world and back to him in 12 minutes (Carruth, 397).

October 1
First baseball World Series begins between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Stockings; Boston wins (Carruth, 395).

December 17
Orville Wright makes first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (Carruth, 395).

1904
February
Russo-Japanese War begins (Grun, 456).

May 5
Eugene V. Debs of Indiana is nominated for the presidency of the U.S. by the Socialist National Convention (Carruth, 398).

November 8
Theodore Roosevelt is elected president of the U.S; Charles Fairbanks of Indiana is elected vice president (Carruth, 398).

1906
United States Steel Corporation begins construction of world's largest steel furnace and mill in northwestern Indiana; the company lays out the new town of Gary (Phillips, 309).

August 23
First president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, requests U.S. intervention to stop a revolt arising from election disputes; President Roosevelt finally sends troops in October who take over government for 13 days (Carruth, 404).

1907
January 26
U.S. Congress passes a law prohibiting corporate campaign contributions to candidates for national office (Carruth, 404).

September 12
Lusitania, the largest steamship in the world, arrives in New York City on its maiden voyage setting a new speed record of 5 days, 54 minutes between Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland and New York (Carruth, 407).

1909
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded in the U.S. to promote the rights and welfare of black Americans (Carruth, 412).

Albion Fellows Bacon of Evansville successfully lobbies the Indiana General Assembly to pass the state's first comprehensive housing law (Phillips, 487).

1910
Madam C. J. Walker, black woman from Louisiana, establishes a company in Indianapolis to manufacture hair treatments and cosmetics (Phillips, 291-292).

May 18
Halley's comet passes close enough to earth for its tail to be seen across much of night sky; some people fear the end of the world (Carruth, 415).