Second Army Corps (Spanish-American War)
| Second Army Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | May 7, 1898 – May 3, 1899 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Army Corps |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Major General William M. Graham Major General Samuel B.M. Young |
Major General William M. Graham
The Second Army Corps was a unit of the United States Army raised for the Spanish–American War. A defining event of the Spanish–American War was the typhoid fever epidemic of July to November 1898. The Army consequently undertook a series of mass-retreats and attempted evasions. The Typhoid Board concluded that only one of the five army corps stricken with epidemic typhoid succeeded in suppressing the disease actively, the 2nd Army Corps. In the wake of two fruitless relocations and months of casualties, commanders finally managed to impose an effective latrine-policy. A three-part strategy of draconian defecation-management, mass-disinfection, and flight received the Typhoid Board's imprimatur as the principal, recommended method for suppressing existing epidemics.
The corps was constituted May 7, 1898; on May 16, Maj. Gen. William M. Graham was assigned to the command and the troops which were to compose the corps were ordered to Camp Alger.
After the declaration of war McKinley revised that arrangement and approved the organization of eight army corps, each of which was to consist of three or more divisions of three brigades each. Each brigade was to have approximately 3,600 officers and enlisted men organized into three regiments and, with three such brigades, each division was to total about 11,000 officers and men. Thus the division was to be about the same size as the division of 1861, but army corps were to be larger. The division staff initially was to have an adjutant general, quartermaster, commissary, surgeon, inspector general, and engineer, with an ordnance officer added later. The brigade staff was identical except that no inspector general or ordnance officer was authorized.
In mid-May the volunteers were moved to a few large unfinished camps in the South, and when they arrived only seven instead of the eight projected army corps were organized. Two army corps, the Fourth and Fifth consisted of regulars and volunteers, while the others like the Second Corps were made up of volunteers.
Before the new army completed its organization and training, it was thrust into combat. About two-thirds of Fifth Army Corps, in the form of one dismounted cavalry division and two infantry divisions, sailed for Cuba in June 1898. Expeditions also were mounted for Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands, in which partial army corps provided the troops.
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