The Spanish-American War involvement of Walter Stacy Thompson

Grandpa Walter wasn’t a war hero in the traditional sense. There is no record of him charging up an enemy hill, or saving a fallen soldier.  In 1898, Walter was a student at Michigan State Agricultural College in Lansing, Michigan.  He, along with thousands of other young people, heard the cries of an outraged nation and volunteered to fight a war against Spain.  He once told me that while at school, he received a letter from his father, telling him to stay in school and refrain from joining the Army.  He immediately replied to his father’s advice, saying:  “It’s too late.  I volunteered yesterday.” He was, and will always remain my hero; my Grandpa, Walter Stacy Thompson.

Walter mustered in at Camp Eaton, Island Lake Michigan, and then traveled via train to Chickamaunga, Tampa Florida, where his regiment set sail for Cuba.

He saw military action, saw soldiers die in action and saw other soldiers die from malaria.  The war action commenced in June and was over by August, 1898

Walter kept a diary. Below is a transcription of his account of events in which he participated.  I don’t have the original diary as I believe he donated it, along with his uniform, gun and bayonet, to the Manistee Historical Museum.  My mother typed the transcription which is seen below.

The first picture you will see is a group of students gathering in front of a building at Michigan State Agricultural College. The last photo is of his home in Manistee, Michigan with a sign on the porch welcoming him home

Some of the photos of his regiment and the war are taken from Michigan Volunteers of ’98, a “Complete Photographic Record of Michigan’s Part In The Spanish-American War of 1898,” published by G. F. Sterling & Co., Detroit, Michigan.

Enjoy!

A group of students gather outside Michigan State Agricultural College 1898

Picture of Ruth Porter carried through war combat by Walter S. Thompson

Welcome home, Walter!