Company B (La Crosse) in the Spanish American War

Abstract

The particiation of La Crosse Company B, Third Wisconsin infantry in the Spanish-American War was rather limited. Information on this company's activities is confined to a few sources, all of which were used in this paper. Company B, consisting of 104 enlisted men and twenty-five officers, was in combat for only ten days. Preceding the combat experience was a training period of three months at various camps in the Middle West and South. The intent of this paper is to tell the story of Company B's role in the war set against the background of the conflict generally and more specially in Puerto Rico, where it took place. The paper concludes with what information was available concerning the members of this company after they returned to their home community. Local records on community deaths and the obituary columns of the current newspapers yield materials on sixty-six members of the company only. In most cases this, too, is quite brief. The post-war careers of these sixty-six are summarized at the end of the paper in an appendix.