Springfield in Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Camp Springfield (Cuba Libre)

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 10, 2020

1. Camp Springfield (Cuba Libre) Marker

Inscription. On April 25, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain after the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor resulted in the deaths of 260 Americans. When President William McKinley called for 125,000 volunteers, camps were established to serve as rallying points for soldiers awaiting deployment. On May 22, soldiers of the 2nd Division, 7th Corp of the U.S. Volunteers (USV) arrived here under the command of Major General Fitzhugh Lee and Colonel William Jennings Bryan. Originally named Camp Springfield, it was later called Camp Cuba Libre (Free Cuba). Volunteer units from all over the country were stationed here. This exact site was the camp of the 1st North Carolina Volunteers. By August, Camp Cuba Libre had nearly 30,000 men, supplies were scarce, and typhoid was a constant threat. Army physician Major Walter Reed visited the camp to study the origins and transmission of typhoid. Most of the volunteers at the camp never saw combat. Some were deployed to Havana aboard the Roumanian on December 7, but the fighting ceased after the signing of the Treaty of Paris with Spain on December 10, 1898. The following day,

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the deployed volunteers became the first USVs to set foot in an independent Cuba.

Erected 2018 by The Family of Robert K. Murray, Soldier of the 1st N.C. U.S.V., and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1029.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, Spanish-American. A significant historical date for this entry is May 22, 1898.

Location. 30° 20.475′ N, 81° 38.835′ W. Marker is in Jacksonville, Florida, in Duval County. It is in Springfield. It is on East 5th Street just west of Ionia Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 427 East 5th Street, Jacksonville FL 32206, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the

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Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: "Mother" Midway A.M.E. Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); Barnett Mansion (approx. half a mile away); The Mungen House (approx. half a mile away); Henry John Klutho (approx. 0.6 miles away); Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Monument to Women of the Southern Confederacy (approx. 0.6 miles away); Camp Site of the Forty-Ninth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jacksonville.

Also see . . . Camp Cuba Libre. (Submitted on January 30, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 30, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,213 times since then and 102 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on January 30, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.