Departing for war, Company A, Richardson Light Guard, May 6, 1898
Description:
"The United States declared war against the Kingdom of Spain on April 26, 1898, in response to Spain's oppressive treatment of Cuba and the February 15th destruction of the US battleship 'Maine' in Havana Harbor. More than one-million volunteers answered President McKinley's call to help the 25,000 men in the US Army. A meeting of Company A, Richardson Light Guard was called on April 28, at which time 69 men enlisted. The following day, the number increased to 84. On May 5th, the night before the Guard's departure, the citizens of Wakefield held a grand farewell reception at the Town Hall. At 7:30 a.m. on May 6th, the assembly signal, 12-12, was given on the fire alarm, calling the townspeople to escort the men to the train station. Thousands assembled at the station, and schools were closed for the day. The members, clad in fatigue uniforms, with leggings, canteens, haversacks, overcoats and cartridge belts, boarded the Boston-bound train at 9 a.m. A train from Boston took them to the state campground at Framingham where they were inspected and accepted by the US Army." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio. Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2000 Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.
