Description
The Herbert Fowler Papers contain twenty-one letters written in 1898
during the time of the Spanish American War. Herbert Fowler wrote fifteen of the letters, the majority of them are to his
mother, Francis Carr Fowler. Written from April 30, 1898 to August 11, 1898, they detail the movements of his Company from
camps in Springfield, Illinois to Chickamauga, Georgia to Picnic Island in Tampa, Florida and eventually to action in the
trenches at Santiago. In the letters he describes the living conditions of the soldiers, the sickness that spread through
the
camps, his daily schedule, training exercises, the landscape, and the weather.
Background
Herbert George Fowler was born on April 3, 1873 in Chicago, Illinois to Charles and Francis Carr Fowler. On April 26, 1898
he was enrolled as a Corporal of Company L of the First Regiment of the Illinois Infantry Volunteers to serve two years or
the duration of the war. As part of the First Regiment he traveled from Springfield, Illinois to Chickamauga, Georgia to
Picnic Island in Tampa, Florida, and eventually to action in the trenches at Santiago. He was discharged from service on
November 17, 1898.
Restrictions
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Availability
Collection is open for research.