Tampa and the Spanish-American War: 2nd New York Volunteer Infantry Photo Album

This photo album is a collection of photographs of soldiers with the 2nd New York Volunteer Infantry, recruited for the Spanish-American War, and serving at Camp Black, New York; Tampa, Florida, Fernandina, Florida; and Troy, New York. Photos show Company "L" from Saratoga Springs, New York. Among the men identified in the album are the commander, Captain (later Colonel) E.E. Hardin, and members of the company Hiram C. Todd, John K. Walbridge and Benjamin K. Walbridge, Winsor P. French, Harry F. Thomas, Frank A. Burd, Frederick P. McNair, Don A. Epler, Jacob R. Ditmars, and William J. Searing. There are 203 photos, mostly small and of varying quality. They show sick soldiers resting in hammocks, troops bathing, camp scenes, and local landmarks like the Tampa Bay Hotel; also pictures of the entire camp at Fernandina. Of the 32 members of the New York 2nd Volunteers Regiment who died of disease, 8 members were from Company L, and a few of those deceased can be seen in the photos prior to their deaths.

The history of the regiment, and information about men who served in it, can be found in Our County and Its People: A Descriptive and Biographical Record of Saratoga County, New York (1899). Several men identified in photos went on to significant careers back in Saratoga Springs: For example, Corporal Hiram C. Todd became a prominent lawyer and District Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Private Winsor P. French was the father of Cleveland Press society columnist Winsor French, Sergeant John K. Walbridge was a publisher and served as Treasurer of Saratoga County, and Benjamin K. Walbridge served as an attorney and argued cases before the Supreme Court of New York.