 The Illinois Department of
the United Spanish War Veterans, a state
affiliate of the national fraternal and
beneficent organization, was formed in April 1904
with the merger of several Illinois Spanish War
veteran organizations, including the Service Men
of the Spanish War and the Spanish-American War
Veterans. One of the principal proponents of the
merger was David Davis of Litchfield, in
Montgomery County. He served as department
commander until the first department
"Encampment"or meeting in September
1904.
The
merger of veterans organizations in Illinois was
part of a consolidation movement occurring
nationally among veterans groups. After the
Spanish-American War, a number of veteran
organizations such as the Legion of Spanish War
Veterans (from Massachusetts) and the Veteran
Army of the Philippines led by Brig. Gen. Irving
Hale, had been organized throughout the United
States. The United Spanish War Veterans was
founded in 1904 out of  the
union of several independent Spanish-American War
organizations which included the aforementioned
groups as well as the National Army and Navy
Spanish American War Veterans, the National
Association of Spanish American War Veterans,
Service Men of the Spanish War and the Society of
the Hispano-American War. General Hale of
Colorado is considered by many as the founder of
the United Spanish War Veterans due to his
efforts to unite the various organizations
beginning in 1898.
The
purposes of the USWV were (1) to perpetuate the
memories of those who served, (2) to honor the
dead, (3) to provide assistance to less fortunate
comrades and their dependents, and (4) to promote
the best interests of those who participated in
the war. USWV members took pride in the fact that
they they were the only wartime army in American
history to be made up entirely of volunteers.
They pointed to the building of the Panama Canal
and control of such diseases as yellow fever as a
direct results of the war. Of the 458,000 men who
were eligible for membership in the USWV,
seventy-three percent were sons of Civil War
veterans and forty-two percent saw action in
World War I.
Membership
in the USWV, as well as the Department of
Illinois was open to those who served in the
armed forces during the Spanish-American War,
Philippine Insurrection and Boxer Rebellion
(April 21, 1898-July 4, 1902). National USWV
membership peaked at over 126,000 and over 1,500
camps (local chapters) in 1933. As late as 1949
there were five thousand members in the Illinois
Department, but by the mid-1960's membership
dropped to less than two hundred. By April 1968,
there were only 147 members left in the
Department of Illinois.
The USWV and the
Department of Illinois participated yearly in
special observances on Memorial Day, Annual
Muster Day (April 21), and Maine Day (February
15). The organization also lobbied foe
legislature favorable to Spanish-American War
veterans, including pensions and aid for widows.
The Illinois Department was assisted in these
efforts by the Spanish-American War Veterans
Commission, established by the state of Illinois.
The Department of
Illinois, like other USWV departments, was
divided into districts, with each district headed
by a District Inspector appointed by the
department commander. Districts were comprised of
local camps, which were numbered consecutively by
the date of their charter. An annual department
tax of twenty cents per capita payable in two
installments was imposed on camps. The tax was
increased in subsequent years. A camp six months
in arrears on its per capita tax was suspended,
and a year's arrearage resulted in forfeiture of
the camp's charter.
The constitution,
by-laws, rules and regulations, ceremonies, all
other legislation of the national encampment, and
all lawful orders of the national
commander-in-chief or department were the supreme
law of the department. The department encampment,
made up of delegates from all Illinois camps in
good standing, met once a year and was the
governing body of the department. The department
commander acted as the chief executive officer.
In addition to the commander, senior vice
commander, junior vice commander, inspector,
patriotic instructor, marshal, historian, and
grave registration officer were elected annually
by the department encampment. The chief of staff,
adjutant, quartermaster, judge advocate, surgeon,
and chaplain were appointed by the commander.
The commander was
also responsible for the appointment of most
department committee members. These committees
included credentials, auditing, legislation,
enactments and resolutions, transportation and
accommodation budget, service and employment and
veterans service.
 The elected officials of
the department, in addition to the quartermaster,
adjutant, past commanders and past national
commanders-in-chief who were members of the
Illinois Department, were members of the
department Council of Administration. The council
acted primarily as the encampments executive
board, reporting all actions taken during the
year to the annual convention of the department
encampment and serving as an advisory board to
the commander.
In its early
years, the Illinois Department headquarters
appears to have been at the home of the incumbent
department adjutant. A permanent office was
apparently created in Springfield but was moved
to Chicago in the early 1940's. When the
department office in Chicago was closed in July
1967 by the last department commander, Orrin
Rawson, most of the departments records were
gone. A number of camps throughout the state kept
records at the department headquarters, and many
of these were also reported "missing."
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above photos contributed by Richard Schachtsiek
for a larger view .
