Camp Cuba Libre was a rallying point for American forces during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. Established in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, in May 1898, it was constructed after forces assembling in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

became too crowded, and was the rallying point for Maj. General

Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 28, 1905) was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish–American War. He was the son of Sydney Smi ...

's Seventh Corps.

Early 1898

The camp was originally known as Camp Springfield, taking the name of the area north of downtown Jacksonville. The boundaries of the camp were set by "Ionia Street on the east, 8th street on the north, Main Street on the west, and 1st street on the south." The camp saw its greatest activity as the rallying point for the 30,000 men of the Seventh Corps shortly after its construction. As an overflow camp, supplies were scarce, and resources were being directed towards the Fifth and Eighth Corps, which were being deployed to the Philippines and Cuba.

Women at Camp Cuba Libre

The Spanish–American War was one of the first wars in which nurses were used in an institutional capacity. The

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

Hospital Corps contracted four Catholic

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: *Lakota, Iowa *Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County *Lakota ...

nuns as nurses who were sent to Camp Cuba Libre, before being assigned to Camp Columbia in Havana. White female nurses from the north who were serving with the Red Cross reported the suspicion with which they were received at Cuba Libre by the chief surgeon, who questioned the need for his staff to be aided by female nurses, channeling the suspicion that women volunteering for intimate contact with male soldiers were "

camp followers Camp followers are civilians who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the wives and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have histori ...

" (a euphemistic term for prostitutes who opportunistically followed armies). To counter this perception, Chief Nurse Edna Copeland instituted "strict sexual surveillance" on her nurses, which seemed to prompt accusations of misconduct by the women at one another.

References

{{reflist

External links

Camp Cuba Libre Collection at the University of South Florida
Spanish–American War History of Jacksonville, Florida Military in Jacksonville, Florida