The Eighth Army Corps was formed on June 21, 1898, shortly after the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, in order to provide a ground contingent to exploit Commodore

George Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, wi ...

's success in defeating the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. San Francisco was the natural point of departure, but troops stationed there had been deployed to Cuba at the outbreak of the war. Colonel Thomas M. Anderson, who commanded the last remaining regiment on the coast, was ordered to San Francisco, made brigadier general of volunteers, and put in charge of the preliminary arrangements pending the selection of the officer to command the expedition that was to become Eighth Corps. Major General Wesley Merrit was later selected to command Eighth Corps, which had only one division, curiously numbered as the Second Division, with General Andersom selected to command it. Eighth Corps defeated the Spanish forces under the command of

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

Fermín Jáudenes in the Battle of Manila on August 14, 1898 and continued to prosecute the

and the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

until, at the end of March 1900, the complexities involved in dealing with

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

and governing the islands led to the transformation of what had been the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of O ...

into the ''Division of the Philippines'' with four geographical departments, each of which was in turn divided into military districts. This step brought an end to the Eighth Corps. Units of the former Eighth Corps fought to an eventual victory in the Philippine–American War in July 1902.

Command structure

Following is the

Order of battle Order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed force. Various abbr ...

for the Eighth Army Corps: Commanding General, Eighth Army Corps: Major General

Wesley Merritt Wesley Merritt (June 16, 1836December 3, 1910) was an American major general who served in the cavalry of the United States Army during the American Civil War, American Indian Wars, and Spanish–American War. Following the latter war, he becam ...

*2nd Division - Colonel Thomas M. Anderson **1st Brigade - Brigadier General

Arthur MacArthur Jr. Arthur MacArthur Jr. (June 2, 1845 – September 5, 1912) was a lieutenant general of the United States Army. He became the military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1900; his term ended a year later due to clashes wi ...

*** 23rd Infantry Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel John W. French Jr. *** 14th Infantry Regiment - Colonel Thomas M. Anderson *** 13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Col. Charles McCormick Reeve ***1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Lt. Col. Amasa P. Peake ***1st Idaho Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Lt. Col. John W. Jones ***1st Wyoming Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Col. DeForest Richards ***Astor Battery - Captain Peyton C. March **2nd Brigade - Brigadier General Francis Vinton Greene *** 18th U.S. Infantry Regiment - Col. David D. Van Valzah ****1st Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel Clarence M. Bailey ****2nd Battalion - Major Charles Keller *** 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment - Maj. William August Kobbé ****1st Battalion - Captain James O'Hara ****2nd Battalion - Captain William E. Birkhimer ***U.S. Engineer Battalion, Company A - 2nd Lieutenant William Durward Connor *** 1st California Infantry Regiment - Colonel James Francis Smith *** 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment - Colonel Irving Hale *** 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Colonel John P. Bratt *** 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Colonel Owen Summers ***10th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Colonel Alexander Leroy Hawkins ***Utah Volunteer Artillery Regiment - Colonel Harry B. Mulford ****Light Battery A - Captain Richard Whitehead Young ****Light Battery B - Captain Frank A. Grant ***California Volunteer Heavy Artillery Detachment - 1st Lieutenant John A. Koster

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eighth Army Corps (Spanish-American War) Military units and formations of the United States in the Spanish–American War Military units and formations of the United States in the Philippine–American War Military units and formations established in 1898

Command structure

See also

References