Round-Robin Letter (Spanish–American War)
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The Round-Robin Letter is the name of an incident in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
that occurred between July 28 and August 3, 1898, during 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 ...
. After disease incapacitated thousands of Army soldiers in the wake of the
Siege of Santiago The siege of Santiago, also known as the siege of Santiago de Cuba, was the last major operation of the Spanish–American War on the island of Captaincy General of Cuba, Cuba. Santiago campaign The primary objective of the American Fifth Ar ...
, high-ranking officers of Fifth Army Corps drafted a
round-robin letter A round-robin letter or Christmas letter is a letter, typically included with a Christmas card and sent to multiple recipients at the end of the year, in which the writer describes the year's events for themselves and/or their family. The round ...
demanding that the unit be sent back to the United States. Public release of the letter embarrassed the U.S. government. By July 28, 1898,
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
and yellow fever were rife among U.S. Army troops
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ed near
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
on the island of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Fifth Corps, to which the
Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
was attached, had 4,270 men seriously ill (and dying), and corps commanders feared the unit could be wiped out if it stayed in Cuba.Wintermute, p. 558. The McKinley administration, however, planned to keep the corps in Cuba until peace negotiations with Spain concluded. Public opinion was also against bringing home an army infected with yellow fever.Golay, p. 104. Several senior officers met with Major General William R. Shafter, commander of Fifth Corps, and unanimously asked that the corps be withdrawn to the United States. It is unclear whether Shafter agreed and asked for this in writing, or whether Shafter disagreed and the corps commanders decided to put their request in writing. Colonel
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
(commander of the First Volunteer US Cavalry Rough Riders), the only non-general officer of the group, was asked by the rest of the group to draft a round-robin letter outlining the problems with living conditions and disease to send to Army Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The letter would also be deliberately leaked to the press. As a volunteer, Roosevelt's career would not be at stake in the way a regular army officer's would be by the communication. (Some sources say there is doubt that Roosevelt was the author, while others say that Roosevelt was only the author of the abridged letter.Golay, p. 105.) Nine generals and Roosevelt signed the letter. An abridged version was given to Shafter to present to the
United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...
. Shafter declined to do so, but did communicate with his superiors about what was happening."Round Robin", in ''Historical Dictionary of the Spanish American War'', p. 284. The letter was deliberately leaked to
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correspondents at corps headquarters, who cabled it to the U.S., where it was published nationwide. Publication of the round-robin letter turned public opinion against the War Department. The McKinley administration was outraged by the leak of the round-robin letter, but quickly realized that the public would blame the government. The administration acted swiftly to try to defuse the situation. On July 28, Secretary of War Russell A. Alger cabled Shafter and ordered Fifth Corps home to Camp Wikoff on
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,
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, for
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and mustering out. On August 3, the day before the letter appeared in the press, Alger ordered construction of barracks at Camp Wikoff to begin and for
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ships to head to Cuba to retrieve Fifth Corps. The first units departed on August 7. Alger claimed that the round-robin letter did not accelerate administration plans to repatriate the corps. This appears disingenuous, however, as Alger had long asserted that naval ships were unavailable to bring the troops home. One side effect of the Round Robin Letter is that Alger refused to endorse Roosevelt's nomination for the Medal of Honor.Jeffers. Roosevelt would only receive the honor posthumously, with it being awarded 2001.


See also

*
Brett Crozier Brett Elliott Crozier (born February 24, 1970) is a retired captain in the United States Navy. A United States Naval Academy graduate, he became a naval aviator, first flying helicopters and then switching to fighters. After completing naval ...
, captain of the aircraft carrier USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' who wrote a similar letter which leaked to the media during the
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.


References


Bibliography

*Golay, Michael. ''Spanish–American War.'' rev ed. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. *Jeffers, H. Paul. ''Colonel Roosevelt: Theodore Roosevelt Goes to War, 1897-1898.'' New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996. *Lane, Jack C. ''Armed Progressive: General Leonard Wood.'' Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. *"Round Robin." In ''Historical Dictionary of the Spanish American War.'' Donald H. Dyal, Brian B. Carpenter, and Mark A. Thomas, eds. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996. *Wintermute, Bob A. "Round-Robin Letter." In ''The Encyclopedia of the Spanish–American and Philippine–American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History.'' Spencer Tucker, ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Round-Robin Letter (Spanish-American War) Spanish–American War Letters (message) 1898 documents History of Santiago de Cuba