Following the sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in February 1898, war was declared between the U.S. and Spain in April. The first major conflict since the Civil War, the Spanish-American War was also similarly fought largely using volunteer troops organized within states. Calaveras residents at the time joined the various California regiments. Past and future residents, however, spanned numerous other service entities, including the Navy and Marine Corps. These men served from Cuba to the Philippines during the war, which concluded in August 1898, and/or during the Philippine Insurrection (also called the Philippine-American War), which began in 1899 and concluded in 1902.

By Sal Manna