Student soldiers of 1898: the 22nd Kansas "College Company".

Abstract

Kansas college students enthusiastically joined in the war fervor that aroused Americans against Spain in 1898. Kansas collegians organized college militias to "Remember the Maine," enlisting in great numbers and out of this flurry emerged a rare entity, an energetic company comprised entirely of college students from across Kansas. This amalgamation would become known as the "College Company," Company H, of the 22nd Kansas Volunteer Regiment. Captain William Clarence Stevenson, an experienced military officer and an established professor of commercial studies at what was then Kansas State Normal School in Emporia, Kansas, helped to organize the student company and served as its elected commander. Kansas citizens held a special affinity for the proud college boys that hailed from varied institutions, hosting celebrations and send-offs complete with gifts of edibles and useful items. The company's first stay in their military adventure was the state camp at Camp Leedy, on the Topeka Fairgrounds. There, they spent a short time then left their beloved Kansas and made their way across the country to Camp Alger, Virginia, a large military camp established by the United States government for training enlistees. From June to August the collegians spent each day tediously training in drill and war maneuvers under a hot sun, lived in poor camp conditions, and hoped the time for real action would soon come. When they managed it, the troops escaped to the Virginia countryside or to Washington, D.C., to see the sites. Unfortunately for many, an opportunity to prove their bravery in combat did not come to them for the Spanish-American War ended quickly. The College Company relocated to Camp Meade, Pennsylvania, then traveled back to Kansas in September. Kansas received them as heroes. The men had done what they could for their country. These collegians had bravely, yet naively, risen to the occasion of defending their country's interests. They had seen distant parts of the country and its cultural differences and visited the nation's capital. Ultimately these student soldiers matured they survived harsh military conditions in an unprepared for war that tested their healths as well as their wills. Two died from disease, and at least two others would go on to further military service. Throughout the years men would reminisce and people would remember the exhilarating days when Kansas college students boldly banded together to fight America's enemy and citizens greeted trains with shouts and cannon fire, bearing gifts for the "boys in blue." Company H, 22nd Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment, would be recorded as the "College Company," the only one of its kind in Kansas.