Wet plate, albumen photograph, that measures 6 1/2 x 4 3/4, and it is mounted to a thick gray card stock that measures 7 3/4 x 6. Outdoor scene of 8 soldiers of Co. K, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, standing at attention with their rifles in the order arms position, wearing slouch hats and leggings. An officer is standing at attention to the left of the group. An army wagon is behind and to the left of the soldiers. Clearly visible on the covered part of the army wagon is 2nd Infty., Co. K, Mass. They are posing in front of a brick building, possibly a fort. No photographer's imprint. There is a small chip out of the bottom right hand corner of the card mount. This does not effect any of the content. Excellent subject matter. Circa 1898. Very desirable Spanish American War image from this hard fought Massachusetts Regiment who saw action in all of the major American Wars!

The 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment has a long standing history as being an elite regiment. They fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and many other conflicts. In September 1862, Captain Robert Gould Shaw served in this regiment, and was wounded at the battle of Antietam, Maryland. Shaw would later go on to much fame as the Colonel of the first black Civil War Regiment to see combat, the famous 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, which he led at the battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863. Shaw was killed leading the charge on the Confederate works, and was buried in a trench grave alongside of his negro soldiers.

The 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the Spanish American War:

The regiment served in Cuba during the Spanish American War and took part in the battle of El Caney. The 2nd Massachusetts Infantry was mustered into federal service between May 8-10, 1898, at Framingham, Massachusetts. At the time of their muster, the regiment consisted of forty-seven officers and 896 enlisted men. The regiment became part of the Fifth Army Corps, under the command of General William Shafter, forming part of the First Brigade of the Second Division. On June 14th, the regiment steamed for Cuba as part of the invasion force on board the army transport Seneca. The regiment arrived eight days later, landing at Daquiri. From Daquiri, they marched to Siboney. The 2nd Massachusetts was then sent out from Siboney to Las Guasimas, and the regiment ended up making camp beside Colonel Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, who they shared their rations with.

On the morning of July 1st, a member of the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry described the scene:

Just below us was Santiago still wrapped in the morning mist, and apparently still not aroused from its slumber. All about us were frowning hills and mountains and in the distance we could see the harbor outside of which sat the grim war ships of the United States waiting for their prey to come out.

Later, as the regiment was split up and moved a short distance into line of battle, the same soldier described what he saw before him:

El Caney lay almost directly in front of us, a small town backed up against a steep hill with forts, entrenchments and houses bristling with rifles. To our right on a small elevation was the famous stone fort over which floated the red and yellow flag of Spain. A little to the left was the village church, of stone, and it was converted into a fortress while on either side of both the fort and the church were the familiar Spanish blockhouses. And in front of all were the trenches, well built and fortified covering all of the front and sides of the town, with the fort and with their fronts guarded by fences and entanglements of barbed wire.

At the battle of El Caney, the First Brigade was sent to occupy the road leading westward from El Caney. On June 30th, late in the day, the brigade, with the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, moved out from their position over trails that were very mucky and muddy following a heavy rain. Arriving, the men bedded down along the road for the night. At 4:00 A.M on July 1st, they were awakened and advanced on El Caney. Once the brigade was within one thousand to twelve hundred yards of the town, it began receiving Mauser rifle fire. The brigade deployed with the 2nd Massachusetts occupying the right of the brigade's line. They were hampered in that it was still equipped with Springfield rifles which used black powder. This placed the men of the regiment at a disadvantage since the smoke of the black powder would give away their position, and also obscure their view of the enemy. The shorter range of the weapon was also a handicap.

The battle for El Caney was very fierce. Originally expected to be a brief skirmish, the battle lasted most of the day. It had been intended that, once El Caney had been neutralized, the men involved would advance to the San Juan Heights and join in the assault at that location, which was also ongoing. Unfortunately, by the time the town fell, there was no time for them to join in the battle at San Juan Heights that day. When the town eventually fell, the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry found it had lost First Lieutenant Charles Field, killed, with Captain W.T. Warner, and Second Lieutenants, D.J. Moynhan, and Oscar D. Hapgood all being wounded.

After fighting most of the day, the 2nd Massachusetts spent the night marching to the San Juan Heights and joined in the skirmishing that occurred over the next few days. On July 4th, the regiment was again on the march, extending the battle lines to attempt to encircle Santiago, digging trenches on what became known as "Misery Hill." Seven days later, the regiment was again on the march to what would become its last camp. Throughout this period, the regiment was lacking rations and other supplies. Three days after arriving at the last camp, Santiago surrendered to Major General William Shafter.

Santiago soon surrendered, and on August 12, 1898, the United States and Spain formally agreed to an armistice, ending the fighting portion of the war. The 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment joined the 8th U.S. Infantry, and the 22nd U.S. Infantry, onboard the transport Mobile, and departed Cuba on August 13th bound for Camp Wikoff on Long Island, New York. The transport arrived there on August 20th.

On arrival, the regiment was placed in the quarantine came, from which it was released on August 24th. The following day, it was given a sixty day furlough. The regiment was mustered out of service on October 3, 1898 at Springfield, Massachusetts, but was not paid for its service until November 17th. During its term of service, the regiment lost one officer, and four enlisted men killed in action. Four more enlisted men would die of wounds received in action. In addition one officer and eighty-six enlisted men succumbed to disease.

The war ended on December 10, 1898, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.