Date: 1898-1902

 

Description: This officer’s uniform was worn by Sergeant Clarence Joseph Heppe of Sioux City. Sergeant Heppe served in the U. S. Army Infantry in the Spanish-American War. The royal blue colors were standard for the U. S. Army during this time, and the three chevrons on the arm indicate the sergeant’s rank. The Spanish-American War was the first war fought by the United States that took place on foreign soil, mainly in the former Spanish holdings of Cuba and the Philippines. The majority of American soldiers in this war were volunteers, including men from Sioux City. The Iowa National Guard had a unit in Sioux City that was trained at Camp Rice in Riverside Park, and some members of this unit volunteered for the war. In addition, 56 volunteers from Company L from Iowa’s 52nd Infantry Regiment signed up and were sent to train at Camp Chickamauga in Georgia. This unit saw no military action, but like the other southeastern camps, many of the trainees died from heat, fever, and insect-borne illness. Thus the U. S. suffered some of the greatest casualties at home rather than abroad. The Kirk Post #12, a Sioux City veteran’s post, was named after a major of the 52nd Infantry, and it would run until the last member died in 1976. Over 120 veterans of the Spanish-American War are buried in Sioux City cemeteries.

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Donor: Celeste Marie Heppe

 

On display