Remembering the Maine: A Michigan Soldier’s Story
While Charles H. Barber's service as a wagoner in the Spanish-American War lasted just a few months, it became a defining part of his life.
he story of the Spanish-American War pales compared to larger U.S. engagements like WWI and WWII. Though short, the war created many veterans, including in Midwest states like Michigan.
Charles H. Barber was one of those veterans. Research found an image of Co. E, 33rd Regiment, a group of Michigan volunteers that included Charles, who had just reached the age of 22.
G.F. Sterling & Co., Michigan Volunteers of ’98: A Complete Photographic Record of Michigan’s Part in the Spanish American War of 1898 (Detroit: G.F. Sterling & Co., 1898), p. 51.This image and others like it in appeared in G.F. Sterling & Co.’s Michigan Volunteers of ’98: A Complete Photographic Record of Michigan’s Part in the Spanish American War of 1898, a souvenir book printed in commemoration.1 The photos were likely taken while the different companies trained at Island Lake near Brighton, Michigan, northwest of Detroit, prior to their deployment. The camp at which they trained later became a state-run park and recreation area.
Charles served as a wagoner. He would drive horse or mule carts of supplies to other soldiers. He enlisted 26 April 1898 and was discharged late that year on 22 December 1898.2
Though the discharge came in December, it appeared that the Company E spent just the summer in Cuba. Charles was among a group of veterans that returned to Michigan for a heroes’ welcome in early September.3
Excerpt from “Was a Grand Welcome,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 5 September 1898, p. 1, col. 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1076678267 : accessed 30 August 2026). Shows roster of Co. E, 33rd Regiment from Michigan in the Spanish-American War.The article headlined “Was a Grand Welcome” from the front page of The Saginaw Evening News on 5 September 1898 began with a description of the homecoming: “The scene at the F. & P. M. depot upon the arrival of the special train bearing Co.’s E and D, M. N. G., of this city from their recent engagement in Cuba, was one which can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it and one, too, which is past all power of description.”
The article went on: “The whistles and bells of the city were turned loose, while the thousands assembled sent up a mighty shout that could be heard blocks away. Men waved their hats and caps in the air and cheered lustily, while in the hands of maidens fluttered thousands of white handkerchiefs.”
It appeared that one of those waving handkerchiefs may have belonged to a young woman named Blanche Lynch. She and veteran Charles H. Barber married not long after, on 20 March 1900.4
While Charles’ military service lasted just a few months, it became a defining part of his life. He was active local veteran groups with his Company E compatriots and his service garnered a mention in the first line of his obituary when he passed in spring 1956.5
“Charles Barber, War Vet, Dies,” The Saginaw [Michigan] News, 2 May 1956, p. 36, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1108192418/ : accessed 13 April 2025).“A Spanish-American War Veteran, Charles H. Barber, 79, of 407 Clark, died today at Veterans Administration Hospital,” the obit began.
Charles’ widow Blanche even received, about a decade after Charles’ death, a letter signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson honoring her husband’s memory and his service in the Spanish-American War. It offered a noble capstone to the life this citizen-soldier.
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- G.F. Sterling & Co., Michigan Volunteers of ’98: A Complete Photographic Record of Michigan’s Part in the Spanish American War of 1898 (Detroit: G.F. Sterling & Co., 1898), p. 51. ↩︎
- “United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS1M-HSL2-R : accessed 30 August 2026) > image group no. 105102698, image 2922 of 7999; citing National Archives and Records Administration. ↩︎
- “Was a Grand Welcome,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 5 September 1898, p. 1, col. 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1076678267 : accessed 30 August 2026). ↩︎
- Michigan Secretary of State, Return of Marriages in the County of Saginaw, Page 88, Record No. 9,317, Charles H. Barber/Blanche E. Lynch marriage, 20 March 1900; imaged, FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SK7-WSD : accessed 23 November 2024), image 249 of 609; citing Michigan Department of Vital Records. ↩︎
- “Charles Barber, War Vet, Dies,” The Saginaw [Michigan] News, 2 May 1956, p. 36, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1108192418/ : accessed 13 April 2025). ↩︎
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