Hinsey, Clarence. Letters, 1898-1899 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

During his service in the Spanish-American War, in Company A of the 51st Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Clarence Hinsey, of Des Moines, Iowa, wrote his aunt, Laura Hinsey Jenison, of Fond de Lac, Wisc.  Hinsey's letters from Camp Merritt, Calif. on July 20, 1898; from the Presidio at San Francisco on Aug. 3, 1898; and from Manila on Mar. 6, 1899, include brief descriptions of each encampment and its surroundings and indicate the general course of the war.

Written in pencil, the letters have become faded and are somewhat difficult to read.  Marguerite Jenison Pease, of Urbana, Ill., gave the collection to the Library in 1991.