Name/Title
Launch VIDAEntry/Object ID
2008.1015.019Description
Launch VIDA
Brother Alex and Bro Dick (Richard Fanning Loper, Jr.) took fruit and supplies twice to Camp Wickoff/Wyckoff at Montauk in this launch.
Quanaduck in the distance
Following from web - http://longislandgenealogy.com/CampWyckoff/CampWyckoff.html:
After their return from the Cuban campaign. Many of the servicemen in Cuba had contracted tropical fevers, which had prompted the U.S. government to establish Camp Wickoff as a place where these soldiers could be quarantined until they recuperated. The evacuation of the Fifth Corps to Montauk was made before the camp was ready, resulting in inadequate provisions of housing, food and medical facilities. Secretary of War Russell Alger was blamed in popular opinion for the condition of the camp as well as for poor care of the troops while in Cuba, prompting President McKinley to create a special commission to investigate the conduct of the War Department during the war. By September, the situation at Camp Wickoff had improved measurably, and President McKinley visited the camp to show his approval. Over 20,000 soldiers were evacuated to Camp Wickoff before it closed on October 28; 257 died while there.Collection
Harriet Babcock Brown CollectionMade/Created
Artist
Loper, Alexander PalmerDate made
1898