"Camp Stephens, Jefferson Barracks, May, 1898, showing a section of Light Battery A, Missouri Volunteers, laying a 3-inch gun. St. Louis' own Battery A was first Missouri unit mustered into United States service for the Spanish-American War at Jefferson Barracks May 9, 1898; first to leave Missouri, May 16; first to sail overseas from Newport News July 28, and only Missouri volunteer unit to see active service in the Puerto Rican campaign. From the right, the young cannoneers have been identified by fellow veterans as Sgt. Thomas B. Williams, a heavily-bearded Gustave A. Buder holding the lanyard of the weapon, Ernest S. Tesson in rear, Frederick Chopin, Theodore Buder facing the camera over the gun sight, and Charles R. Crouch." "Shortly after this photo was made the battery was ordered to Chickamauga for embarkation. The unit was ready to bombard the Puerto Rican town of Guayama."
Two original captions: "Jefferson Barracks, showing the old Guard House. Besides many other incidents, amusing and tragic, the old Guard House was the genesis of the new Jefferson Barracks. Spurred by reports of low morale in the Army during its longest period of peace from 1865 to 1898, a St. Louis newspaper reporter enlisted, was assigned to the barracks, deserted, and kept his newspaper columns hot with the insides story of Army life. Besides a slight upping of allowances and promise of other reforms, the War Department inaugurated a rebuilding of Jefferson Barracks where the controversy was centered and within a decade had razed the historic quadrangle of limestone and substituted a new post of pressed brick." "The old guard house was the genesis of the "new" Jefferson Barracks of the 1900s. Spurred by stories of low morale at the Barracks, a reporter enlisted in the 1890s and then deserted. The natural course of events followed and soon his newspaper was publishing the inside story of the army life. Before long soldiers' pay was upped and many structures were rebuilt. The Spanish-American War further emphasized the need for modernization and by 1905 all but one of the old buildings had been replaced."
"Camp Stephens, Jefferson Barracks, showing the tent city which stood on the reservation throughout 1898. A soldier can be discerned in the hollow in foreground on sentry-go even though the nearest enemy was in Cuba. All of Missouri's volunteer regiments in the War with Spain passed through Camp Stephens, a total of just over 8000 men. The Barracks was also used as a regular army post for the cavalry depot and as an organization point for horse and mule pack teams. Volunteers were not allowed to use the Barracks buildings."