Ward Cheney

Ward Cheney (26 May 1875 - 7 Jan. 1900) was the son of Frank Woodbridge Cheney (1832-1909) and Mary Bushnell Cheney (1840-1917). He was the seventh of twelve children.

Ward attended Yale University and was a member of the Class of 1896. After graduation he spent a year abroad, studying at Berlin University and travelling extensively in Europe and the Middle East. He returned to the United States and began working for the Hartford Courant in December of 1897. The Spanish-American War broke out a few months later, and Ward enlisted in Company G, First Connecticut Volunteers on April 26, 1898. He went with his regiment to Camp Alger in Virginia. In July he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the Fourth United States Infantry. The regiment set sail for Manila (Phillipines) on January 19, 1899 and arrived on March 10th.

Once in the Phillipines, Ward's regiment was involved in several engagements. He was commended for his service and was commisioned First Lieutenant on June 2, 1899. In December of that year he was hospitalized for dengue fever (the result of a mosquito-borne virus). After a few days, though not fully recovered, he returned to his post in Imus to participate in a campaign against Cavite. Lieutenant Cheney fell under enemy fire while leading a reconnaissance mission near Puente Julian on January 7, 1900. He died as a result of his wounds.

The above information was paraphrased from a detailed biography that was published in the "Decennial Record of the Class of 1896, Yale College," compiled by Clarence S. Day, Jr., (New York, 1907), p264-268.

https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030632594/cu31924030632594_djvu.txt. (Accessed online through archive.org, 1/16/2024.)