Courtesy of Hawaii State Archives
Military might starts flexing its muscle here in 1895,
with troops marching into Manoa Valley to quash
a royalist rebellion.

---

Isles falls in with new
U.S. military plans

First Pearl Harbor, then other
bases here, get more important
after the Spanish-American War

By Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin

IT was a feigned vacation for Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield and Brig. Gen. B.S. Alexander that brought the United States military to Hawaii.

In 1873, the pair -- Schofield, commander of the Army's Pacific division, and Alexander, with the Army Corps of Engineers -- used the cover of an extended vacation for a two-month mission. Their orders: ". . . Ascertaining the defensive capabilities of the different ports and to collect all information that would be of service to the country in the event of a war with a maritime nation."

They immediately saw the potential of Pearl Harbor for the U.S. Navy.

So when the Kingdom of Hawaii started dealing with the United States, officials in Washington were targeting a pact to give them the strategic, protected harbor.

Courtesy of Hawaii State Archives
In 1898, troops at the U.S. Army's Camp McKinley
at the foot of Diamond Head, right, remain on call
for the Spanish-American War.

---

The 1887 renewal of the Reciprocity Treaty, first signed in 1876 to allow isle rice and unrefined sugar into the United States tax-free, won Pearl Harbor. And after annexation in 1898, the United States gained command of the former kingdom.

In fact, just four days after annexation, American troops set up camps McKinley and Otis at Kapiolani Park, as a staging area for troops headed to the Philippines to fight in the Spanish-American War.

"They were just a presence. They had not official duties. In fact, the soldiers complained bitterly in their diaries about not having anything to do," noted Tom Fairfull, U.S. Army Museum director.

"The first units were wined and dined extensively by the Hawaiian community," he said. "But after the novelty wore off, it got sort of hostile, officials complained they weren't being compensated and property was being taken."

When that war ended, the United States was a world power, with territories across the globe. Key to control of the Pacific was Hawaii and Pearl Harbor.

Hawaii was strategic because it served as a coaling station and a naval base to fuel ships moving to the country's new possessions of Guam and the Philippines.

Soon, military bases were planned to protect against invasions from all points. Schofield Barracks on Oahu's central plain could speed troops to repel North Shore attacks and still be able to rush to the defense of Pearl Harbor. Fort Armstrong and Fort Shafter would defend the South Shore.

Along with the forts and garrisons, the Army formed plans to move troops around Oahu. Many of the isle's roads were first built, or improved, by the military. That remains a constant as Honolulu's three interstate highways -- the H-1, H-2 and H-3 -- are all justified as military highways.

The Army also was the first to accurately map Oahu, Fairfull said.

The First World War touched Hawaii as German ships ducked into Hawaiian ports before America joined the war. Later, the economic structure of Hawaii was changed when one of the "Big Five" firms, the German firm of Hackfeld & Company, was seized as alien enemy property.

The other Hawaii companies bought the shares, thereby tightening their hold on Hawaii's economy. Hackfeld's retail merchant house, B.F. Ehlers, was renamed Liberty House and Hackfeld became American Factors, later called Amfac.

About this Series The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is counting down to year 2000 with this special series. Each month through December, we'll chronicle important eras in Hawaii's history, featuring a timeline of that particular period. Next month's installment: August 9. Series Archive Project Editor: Lucy Young-Oda Chief Photographer: Dean Sensui