Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: From April to June, 1898, Tampa served as port of embarkation for U.S. Troops on their way to Cuba. Some 30,000 troops arrived in Tampa and 16,000 embarked from Port Tampa on June 7. The Tampa Bay Hotel was headquarters for the force's leaders including General Miles and Shafter and Colonel "Teddy" Roosevelt. The city also swarmed with visiting civilians including author Richard Harding Davis and Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross.