Walter W. Ward

Walter W. Ward is the author of Springfield in the Spanish-American War, a book first published in 1899. In it, he chronicles how Springfield, Massachusetts responded to the war of 1898, following local militia companies and naval volunteers while honoring the men who served and died.

The book’s preface makes clear that Ward wrote with a strong sense of civic memory. He was interested not only in military events, but also in the way a single American city rallied its citizens, recorded its losses, and preserved the story for later generations.

Very little biographical information about Ward himself could be confirmed from reliable sources available online during this search. Based on the work that survives, he can best be understood as a turn-of-the-century chronicler of local history whose writing preserves Springfield’s view of a brief but consequential war.