the spanish–american war began on april 25, 1898, and ended on august 12, 1898. cuban and spanish dead vastly outnumbered american deaths. while 2,910 american military personnel died during the war, just 345 were combat deaths. the rest died of disease. the u.s. military barred women from serving in any capacity prior to the war. although the army had 791 nurses, they were all male, and far too few to provide the medical care needed. soldiers resisted being transferred from combat units into the nursing corps, and few volunteers signed up for medical duty. congress quickly authorized the military to hire female nurses—but on contract, not as military personnel. the army reached out specifically to the daughters of the american revolution (dar), a patriotic society, to recruit women nurses. dr. anita newcomb mcgee, one of the medical doctors practicing in the united states, was asked to lead the dar's recruitment effort. of the 1,563 nurses recruited for the new nurse corps, most served in hospitals in the united states. only 76 were sent to cuba, 30 to the philippines, nine to puerto rico, six to honolulu, and eight served aboard the hospital ship . it was the first time in american history where nurses were fully accepted in military hospitals.