Charles Gustave Sontag (also spelled Sonntag) was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1872. He entered military service during the Spanish-American War as a member of Company L, 1st South Carolina Infantry Regiment. When the war was over and Sontag had been discharged, he volunteered his service in Major Walter Reedâs experimental yellow fever group at the Columbia Barracks, near Havana, Cuba. This group was entirely voluntary, as exposure to yellow fever could result in death, but their sacrifice was made âfor the sake of humanity.â This collection is includes photographs of Sontag from the 1930s, as well as a group photograph of the yellow fever volunteers. There is a small amount of personal correspondence, including a letter to Sontag from his mother. The collection includes the temperature, or âfever chartsâ, of Sontag and two other men (Harry Franklin, diagnosed with typhoid fever and Frank Heinsler (?), who died from yellow fever). There are also newspaper clippings about Sontag, including his obituary from 1937.

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