Camp Merriam was located on the hills just north of the Lombard Street entrance to the Presidio of San Francisco.

The camp was established in 1898 to quarter and train volunteer soldiers from California, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota for service during the Spanish-American War.

[2] On July 19, 1898, Brigadier General Marcus P. Miller, the commanding general of the Volunteer Armies being processed through Camp Merritt received a telegram from the Secretary of War directing that "... all commanding officers of regiments at Camp Merritt report to General Merriam for further equipment and instructions ..." and that "... Camp Merritt had been condemned and that all troops will be immediately moved to the Presidio.

"[4] According to a different report in the same source, "The sanitary condition of the camp [is] daily proving worse, and unless speedy action is taken there is every possibility of a spread of infectious diseases."

The source also states that "... within ten minutes after these instructions came from the War Department the initial steps for the removal were taken.