At the start of the 20th century, these groups began to merge. In 1904, the three largest groups, the Spanish War Veterans, the Spanish–American War Veterans and the Servicemen of the Spanish War joined to form the United Spanish War Veterans. They became the largest and most influential of the Spanish–American War societies. In 1906, the Legion of Spanish War Veterans would merge with the United Spanish War Veterans. The Legion existed in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The President of the Rhode Island chapter of the LSWV was Mrs Ellen V. Meehan during the 1930s, her husband was Cpl. James Arthur Meehan, who served in the Spanish war with the Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry.