What if: Spanish-America War of 1873

Actually, one Nathan Bedford Forrest had sent a request to General Sherman to command the cavalry should war break out. Sherman wanted to take him up on it. I can't see Sherman turning him down (I think he was understanding about Ft. Pillow, having marched to the Sea in the fashion he did) and a lot of other ex Confederates, which would have a positive effect toward reconstruction.

More dead Confederates? Hurrah!
 
The difference between Cuba and Hawaii is that Hawaii is far more important geostrategically. Pearl Harbor is the only good naval base for hundreds (thousands?) of miles/kilometers - something that doesn't hold as true for Cuba. At the very least, the US is going to get some kind of permanent cession over Pearl Harbor the way it does in Guantanamo.

Americans had been mucking around asia looking for colonies and market access for a while too. Commodore Perry annexed the Bonin islands, proposed that the US annex Taiwan, and of course forcibly opened Japan. In the 1860s the US skirmished with Korea over gaining access to the country. Some Americans had purchased a slice of Sabah (referred to as Ellena) in was is today Kimanis in Sabah and only sold it off in 1875. I doubt holding Cuba will change this.

I think the US would still be inclined to grab an island like Guam here too.

I wonder what the effect of an 1873 war in asia would mean

Did I not say a naval base would be sufficent? I think I did, or maybe that's clear to me because I'm reading my own words with my own intent known, but that's what I meant to get across. A concession at Pearl is still virtually guranteed, though I question if youd see Hawaii directed annexed rather than "Platt Amended" or agreed to split basing rights with the UK (who also has legitiment tranpacific interests). Economically,,you'll be facing pressure not to bring the country into the custom-exempt status annexation would create, and pressure earlier on by Carribean products is likely to regard the growth in wealth, power, and land ownership of the white planter class to begin with. Given that, I find it difficult to believe we'd see the same regeime change as IOTL.
 
More dead Confederates? Hurrah!

Confederate field officers given commissions again, unlikely to result in a lot of ex-Confederate deaths. Given Southerners have more experience with the diseases to be found in Cuba than Northerners, it's rather likely to find the body counts to be skewed to the opposite of what you're suggesting.
 
Top