Photo courtesy of the Western Heritage Foundation
by John Mason Glen, Ph.D., the Prescott Western Heritage Foundation
He preferred to be addressed as “T.R.” or “Colonel,” rather than “Teddy.” His first wife, Alice, who died in 1884, had called him “Teddy.”
As a reward for his support of William McKinley in the 1896 presidential election, “T.R.” was appointed Under Secretary of the Navy and was partially responsible for deployment of the American battleship USS Maine to Havana harbor.
The gunboat exploded there killing over 250 sailors. This event propelled the U.S. into the Spanish-American War.
“T.R.,” an ardent imperialist, resigned his post in the administration and joined his friend Leonard Wood in a campaign to create an all-volunteer group of horse soldiers.
The unit was to be composed of volunteers from the West who might be prepared for the Cuban climate, but soon was comprised of an assortment of cowboys, miners, former peace officers, Native Americans, collegiate athletes, and once they got to Cuba, even commanded by a former Confederate general.
The group’s training took place in Tampa, where the weather was so unpleasant that some soldiers “wanted to defeat the Spaniards and force them to take Florida back.”
Not enough transports could be found to carry both horses and soldiers to Cuba, so all but the officers’ animals were left behind, reducing the Rough Riders to little more than glamorous infantry.
“T.R.” received a battlefield promotion to the rank of colonel and took command of the regiment.
The troops’ first firefight was outside a Cuban hamlet and forced the Spanish to withdraw to defend the more strategically valuable San Juan Heights. The Spanish fighters were difficult to detect in the dense underbrush, but a hot air balloon from the U.S. Army Signal Corps assisted with reconnaissance.
Finally, Roosevelt’s men, in conjunction with the 3rd and the 10th Cavalry (Black “Buffalo Soldiers”) began their assault of Kettle Hill, part of San Juan Heights. The foot soldiers were supported by four Gatling guns, marking the first-time machine guns had been used in support of an American wartime assault.
Second Lt. Thomas Rynning (a future captain of the Arizona Rangers) reportedly was the first Rough Rider to reach the crest of the hill.
The media frenzy resulting from the U.S. victory elevated “T.R.” to that of heroism and resulted in his election to the governorship of New York state, then to the vice presidency and finally to the presidency when McKinley was assassinated.
