Rough Riders
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"The Rough Riders" was the name bestowed by the American press on the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish-American War.
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[edit] Origin of the Name
The 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, as is its correct name, was one of three Volunteer Cavalry regiments raised for the Spanish American War and the only one of the three to see action in 1898. The original nickname for the regiment was "Wood's Weary Walkers" after its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood and an acknowledgment of the fact that despite being a cavalry unit they ended up fighting on foot as infantry. When Colonel Wood became commander of the cavalry brigade (1st U.S. Cavalry, 10th U.S. Cavalry, and 1st U.S.V. Cavalry) the Rough Riders then became "Roosevelt's Rough Riders". That term was familiar in 1898, from Buffalo Bill who called his famous western show "Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World."
[edit] Formation and early history
Command of the regiment was initially offered by War Secretary Russell Alger to Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, however, having limited military experience as an infantry officer in the New York National Guard, deferred to his more experienced associate, Colonel Leonard Wood, a Medal of Honor recipient and a doctor in the Army's medical corps having been assigned to regular cavalry regiments. Roosevelt was made a Lieutenant Colonel and second in command of the regiment.
Roosevelt had resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to fight in the war, and his forceful personality and notoriety among the largely yellow press of the period were probably the main driving factors resulting in the fame of this regiment, as well as its being one of the very few volunteer units to actually see action during the war.
The regiment was mustered-in between May 1, 1898, and May 21, 1898, at mustering stations in the Indian Territory (today's State of Oklahoma), Texas, and New Mexico Territory. At this time, the official strength of a U.S. Cavalry regiment was a little over 1,000 men. Recruitment for the regiment was done largely by Roosevelt, and resulted in a widely varied force consisting of seasoned ranch hands, Pawnee scouts, Ivy League athletes, cowboys, policemen, and east-coast polo players, among others who represented a broad cross-section of American society. Many of the volunteers had known Roosevelt from his earlier years in the "Badlands" of the Dakota territory and as the New York City Police commissioner. As there were more applicants than positions available, Roosevelt had to turn away large numbers of applicants. One of those disappointed was Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Cavalry training was conducted for about a month at Camp Wood in San Antonio, Texas and was highly rigorous. The regiment was then moved to Tampa, Florida, the port of embarkation for the Cuban Campaign. A serious lack of transport resulted in almost all of the unit's horses and four of its twelve troops being left behind.
The regiment landed near Daiquirí, Cuba on June 22, 1898 as part of the Cavalry Division under the command of Major General Joseph Wheeler, of the Army's V Corps. Although officially a cavalry unit, the regiment fought on foot. They immediately began marching towards Santiago, their objective. Two days later, the unit participated in the Battle of Las Guasimas. Slightly outnumbered, the American contingent was nonetheless able to force a retreat of the Spanish troops to the city of Santiago.
[edit] Assault on Santiago
On June 30, partly due to the vacancy created by the contraction of a fever by Brigadier General Samuel Young, and partly due to the regiment's service at Las Guásimas, Colonel Wood was given a field promotion to Brigadier General with V Corps, and Lt. Col. Roosevelt was likewise promoted to full colonel and given formal command of the Rough Riders.
The next day, American forces were fully assembled and began an assault on the city of Santiago, which was already blockaded by the U.S. Navy. The Rough Riders actually charged (walked, really) up Kettle Hill which was slightly to the north of San Juan Hill. Roosevelt was the only one who was mounted. After this was complete, the unit then joined the operation against San Juan Hill proper.
The Rough Riders were brigaded with the 1st U.S. Cavalry and the 10th U.S. Cavalry, both Regular Army units, the latter being a black unit. "Teddy's charge up San Juan Hill," made for good copy in the popular press of the day as Roosevelt was already a well known public figure, in reality it was one action in a larger battle. Spanish forces withdrew to the inner defenses of Santiago and formally surrendered on July 17 following the destruction of the Spanish Fleet in the Naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3.
[edit] Aftermath
The Rough Riders had been hit hard by a casualty rate of about 37% lost in battle, wounded, or down with one of the many tropical diseases native to the area. Theodore Roosevelt caught malaria, but was one of the few to recover. By the end of July, the situation with disease had become dire. Roosevelt and a "round robin" of high-ranking officers and doctors wrote to the War Department on July 31, "The army must be moved at once, or perish."
Consequently, the remains of the regiment went by ship, along with other troops, to Montauk, Long Island, where they arrived to a heroes' welcome on August 14. This area was chosen because at the time it was relatively unpopulated, and therefore thought to be a good place for quarantine. They occupied the hastily-built Camp Wikoff, which, due to continuing Army logistical problems, was significantly short on food and medicine. Long Islanders did their part to remedy this situation.
The unit was mustered out on September 14, 1898, but held annual reunions until 1968. Roosevelt used his experience with the regiment in subsequent campaigns for Governor of New York and Vice-President for McKinley.
[edit] Last Survivors
The last two surviving veterans of the regiment were Frank C. Brito and Jesse Langdon.
Brito, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, whose father was a Yaqui Indian stagecoach operator, was 21 when he enlisted with his brother in May 1898. He never made it to Cuba, having been a member of H Troop, one of the four left behind in Tampa. He later became a mining engineer and lawman. He died 22 April 1973, at the age of 96.
Langdon, born 1881 in what is now North Dakota, "hoboed" his way to Washington, DC, and called on Roosevelt at the Navy Department, reminding him that his father, a veterinarian, had treated Roosevelt's cattle at his Dakota ranch during his ranching days. Roosevelt arranged a railroad ticket for him to San Antonio, where Langdon enlisted in the Rough Riders at age 16. He was the last surviving member of the regiment and the only one to attend the final two reunions, in 1967 and 1968. He died June 29, 1975 at the age of 94, twenty-six months after Brito.
[edit] Organizational data
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- Mustered In: 1-21 May 1898 in Texas, Indian Territory, and New Mexico
- Mustered Out: 15 September 1898 at Montauk Point, New York
- Service Beyond the United States: Cuba
- Leaving the United States: 14 June 1898
- Arrival in Foreign Country: 22 June 1898
- Leaving Foreign Country: 8 August 1898
- Returned to United States: 14 August 1898
- Muster Roll:
- Mustered In:
- Officers: 47
- Enlisted Men: 994
- Mustered Out:
- Officers: 47
- Enlisted Men: 1,090
- Total Number Accounted for on Muster Out Roll:
- Officers: 52
- Enlisted Men: 1,185
- Losses While in Service:
- Officers:
- Promoted or Transferred: 0
- Officers:
- Mustered In:
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- TOTAL OFFICER LOSSES: 5
- Enlisted Men:
- Transferred: 0
- Discharged for Disability: 9
- Discharged by General Court Martial: 0
- Discharged by Order: 31
- Killed in Action: 21
- Died of Wounds Received in Action: 3
- Died of Disease: 19
- Died of Accident: 0
- Drowned: 0
- Suicide: 14
- Murdered or Homicide: 0
- Deserted: 12
- TOTAL ENLISTED LOSSES: 95
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- Wounded:
- Officers: 7
- Enlisted Men: 97
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- (Source: The Adjutant General's Office, Statistical Exhibit of Strength of Volunteer Forces Called Into Service During the War With Spain; with Losses From All Causes. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899) As presented in an Electronic Edition by the US Army Center of Military History)
[edit] Sources
- Walker, Dale L., "The Next to the Last Man: Rough Rider Frank Brito," Nova [a publication of the University of Texas-El Paso] 6 (February/April 1971).
- "Spanish-American War," Prairie Public Television
