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LIFE AND WORK OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

 CHAPTER EIGHT

 THE ROUGH RIDERS

Destruction of the "Maine"—Roosevelt Resigns from the Navy Department—Organizes the Rough Riders-Leonard Wood as Colonel—Record of the Regiment— Las Guasimas and San Juan Hill—Praise from General Wheeler—The Famous "Round Robin"—Return to the United States.
As early as June, 1897, Mr. Roosevelt, addressing the naval cadets at Annapolis, repeated Washington's warning: "To be prepared for war is the most effectual means to promote peace," and with great emphasis he uttered these words: "All the great masterful races have been fighting races. Cowardice in a race, as in an individual, is the unpardonable sin."

Also about that time, a year before our clash of arms with Spain, he said: '' The enemies we may have to face will come from over the sea; they may come from Europe, or they may come from Asia. Events move fast in the West; but this generation has been forced to see that they move even faster in the oldest East. Our interests are as great in the Pacific as in the Atlantic, in the Hawaiian Islands as in the West Indies. Merely for the protection of our own shores we need a great navy; and what is more, we need it to protect our interests in the islands from which it is possible to command our shores, and to protect our commerce on the high seas."
On the night of February 15, 1898, the United States battleship Maine was treacherously destroyed with heavy loss of life, in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, while on a visit of courtesy to that "friendly" port. Captain Sigs-bee, of the sunken craft, appealed to the American people for the suspension of their judgment until an official investigation had determined the exact cause. But the case against the Spanish oppressors of Cuba had already been tried by American common sense and they were promptly deemed guilty of the fresh crime.

It meant war—the inevitable war, foreseen by Theodore Roosevelt in the Navy Department. Thanks to his foresight and persistence in preparation, the fleet was ready. When on April 25, after a period of delay due to unpreparedness of other departments of the service, Congress declared war against Spain, Theodore Roosevelt obeyed the impulse that started him toward a place among the immortals of American history. He resigned his post as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to seek more active service in the war. The Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long, urged him to withhold his resignation and remain in the department where he was doing such valuable service; but he had determined his course of duty, and proceeded to follow it.

The routine work of a department even in war time, did not suit Mr. Roosevelt, and he determined to forsake the desk for the field. "There is nothing more for me to do here in Washington," he told the friends who expostulated with him. "I've got to go into the fight myself."

At first he applied for a position on the staff of General Fitzhugh Lee, the famous Southerner who had been detailed for service in Cuba. When he found out that he could not obtain that, he turned his attention to a project that had long been a favorite with him. This project was the recruiting of a regiment of trained horsemen, including cowboys of the Western plains, polo players and fox-hunters of the East, men who could "ride well and shoot straight" from every class and section of the country. The plan was approved by the War Department and thereupon the Roosevelt Rough Riders  came into being.

The Rush of Recruits
Mr. Roosevelt threw himself enthusiastically into the work of organization. His name acted as a talisman in securing the right material, and the ranks of the regiment were soon filled. The scene of mobilization was San Antonio, Texas, and never was a regiment raised with greater ease or more enthusiasm.

From all the West and all the East the Rough Riders  came—"guns barking, cayuses bucking ecstatically. Into San Anton' poured football halfbacks, college baseball stars, daredevils all the way from cattle mining towns in Montana to Sixth Avenue in New York; cow punchers who had 'dropped their man' for good in the Bad Lands, clubmen, seafarers, explorers, crack shots—adventurers all and splendid young Americans."

Their mobilization had all the thrilling effect on the imagination of a country going to war against Spain that was lacking in the machinelike mobilization of the same nation going to war with Germany twenty years later.
Leonard Wood Appointed Colonel
Very wisely and with characteristic good judgment Theodore Roosevelt chose a secondary command, that of Lieutenant-Colonel, in the regiment he had raised. His influence secured the appointment as Colonel for his friend, Leonard Wood, one of the best soldiers in the service of the country—in those days forced to stand idly on the side lines as a mere physician to the White House, just as the same Leonard Wood was compelled to stand to one side during the bigger conflict that came twenty years later.

Leonard Wood had the advantage of Roosevelt in that he had seen real fighting (which was rewarded with the treasured Congressional Medal of Honor) against the Apaches both as a medical and a line officer. He had also made a recent personal survey of the military situation and conditions in Cuba.
The Rough Riders' Record
When mobilization was completed and the Rough Riders  had been partially equipped, the regiment was transferred from San Antonio to Tampa, Florida, to await orders. Roosevelt and Wood were eager for active service, and when Admiral Cervera's Spanish fleet locked itself in Santiago harbor, Roosevelt became convinced that the first land fighting was to take place at that point. He thereupon secured the attachment of his regiment to General Shafter's command, and when the latter was transferred to Cuban soil it was Roosevelt's prompt action that secured for his men the most coveted passage on army transports, when other less fortunate regiments were compelled to remain behind until all the fighting was over. Several troops of the Rough Riders , with all their horses, were also left behind.

Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt's conviction proved right. In the first conflict with the Spanish, at Las Guasimas, near Santiago (June 24, 1898), the Rough Riders  saw severe fighting and conducted themselves well. Before another engagement Colonel Wood was promoted to Brigadier-General, and Colonel Roosevelt became commander of the regiment.

The Rough Riders took part in the assault on Santiago (July 1), Roosevelt displaying great bravery and leading his men in person. Before the fighting was over, the death or wounding of the other commanding officers left him the ranking officer of the brigade. The regiment was under fire all the next day and night, but maintained the position on San Juan hill which it had won. The Rough Riders  then lay in the trenches before the city until its surrender, Roosevelt being in command of the Second Brigade of the Cavalry Division, from the middle of July.

Discipline and Fighting Ability
Tales came back of a lack of formal discipline in the wild band under Colonel Roosevelt (now become "The Colonel" for all time), but never was there a tale indicating a lack of rough-and-tumble fighting ability.

A lack of knowledge that at least a "sir" should be strung along the conversation occasionally when addressing one's Colonel, did not seem to impede the rapidity of progress of the Rough Riders  once they had got within sight of the battle smoke in Cuba; nor did it prevent them from giving a good account of themselves at Las Guasimas and around Santiago.

Tales also sprang up, and still persist, that the Rough Riders  blundered into a Spanish ambush, at Kettle Hill, and that only the opportune backing of the brave blacks of the Tenth Cavalry saved the Rough Riders  from being smashed to smithereens; but all wars have inaccurate traditions; and there was never a doubt as to the excellent record of the regiment the Colonel put into that war.
Nicknames in the Regiment
In Ms book, "The Rough Riders," Colonel Roosevelt has given us an intimate glimpse of some of the characters in the regiment, as follows:

"The men generally gave one another nicknames, largely conferred in a spirit of derision, their basis lying in contrast. A brave but fastidious member of an Eastern club, who was serving in the ranks, was christened * Tough Ike'; and his bunkie, the man who shared his shelter-tent, and who was a decidedly rough cow-puncher, gradually acquired the name of 'The Dude.' One unlucky and simple-minded range-rider, who had never been east of the great plains in his life, unwarily boasted that he had an aunt in New York, and ever afterward he went by the name of ' Metropolitan Bill.' A huge redheaded Irishman was named ' Sheeny Solomon.' A young Jew who developed into one of the best fighters in the regiment accepted with entire equanimity the name of 'Pork-chop.' We had quite a number of professional gamblers who, I am bound to say, usually made good soldiers. One who was almost abnormally quiet and gentle was called 'Hell-roarer'; while another who, in point of language and deportment, was his exact antithesis, was known as 'Prayerful James.' "
The Famous "Round Robin"
When the Rough Riders went into camp in the hills about El Oaney, after the capture of the city of Santiago, it was the season of rains and the men suffered a good deal from exposure, while the food supplies were far from satisfactory. Then occurred the incident of the famous "round robin," or joint letter, addressed to General Shafter,
The officers and men who had undergone the hardships of the campaign were anxious to return north to recuperate, now that the fighting was over for the time being. The damp summer season with its malaria and yellow fever was affecting the health of the regiment, and casualties were unavoidable so long as it remained in Cuba. The men did not complain when there was fighting to be done, but they objected to being sacrificed to no good purpose. On August 4 all the general officers of General Shafter's command therefore united in a letter of protest asking that the troops be moved north, and declaring that "this army must be moved at once or perish.''

The letter was written by Colonel Roosevelt, and was signed by Generals Chaffee, Bates, Sumner, Kent, Ames, and Wood. Following its receipt, General Shafter concurred in its decision and officially transmitted to Washington a request for the removal of the troops. At the same time the letter was made public, and public clamor was added to the official recommendation. There was a tendency in some quarters to criticize the method adopted by the signers as unmilitary and subversive of good discipline. War Secretary Alger declared that "it would be impossible to exaggerate the mischievous and wicked effects" of it. But the end sought was accomplished, and within three days the entire command was ordered north. Colonel Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were ordered to Camp Wyekoff (afterwards Camp Wheeler) at Montauk Point, N. Y., where they arrived on August 15, 1898.

The official reports show that the casualties in Colonel Roosevelt's regiment in Cuba were both more numerous and more severe than those of any of the regular regiments engaged. The Rough Riders lost more officers than any other regiment; they had more men killed, more men wounded, and fewer missing. They nobly sustained the honor and traditions of the American volunteer soldier, though there was "glory enough for all."

Praised by General Wheeler
General Joseph Wheeler (the beloved "Joe" Wheeler of the South) was in command of the Cavalry Division to which the Rough Riders (dismounted) were attached in Cuba. He sailed from Port Tampa with them and after the war he wrote of the campaign (and Colonel Roosevelt's share therein) as follows:

"On June 20, 1898, we reached Daiquiri, Cuba. On the morning of the 22nd the navy, with steam and naphtha launches towing large strings of boats, commenced landing our troops. General Shafter put Lawton's division and Bates' brigade before us. We felt this keenly, and knowing that the purpose was to get ashore promptly, we commenced landing with our own ship's boats, rowed by our men. Roosevelt's energy and push helped very much in this effort, and before night we had landed 964 officers and men of the Cavalry Division.

"On the 22nd General Lawton was ordered with his division, about five thousand strong, to march upon and capture the enemy at Siboney, so that the remainder of the troops and supplies could be landed at that place, which is nine miles nearer Santiago than Daiquiri.

"Lawton reached Siboney on the 23rd, but found that the enemy had already evacuated that place and had taken the road toward Santiago. At noon on the 23rd General Shafter had not heard from Lawton, and he ordered the commander of the Cavalry Division (General Wheeler), with the 964 men of his command, to proceed to Siboney and put his advance close to the enemy.
"The division commander ordered Young, Wood, and Roosevelt forward and hastened on in person, and finally found the enemy stationed on the Santiago road between two and three miles from Siboney. He reconnoitered the Spanish position and after dark returned to Siboney. Before daylight these 964 dismounted cavalrymen were on the march, and a little after seven they attacked, and after a severe fight defeated a large Spanish force under Lieutenant-General Linares.

"This was Roosevelt's first experience under fire, and his superb conduct immediately established him as a brave and intrepid soldier. The official report of the division commander said: 'The magnificent and brave work done by the regiment, under the lead of Colonel Wood, testifies to his courage and skill. The energy and determination of this officer had been marked from the moment he reported to me at Tampa, Florida, and I recommended him for the consideration of the Government. I must rely upon his report to do justice to his officers and men, but I desire personally to add that all that I have said regarding Colonel Wood applies equally to Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt.'

"On July 1, on account of the sickness of General Young, his brigade fell under the command of Colonel Wood, and the Rough Riders ' regiment was commanded by Colonel Roosevelt during the San Juan battle and in all the engagements which terminated in the surrender of the Spanish army.

"My endorsement upon Colonel Roosevelt's report contained these words: ' Colonel Roosevelt and his entire command deserve high commendation.' I also recommended and requested that a gold medal be awarded him for his gallantry at San Juan.
'' The conduct of Colonel Roosevelt was brave and soldierly. He was always at the front, always active, always caring for his men, and always solicitous in attending to his duty.

"In August we sailed together upon the Miami for Montauk Point. He had become Colonel of the regiment, and his excellent discipline and administration upon shipboard deserved high commendation.

'' I saw much of him on the voyage, which lasted something over a week. I many times repeated that his party would immediately seek him as their candidate for Governor of New York, and that his wonderful civil career, supplemented by his short but very brilliant record as a soldier, would cause the American people to finally elect him to the highest office within their gift. This expression of mine was published very generally in the papers just after we landed, and I think this view was very general among those who had followed Colonel Roosevelt's career from the time he entered public life.

'' The first prediction was verified three days after we landed by a formal tender of the domination for Governor. His distinguished career in that high position is familiar to the people of the entire country, and especially to those of the Empire State."
A Political Libel Refuted
One story of Colonel Roosevelt's Spanish War service was once almost a political issue, during his subsequent campaign for Governor of New York. Traducers, or persons trying to be such, charged him with having shot a Spaniard in the back. His devoted friend, the late Jacob A. Riis, tells how Riis was making a stump speech for the Colonel, when a voice from a rear seat whined: "You say Theodore Roosevelt was a brave man. How about his shooting a Spaniard in the back?"

Whereupon ire boiled out of Biis' honest beard, and he retorted: '' The man who says that is either a liar or a fool. Which of the two are you?" And in the ensuing turmoil, a burly cabman came to the speaker's rescue with: "Let 'im alone! Let Professor Biis alone! Theodore Roosevelt is the greatest man alive—and I druv him once!''

But in the Colonel's book about the Rough Riders, the shooting of the Spaniard is chronicled as an interesting feat and a piece of luck. The Colonel did it just as he topped the crest of San Juan Hill, and while the last Spanish defenders were running away and turning to fire as they ran. Naturally and properly, every American soldier in the charge shot at these Spaniards till his magazine was empty. Colonel Roosevelt, being right up with the leaders of the charge, happened to get one of the enemy with his revolver. He notes that another officer duplicated his performance.

That same day of his military glory, at the start of that same charge, when a regiment of regulars, owing to faulty staff work, was lagging at the foot of the slope with the Rough Riders behind it, Richard  Harding Davis saw and heard what he afterward reported as one of Theodore Roosevelt's most famous lightning strokes of decision. "If you don't wish to advance, let my men through, sir!" They were let through and the others followed and the charge got going, and the biggest battle of the little war was won.

The Voyage Home
On August 17, 1898, the Rough Riders embarked for home at the Daiquiri iron mines, where they had landed in Cuba seven weeks before. They sailed on the transport Miami and the voyage occupied nine days. Colonel Roosevelt had charge of policing the ship and the management of the men. The ship was kept in good sanitary condition, and in spite of fears in the United States of the importation of Cuban yellow fever, the men were at once permitted to land, after inspection. Many of the men, however, were sick and needed the rest and recuperation in camp at Montauk Point. The camp became a Mecca for New Yorkers and was visited by President McKinley and his cabinet before the Rough Riders  were mustered out.
Named for Governor
Love for reform had impelled him, even while a soldier at war, to join in a protest while in Cuba against mismanagement on the part of the War Department. He took part in the well-founded complaints of the "embalmed" beef fed to the army and of insanitary camp conditions. As a result hurried reforms were instituted; but the Republican Administration meanwhile was "embarrassed."

Here was a new reason among others that caused Republican leaders to dislike Roosevelt. He wasn't flexible enough in the hands of bosses. But the people acclaimed him the logical candidate for Governor of New York. While he was still a soldier he refused to say whether he would or would sot accept a nomination; but as soon as he had been mustered out he signified his willingness to run.

"Three rousing cheers," replied the State of New York and America in general in answer to the carping critics when the Colonel came clattering back all bedecked in khaki—a cloth of new and grave interest in those days—his sombrero tucked up at one side cockily. And lovingly the people whacked the flanks of the steed of the Man on Horseback, sending his charger immediately on a gallop that began at Camp Wheeler down at the Montauk end of Long Island and never ended until the Governor's chair at Albany had been reached.
The Regiment Mustered Out
When the Rough Riders  were mustered out on September 15, 1898, Colonel Roosevelt gave them some famous words of advice similar to those he frequently gave in later months to the entire country. It was a direct, personal, and forcefully typical speech, credited with much potency in the lives of some of the men to whom it was made. In substance it was as follows:

''Get action; do things; be sane; don't fritter away your time; create; act; take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action—and don't get gay."

Many are the stories told of Colonel Roosevelt and his relation to the members of that famous regiment in after life. Senator Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois once discovered the loyalty of the Colonel to his field comrades when he was President. The Senator had called at the White House and was told that the President was engaged.

"Who's there?" he asked of the doorkeeper.

"Somebody who says he was in the Rough Riders," was the reply.

"Well," observed the legislator, as he turned away, "what chance have I, then? I'm only a Senator."