Other editions of book The Rough Riders: By Theodore Roosevelt - Illustrated

Along with Colonel Leonard Wood, Theodore Roosevelt instigated the founding of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry in 1898 at the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Nicknamed the “Rough Riders” by journalists, the Cavalry engaged in several battles. This is Roosevelt’s best-selling account of one of the most fascinating regiments in American military history.

A new edition of Theodore Roosevelt's exciting first-person account of his adventures in the Spanish-American War leading the legendary Rough Riders -- a motley volunteer calvary brigade of Ivy League athletes, glee club singers, Texas Rangers, and Native Americans, united in nothing but their eagerness to see combat and made famous by the legendary performance at the Battle of San Juan Hill. This book, originally published in 1899, is what cemented Theodore Roosevelt's early reputation and catapulted him to political prominence and eventually the presidency.

The Rough Riders was the name bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry. Roosevelt had resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to fight in the war, and his forceful personality and notoriety among the popular press of the period were probably the main driving factors resulting in the fame of this regiment. Here is the exciting story of the Rough Riders in the words of Theodore Roosevelt.

During the year preceding the outbreak of the Spanish War I was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. While my party was in opposition, I had preached, with all the fervor and zeal I possessed, our duty to intervene in Cuba, and to take this opportunity of driving the Spaniard from the Western World. Now that my party had come to power, I felt it incumbent on me, by word and deed, to do all I could to secure the carrying out of the policy in which I so heartily believed; and from the beginning I had determined that, if a war came, somehow or other, I was going to the front.Meanwhile, there was any amount of work at hand in getting ready the navy, and to this I devoted myself.Naturally, when one is intensely interested in a certain cause, the tendency is to associate particularly with those who take the same view. A large number of my friends felt very differently from the way I felt, and looked upon the possibility of war with sincere horror. But I found plenty of sympathizers, especially in the navy, the army, and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. Commodore Dewey, Captain Evans, Captain Brownson, Captain Davis—with these and the various other naval officers on duty at Washington I used to hold long consultations, during which we went over and over, not only every question of naval administration, but specifically everything necessary to do in order to put the navy in trim to strike quick and hard if, as we believed would be the case, we went to war with Spain. Sending an ample quantity of ammunition to the Asiatic squadron and providing it with coal; getting the battle-ships and the armored cruisers on the Atlantic into one squadron, both to train them in manoeuvring together, and to have them ready to sail against either the Cuban or the Spanish coasts; gathering the torpedo-boats into a flotilla for practice; securing ample target exercise, so conducted as to raise the standard of our marksmanship; gathering in the small ships from European and South American waters; settling on the number and kind of craft needed as auxiliary cruisers—every one of these points was threshed over in conversations with officers who were present in Washington, or in correspondence with officers who, like Captain Mahan, were absent.- Taken from "The Rough Riders" written by Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt’s bestselling memoir chronicling the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry and its victory at San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War. Yearning to join the fight for Cuban independence in the Spanish–American War, Theodore Roosevelt and Col. Leonard Wood formed the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry. They enlisted a motley crew from all walks of life, from cowboys and frontiersmen to Ivy League graduates. These 1,250 men became known as the Rough Riders. After training in San Antonio, Texas, they set out for the tropical jungles of Cuba. As they grappled with hunger, malaria, and occasional defeat, their many battles with the Spanish Army culminated in the death-defying charge to victory at San Juan Hill. Through it all, Roosevelt kept a pocket diary in which he made daily entries about his experiences and the men who fought beside him. Imbued with his trademark vigor and certainty of purpose, Roosevelt’s firsthand account of this historic campaign paints a vivid picture of the rugged, independent spirit that came to define American heroism. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About The Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt resigned his post as assistant secretary of the navy to recruit the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The legendary Rough Riders—an unlikely combination of cowboys, frontiersmen, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Ivy League alumni—trained in Texas before shipping off to Cuba. The regiment met their enemy in the tropical summer heat, fighting rain, mud, and malaria as well as the Spanish Army. Their battles climaxed with the assault on San Juan Hill, where Colonel Roosevelt rallied his troops to charge through a hail of gunfire to victory.

How is this book unique?Font adjustments & biography includedUnabridged (100% Original content)Formatted for e-readerIllustratedAbout The Rough Riders by Theodore RooseveltWith the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt resigned his post as assistant secretary of the navy to recruit the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The legendary Rough Riders—an unlikely combination of cowboys, frontiersmen, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Ivy League alumni—trained in Texas before shipping off to Cuba. The regiment met their enemy in the tropical summer heat, fighting rain, mud, and malaria as well as the Spanish Army. Their battles climaxed with the assault on San Juan Hill, where Colonel Roosevelt rallied his troops to charge through a hail of gunfire to victory.

The Rough Riders was the name bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry. Roosevelt had resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to fight in the war, and his forceful personality and notoriety among the popular press of the period were probably the main driving factors resulting in the fame of this regiment. Here is the exciting story of the Rough Riders in the words of Theodore Roosevelt.

The Rough Riders is a documentary about the birth of America as a world power, and a personal account by Theodore Roosevelt (TR) of his exploits during the Spanish-American War. The Rough Riders is also a chronicle of the healing of America's deep Civil War wounds. TR vividly recalls the reception he and his "Rough Riders" received as they marched through the South on their way to war: "Everywhere we saw the Stars and Stripes, and everywhere we were told, half-laughingly, by grizzled ex-Confederates that they had never dreamed in the bygone days of bitterness to greet the old flag as they now were greeting it, and to send their sons, as now they were sending them, to fight and die under it." With great humility, TR recalls "a very touching incident" at the regiment's improvised open-air hospital after the fighting at Las Guasimas. "They did not groan, and made no complaint, trying to help one another," TR observed. “One of them suddenly began to hum, 'My Country 'tis of Thee,' and one by one the others joined in the chorus, which swelled out through the tropic woods, where the victors lay in camp besides their dead.” Often brash and always to the point, with great attention to detail, TR takes the reader to where the fighting is at its thickest: "At the front!" His words are inspiring, instructional, and prophetic. They are as alive with lessons for today as they were when they were written more than a century ago. The Rough Riders is the foremost historically accurate, personal account of the Spanish-American War. It is a testimonial to the valor of the "Rough Riders." As Commander of the "Rough Riders" and later as President, TR distinguished America above all others in the realm of nation-states, and in so doing secured his place in the annals of American history. TR's life was woven of courage and American initiative, ingenuity, and ideals, without which America the world power would not have been built. ~~~ From the Introduction by Judge Hal Moroz, U.S. Army Retired

In 1898, as the Spanish-American War was escalating, Theodore Roosevelt assembled an improbable regiment of Ivy Leaguers, cowboys, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Western Territory land speculators. This group of men, which became known as the Rough Riders, trained for four weeks in the Texas desert and then set sail for Cuba. Over the course of the summer, Roosevelt's Rough Riders fought valiantly, and sometimes recklessly, in the Cuban foothills, incurring casualties at a far greater rate than the Spanish. Roosevelt kept a detailed diary from the time he left Washington until his triumphant return from Cuba later that year. The Rough Riders was published to instant acclaim in 1899.Robust in its style and mesmerizing in its account of battle, it is exhilarating, illuminating, and utterly essential reading for every armchair historian and at-home general. The books in the Modern Library War series have been chosen by series editor Caleb Carr according to the significance of their subject matter, their contribution to the field of military history, and their literary merit.