The Rough Riders

The Rough Riders was the nickname given to the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, raised in 1898 for the Spanish-American War. Following the sinking of the USS Maine, volunteers were called up to assist in the war efforts. The Rough Riders are best remembered for their charge up San Juan Hill, east of Santiago de Cuba, on July 1, 1898. Soon after, the Spanish fleet left Cuba, and within weeks, the war ended. Theodore Roosevelt's The Rough Riders is a detailed memoir by the future president of the United States of the experiences of the Volunteer Cavalry during the Spanish-American War.