![heritage rough rider serial numbers heritage rough rider serial numbers](https://bid.fordbrothersinc.com/images/lot/1147/11472202_0.jpg)
Leonard Wood, an Army doctor who served as the medical adviser for both the President and Secretary of War, was appointed colonel of The Rough Riders, with Roosevelt serving as lieutenant colonel. The unit thus would not be without experience. Thirty years removed from any armed conflict, men who had served in the regular army during campaigns against Native Americans or during the Civil War sought out to serve as higher-ranking officers, : 10 since they already had the knowledge and experience to lead and train the men. Among these men were also police officers and military veterans who wished to see action again, most of whom had already retired. Half the unit would come from New Mexico according to Roosevelt. They gathered a diverse bunch of men consisting of cowboys, gold or mining prospectors, hunters, gamblers, Native Americans, and college boys-all of whom were able-bodied and capable on horseback and in shooting. With news trickling down of Spanish aggression and the sinking of the USS Maine, men flocked from every corner of the regions to display their patriotism. "The difficulty in organizing was not in selecting, but in rejecting men." : 5 The allowed limit set for the volunteer cavalry men was promptly met. They were gathered mainly from the southwest because the hot climate region that the men were used to was similar to that of Cuba where they would be fighting. The volunteers were gathered in four areas: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Despite the brevity of their service, the Rough Riders became legendary, thanks in large part to Roosevelt's writing his own history of the regiment and the silent film reenactments made years later.Ĭolonel Theodore Roosevelt in his Rough Riders uniform on October 26, 1898, by Rockwood. Several days after the Battle of San Juan Hill, the Spanish fleet sailed from Cuba, and in only a few weeks an armistice ending the fighting was signed.
![heritage rough rider serial numbers heritage rough rider serial numbers](https://bid.bidderone.com/images/lot/3604/3604382_0.jpg)
The Rough Riders would receive more publicity than any other Army unit in that war, and they are best remembered for their conduct during the Battle of San Juan Hill, though it is seldom mentioned how heavily they outnumbered Spanish soldiers who opposed them. All accepted into the regiment had to be skilled horsemen and eager to see combat. However, after Roosevelt joined the ranks, it attracted an odd mixture of Ivy League athletes, glee club singers, Texas Rangers, and Native Americans. The original plan called for the regiment to be composed of frontiersmen from the Indian Territory, the New Mexico Territory, the Arizona Territory, and the Oklahoma Territory. When Wood was promoted to become commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, the regiment became known as "Roosevelt's Rough Riders." That term was borrowed from Buffalo Bill, who called his traveling Western show "Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World." Wood's second in command was former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, a strong advocate for the Cuban War of Independence. This reflected their dissatisfaction that despite being cavalry, they ended up fighting in Cuba as infantry, since their horses were not sent there with them. The regiment was also nicknamed "Wood's Weary Walkers" for its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. had gone to war in opposition to Spanish colonial policies in Cuba, which was then torn by a rebellion. Following the sinking of USS Maine, President William McKinley needed to muster a strong ground force swiftly, which he did by calling for 125,000 volunteers to assist in the war. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and disorganized in comparison to its status during the American Civil War roughly thirty years prior. The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat.