"On behalf of the Rough Riders, I dedicate this book to the officers and
men of the five regular regiments, which together with mine made up the
cavalry division at Santiago." --Theodore Roosevelt, The Rough Riders
The Rough Riders (1899) is a diary kept by Theodore Roosevelt of his
adventures in the Spanish-American War. In 1898, former Assistant
Secretary of the Navy and Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt joined the 1st
United States Volunteer Cavalry, also known as the Rough Riders, and
assembled an odd crew of Ivy League athletes, cowboys, Texas Rangers,
and Native Americans to fight the Spanish in Cuba. During several months
in the summer of 1898, Roosevelt's Rough Riders fought a number of
battles, suffered quite a few casualties, but became legendary thanks to
Roosevelt's presence and his detailed writing of this history.