ROUGH ED RIDERS He was president of the United States and vice president before that He served as governor of New York and police commissioner of New York City However the title Theodore Roosevelt cherished the most was colonel the military rank he held during the Spanish American War in 1898 There he planted the seeds that would grow into a political dynasty His exceptional bravery under enemy fire strength of character and determination would become the Roosevelt legacy Theodore served as assistant secretary of the US Navy in 1898 At that time tensions between Spain and the United States over Cuban independence were about to explode into all out war Cuba had been a Spanish colony since 1492 Freedom fighters in Cuba had tried to win In the Spanish American War Theodore became a larger than life
Cuban independence in the past but in 1895 a group of revolutionaries started a rebellion that would eventually drag the United States into war with Spain The United States did a great deal of trade with Cuba The ongoing fighting between Cuban revolutionaries and the Spanish military threatened those economic interests With war on the horizon Theodore strategically positioned US Navy ships so they could destroy the Spanish fleet in Cuba and other parts of the world if a conflict erupted When peacemaking efforts failed the United States declared war on Spain on April 25 1898 A Man of Action Theodore had no intention of sitting on the sidelines He resigned his government post and immediately gathered a group of robust volunteers to join the fight At age 39 Theodore who had always dreamed of the glories of battle got a chance to test himself in combat The regiment he built was made up of some of his closest friends They were fiery tough and eager to follow Theodore anywhere Theodore's unit was called the First Volunteer Cavalry and nicknamed the Rough Riders because of its members boundless energy It was one of several regiments formed when President William McKinley issued a call for volunteers to bolster the ranks of the US Army to fight the Spanish Only 28 000 men were serving in the army
Many of Theodore's volunteers had been cowboys and frontiersmen some had been police officers others athletes when war with Spain was declared on April 25 Theodore was named lieutenant colonel of the First Volunteer Cavalry Though he was second in command to Colonel
