Rough Riders Thesis

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This group of soldiers, led by Theodore Roosevelt, was one of the most memorable army units in United States history. Consisting of sheriffs, outlaws, students, and Native Americans this unit was definitely a miss-match of people, yet what they had accomplished brought them fame in America. Fighting in battles like that of Las Guasimas and San Juan Hill had been key points throughout the campaign in Cuba against Spain, and grew the notoriety of the Rough Riders. This reputation would eventually lead the Rough Riders into the history books and Theodore Roosevelt into the White House. The Rough Riders were formed in 1898 under Theodore Roosevelt’s command. Gathering men from Southwest states like Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas was …show more content…

From Tampa they would finally set off to Cuba, where they would be engaged in some of the most important battles of the war. But not all of the Rough Riders went to Cuba. Due to heavy prompting from the higher ups in Washington D.C, they Rough Riders were required to dispatch troops early before shipping out. This caused only eight of the twelve Rough Rider companies to head to Cuba. Upon arriving to Cuba the morale was dropping quickly. One fourth of the men had either been left at Tampa or had died of malaria and yellow fever. Yet they quickly unloaded from the steamship they traveled on and set up a camp on Cuban shores. The next day more supplies came in, consisting of food and very few horses. Theodore Roosevelt would later say, “The great shortcoming throughout the campaign was the utterly inadequate transportation. If they had been allowed to take our mule-train, they could have kept the whole cavalry division supplied." The men of the Rough Riders were hardly a Calvary unit now, and were about to get their first taste of …show more content…

These men had returned with the news of a Spanish outpost with the name Las Guasimas. By afternoon of the same day the Rough Riders had been order to head out to the location of Las Guasimas and eliminate all opposition and secure the surrounding area, the men would camp outside the outpost then attack the next morning. For started, the Rough Riders were at a disadvantage, they were not accustom to the dense jungles of Cuba in which they were fighting in, and did not know the jungles trails like the Spanish did. Yet the next morning the attack commenced, with General Young, commander of the cavalry and regulars, attacked the outpost straight on. While this commenced, Roosevelt and Colonel Woods traveled through the jungle and attacked from an alternate side, in almost a pinching maneuver quickly eliminating Spanish opposition. At the end of the battle there were 8 killed and 31 wounded members of the rough riders. The Rough Riders now had full control of an outpost on the way to their next target,

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