Rough Riders

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ROUGH RIDERS

Ben Kerfoot
3/7/02
Per. 5

The Rough Riders were the most famous of all the units fighting in Cuba during the Spanish, American war. The Spanish,
American war started by America wanting to expand their influence in the western hemisphere. To do that they would need to gain action politically or militarily in Cuba (a Spanish ruled country). The first battle of the war was The Battle of Manilla.
Which was a naval strike on the Manila harbor. Led by Commander
George Dewey, the Navy won the most glorious victory in the history of the Navy. However this didn’t end the war.
In order for America to force the Spanish out, a military invasion on Cuba would have to take place. More than 250,000 soldiers rushed to volunteer for service. Soldiers gathered in
Florida and waited impatiently for supplies and transportation.
Some individuals organized and outfitted their own regiments.
Teddy Roosevelt was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the time, he resigned his post and formed a voluntary cavalry. As soon as word spread that Roosevelt was looking for volunteers, the War office was swamped with requests of people wanting to volunteer. 23,000 people applied and only 2,000 were accepted.
Those 2,000 volunteers were unlike any calvary the army had ever seen before. The calvary was made up of football players, full blood Pawnee Indians, aristocratic English dandies, trail wise cowboys, polo players, Rhodes Scholars, and policemen.
Roosevelt assembled his men in San Antonio, were he whipped them into army shape. Day after day, they marched, rode, shot,
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...osevelt stepped off the ship. A reporter asked how he felt, Roosevelt replied “I’m in a disgracefully healthy condition! I’ve had a bully time and a bully fight! I feel as strong as a Bull Moose!”
Frightening headlines began to take place, “It is Murder
That is Being Done at Montauk,” was one of them, however the problems were real. Montauk’s barren landscape was problem enough, hundreds of tents had to be pitched, miles of telephone wire run, wells sunk, latrines dug, and field hospitals and kitchens erected.
Thank God there was lots of unexpected help that began to arrive. The most important was the Women’s National War Relief
Association. Thanks to them, the soldiers were so much improved in health that by the beginning of September they were able to go home. BIBLIOGRAPHY

*Internet:www.montauklife.com/teddy98.html
*Internet:www.smplanet.com/imperialism/splendid.html
*Internet:www.lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/ roughriders.html *World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. R
*Encarta 95

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