e force that would destroy the Spanish from Cuba. Teddy always a man of action, knew his place was on the battlefield, not in the rear. At the age of 40 he took a fateful gamble. Determined to serve, not merely direct, he resigned from the Navy Dept. to organize and lead a crack regiment of volunteers for the Cuban invasion. Formally named the 1st United States Volunteer Calvary, they quickly became known as Teddy's Rough Riders. As soon as word spread that the colorful Roosevelt was looking for volunteers, the War office was swamped with requests to serve. 23,000 applied to ride with Teddy, roughly 2,000 were accepted. The unit Roosevelt assembled was unlike anything the Army had seen before. They came from far and wide, Princeton football players, full blooded Pawnee Indians, aristocratic English dandies, trail wise cowboys, polo players, and Rhodes Scholars. Drawn from every state and social area, the typical Rough Rider was equal parts cowboy and soldier, men who could out ride and out fight the Spanish every day of the week. Traditional military experience was helpful, but not required. Roosevelt assembled him men in San Antonio, where, in typical Teddy style, he whipped them into army shape. Day after miserable day, they marched, rode, shot, and paraded under the scorching, Texas sun. Inspired by the energetic Roosevelt, the Rough Riders gave it their all. It wasn't pretty, but within a few short weeks together this gang became the fierce, fearless unit that Teddy needed to break the grip of the Spanish on Cuba. By mid, June they were ready, and Teddy and his beloved Rough Riders boarded trains for Tampa, Florida and the Cuban invasion. Landing on the southern coast, near the small city of Daiquiri, the Rough Riders were one of the first units to come ashore. That week they and the other American forces marched and fought their way through the interior, toward the principal Cuban garrison, at Santiago. The Spanish resistance was ...
