Great Heart The Life Story of Theodore Roosevelt 13

Great Heart The Life Story of Theodore Roosevelt 13

General Miles, in forwarding to the War Department his report of

Captain Lawton’s expedition against Geronimo, had this to say of Wood:

 

“He not only fulfilled the duties of his profession in his skillful

attention to disabled officers and soldiers, but at times performed

satisfactorily the duties of a line officer, and, during the whole

extraordinary march, by his example of physical endurance, greatly

encouraged others, having voluntarily made many of the longest and most

difficult marches on foot.”

 

After service in Mexico, Los Angeles, New Mexico and other posts,

General Wood was ordered to duty as an army surgeon in Washington in

1895. He became a friend of President Cleveland and his family, and

later received a summons from President McKinley to become the regular

medical adviser to Mrs. McKinley and himself. It was at this time

that he met Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Their

first meeting occurred when they were guests at dinner of the Lowndes

family. They were at once attracted to each other. They possessed the

same ideals. They went tramping together, ran foot races, scaled steep

hills, crossed log bridges and did anything that would increase their

strength and endurance.

 

When the talk of war with Spain arose, the two men became so eager to

see active service that President McKinley, who was a close friend to

both Wood and Roosevelt, called them “The War Party.” When Wood visited

McKinley, the latter would ask: “Have you and Theodore declared war

yet?”

 

General Alger, to whom Wood was also medical adviser, was heartily in

favor of the “Rough Rider” regiment, and when Wood was commissioned to

raise the regiment and appointed its Colonel, General Alger gave him a

desk in his office with the injunction: “Now don’t let me hear from you

again until your regiment is raised!”

 

In the campaign that followed, Roosevelt testified in regard to Wood:

 

“No soldier could outwalk him, could live with greater indifference on

hard and scanty fare, could endure hardship better or do better without

sleep.” Others who served under Wood testified that he went through a

hail of bullets without fear, that he would walk erect along the line

when his soldiers were hugging the ground, and that he would calmly

caution his men: “Don’t swear, men. Shoot!”

 

General Wood’s work as governor of Santiago, and later as governor

of the whole island of Cuba, and his still later efforts shoulder to

shoulder with Roosevelt to arouse America’s conscience and to make

the American army an efficient fighting force, is well known to the

American public.

 

Roosevelt himself, having publicly expressed the opinion that it was

the duty of the United States to free Cuba, was intensely eager to back

up his words by deeds. The berserker strain in his blood would not

permit him to stay at home.

 

Having submitted his resignation as Assistant Secretary of the Navy

on April 16, Roosevelt applied for an appointment on General Fitzhugh

Lee’s staff. However, a greater opportunity arose. Congress had

authorized the raising of three national volunteer cavalry regiments

that were to act independently of the state troops. Secretary of

War Alger offered Roosevelt the command of one of these regiments.

Roosevelt had had four years membership in the 8th Regiment of the

New York State National Guard and had risen to the rank of captain.

This was a basis for his military career. He told Alger that after

six weeks’ service in the field he felt that he would be competent to

handle the regiment, but that he would not know how to equip it or how

to get it ready for the first action. He recommended that Wood be given

the command, and that he be allowed to serve under him. Alger laughed

at his modesty, but the matter ended with Wood being appointed colonel

of the regiment while Roosevelt became lieutenant-colonel. The regiment

was called the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, but the public soon

nicknamed it “Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.”

 

This regiment was to be raised from the states of Arizona, New Mexico,

Oklahoma and Texas. It was at first limited to 780 men. Later the

number was raised to 1,000. Strong and picturesque was the company that

composed the contingent.

 

During Roosevelt’s stay on his ranch in Dakota he had learned to value

the plainsmen as men of great courage and resistance, with bodies in

splendid condition for undergoing the hardships of war. They were

skilled horsemen; they knew how to use their guns, and they were

therefore ideal material for the cavalry. Roosevelt called to them

and they came. Along with these cowboys flocked hunters from the

backwoods, trappers from the Rockies, Indian fighters and even redskins

themselves. Prominent young clubmen of New York and Boston; students

of Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other universities; policemen who had

served under Roosevelt on the New York police force clamored for places

in the regiment. No men were taken, however, until they proved that

they possessed ability as horsemen, that they were skilled in the use

of the rifle and that they were physically able to endure a strenuous

campaign.

 

The officers were generally selected from men who had been in the

regular army, who, having fought against the Apache or the Cheyenne,

had ended their terms of service and settled in the Southwest. Other

officers were recruited from the ranks of sheriffs and deputy sheriffs,

marshals and deputy marshals--men who had waged unceasing warfare

against bad Indians or white desperadoes.

 

The men in the ranks had careers just as adventurous. Some had typical

Western names: Cherokee Bill, Happy Jack of Arizona, Bronco Buster,

Smoky Moore and Rattlesnake Pete. Professional gamblers mingled with

Baptist or Methodist clergymen to the enlightenment of each. One of

the gamest fighters was a full-blooded Pawnee named Pollock. Another

was a Cherokee.

 

Some one called the regiment “Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.” The name

caught the public’s fancy. It spread from coast to coast and made

Roosevelt’s name a household word.

 

Roosevelt had his work cut out for him in welding the various elements

under him into a disciplined unit. He measured fully up to his task.

No man was better equipped than he for such a command. In roundups in

the Far West, in hunting expeditions, in the political districts of

New York City, in clubs and drawing-rooms and in official circles he

had met all sorts and conditions of men. He knew how to talk with each

class in its own language. He knew how to be friendly and intimate, yet

at the same time to keep his dignity and their respect. The men began

to obey orders and assume the military manner in a way that aroused

their officers’ warmest commendation. They comprehended that without

discipline they would be a mere mob, dangerous to themselves and to

their country, and, however tiresome were the drills and tactics, they

performed them quickly and efficiently.

 

The relations between officers and men were democratic and friendly,

suggesting the relations of our officers and privates during the

present war. The Colonel, in his book, “The Rough Riders,” gives

several instances of this.

 

Holderman, the cook, announced dinner to the Colonel and three majors

in this way: “If you fellows don’t come soon everything’ll get cold.”

 

No one rebuked him. A sentinel who had just mastered the manual of arms

saluted with great pride as Roosevelt passed; then he added heartily:

 

“Good evening, Colonel!” This breach of military etiquette the Colonel

found it wise to overlook.

 

Another sentinel, when mosquitoes were bad, slapped at them vigorously,

with this side remark to the Colonel:

 

“Ain’t they bad?”

 

“That they are!” returned Roosevelt, slapping away in his turn.

 

The horses for the regiment were brought from the Western ranges. Some

of them were so wild that the men were compelled to throw them down

and tie them before they could be shod. Others bucked their riders.

The regiment, however, was not lacking in men who knew how to tame and

handle rebellious broncos, and the splendid horsemanship of the riders

resulted in them making their horses perform each maneuver with speed

and accuracy. However vicious or restless a horse might be, his rider

would force him to stay in line. Naturally, such horsemen and such

horses gave the regiment an appearance of dash and ease that excited

the admiration of all who saw the skirmish drills.

 

Colonel Roosevelt’s own mounts came from Texas. While the price paid

for them was only $50 each--ridiculously low compared to the high price

of horseflesh during the world war--they proved tough and hardy and

rendered Roosevelt excellent service.

 

Colonel Wood and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt were anxious to get their

men to the firing line. They knew the regular army would have the most

difficult work, and their object was to train and equip their regiment

so that its fighting efficiency would gain it a place at the very

front. Finally marching orders came. The men cheered and were off.

 

A big disappointment--though of a minor nature so far as military

affairs were concerned--was in store for them. A pity it is to narrate

that this body of men were not allowed to show their prowess as

horsemen. It developed that, after all, the men were not to be used as

mounted soldiers. The blow was an especially hard one to Roosevelt,

who had trained his men in shock tactics for use against hostile

cavalry. The decision was also a trying one for some of the men who

were more at home in the saddle than on foot.

 

However, the men took the order like good soldiers, and in slouch

hats, blue flannel shirts, brown trousers, leggings and boots, with

handkerchiefs knotted around their throats, they marched off on the

first step of their journey to Cuba.

 

 

 

 

IX

 

Campaigning in Cuba

 

 

The Rough Riders, as they left their Texas encampment for Tampa, Fla.,

their point of embarkation for Cuba, humorously changed their nickname

to “Wood’s Weary Walkers,” a title that, through their long marches in

the jungles of Cuba, came to have more truth than humor in it.

 

Viewing the Spanish campaign in the light of the world war, it will be

seen that there is a striking similarity between this regiment and the

French Foreign Legion. This parallel is true not only of the personnel

of the contingent, which included adventurous spirits from all sections

of the country, but also of the fighting spirit of the men.

 

How to reach the fighting field was the biggest question that

confronted the Rough Riders. They were among the very last to

receive permission to go, and if it had not been for Roosevelt’s

dogged determination they would probably have been left behind. Even

when orders came to entrain for Tampa, transportation was refused.

Roosevelt, however, was equal to the emergency. He jumped aboard the

engine of a coal train and demanded of its crew that they transport

his men. The crew obeyed orders. The regiment reached Tampa covered with coal dust.