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.”