The Rough Riders

With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt resigned his post as assistant secretary of the navy to recruit the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The legendary Rough Riders — an unlikely combination of cowboys, frontiersmen, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Ivy League alumni — trained in Texas before shipping off to Cuba. The regiment met their enemy in the tropical summer heat, fighting rain, mud, and malaria as well as the Spanish Army. Their battles climaxed wit...