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Command of the regiment was initially offered by War Secretary Russell Alger to Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, however, having no previous military experience, deferred to his associate, Colonel Leonard Wood, a Medal of Honor recipient and a doctor in the Army's medical corps. Roosevelt was made a Lieutenant Colonel and second in command of the regiment.
Roosevelt had resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to fight in the war, and his forceful personality and notoriety among the largely yellow press of the period were probably the main driving factors resulting in the fame of this regiment, as well as its being one of the very few volunteer units to actually see battle during the war.
Out of over 23,000 applicants, approximately 2,000 were selected to serve in the 1st Volunteer Cavalry. Recruitment for the regiment was done largely by Roosevelt, and resulted in a widely varied force consisting of seasoned ranch hands, Pawnee scouts, Ivy League athletes and east-coast polo players, among others who represented a broad cross-section of American society.
Cavalry training was conducted for about a month at Camp Wood in San Antonio, Texas, and was highly rigorous. Ironically, though, major logistical problems in the journey to Tampa, Florida and thence to Cuba resulted in the necessity of leaving most of the unit's horses and almost half of its men behind (horses were retained for top officers).
Upon arrival near Daiquiri, Cuba on June 22June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. Events 168 BC Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat and capture Macedonian King Perseus, ending the Third Macedonian War, 1898Events January 1 New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. January 13 Emile Zola's J'accus with a larger volunteer force under the command of General Joseph WheelerJoseph Wheeler ( September 10, 1836 January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician who fought during the Civil War and Spanish-American War and served as a U. Representative from Alabama. Joseph Wheeler was born near Augusta, Georgia., the Rough Riders were assigned to the Army's 5th Corps. Still technically a cavalryAn army unit consisting of mounted soldiers are commonly known as cavalry . Cavalry fight from the backs of their mounts, which most often are horses or camels. Infantry travelling by horse and fighting on foot are instead known as dragoons. Modern cavalr unit, its mission was nevertheless perforce transformed to one of largely infantryInfantry (or Infantrymen are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. They may arrive on scene in various ways, and are deployed either in formations or as skirmishers and guerillas. In the modern period, the term "infantryman" is res-style fighting. They immediately began marching towards SantiagoSantiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in eastern Cuba. Santiago de Cuba is located on the south-east of the island, some 540 miles east south-east of Havana, at 20. Historically Santiago de Cuba has long been the second most im, their objective. Two days later, the unit participated in the Battle of Las GuasimasThe Battle of Las Guasimas was the first true clash of arms in the Cuban campaign of the Spanish-American War. A contingent of Spaniards, having fought a skirmish with American landing forces near Siboney on June 23, had retired to their lightly entrenche. Slightly outnumbered, the American contingent was nonetheless able to force a retreat of the Spanish troops to the city of Santiago.