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Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551769 THE ARIZONA ROUGH RIDERS

b y

Harlan C. Herner

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1965 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of require­ ments for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under the rules of the Library.

Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the department or the dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of this material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author.

SIGNED: MsA* J'73^,

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

This thesis has been approved on the date shown below:

G > Harwood P. Hinton Assistant Professor of History ACKNOW LEDGMENTS

The author is indebted to all those who contributed information, encouragement, and help in the preparation of this study. Space prohibits a complete list of all who rendered assistance, but the author wishes to thank Dr. B. Sacks of Baltimore, Maryland, and

Senator Carl Hayden for securing documents from the National

Archives. Chris Emmett of Santa Fe, , provided news items from the Light and San Antonio Express. Special acknowledgment should be made of Mrs. Muir, Mrs. Mary

Delanie, Robert L. Patterson, General Geoffrey Keyes,

Tim McCoy, M rs. Gwendolyn Penniman, and Hermann Hagedorn for contributing information and family records. Bert Firem an of

the Arizona Historical Foundation and Andrew Wallace of the

Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society gave valuable assistance. Of

the living Rough Riders, Arthur Tuttle rendered unusually fine

cooperation as did George Hamner, Jesse Langdon, Arthur

Stockbridge, and Charles Hopping. Assistant Professor Harwood

P. Hinton, University of Arizona, gave invaluable help while

guiding much of the research and preparation of the manuscript.

Special thanks are extended to Professor John A. Carroll who

iii provided his remarkable inspiration while supervising the research and compilation of the first chapter in a seminar at the University of Arizona. ABSTRACT

Few m ilitary units have created more controversy than the

F irst Volunteer of 1898. Although originally commanded by Colonel , the regiment won acclamation under Lieutenant Colonel . Initially to be com­ posed of men gathered from the four territories, the unit later included recruits from other areas.

The idea of forming a regiment of volunteer cavalry originated in Arizona two months before the outbreak of the Spanish-American

War on April 25, 1898, Conceived by , a graduate of West Point, the plan to raise an entire regiment in

Arizona was widely supported. When the call for volunteers came, however, only two hundred men from Arizona could be accepted. In addition to Brodie, many were men of stature. From Prescott came

William O. "Buckey" O'Neill, who was to find a dramatic death at the head of his troop below Kettle Hill in . From Yuma came towering Albert Wright, who was to bear the regimental colors-- hand-sewn by a group of Phoenix ladies--through two engagements.

Hailed by Colonel Wood as the finest body of men he had ever seen together, the Arizona Rough Riders made a unique contribution to the m ilitary .

v TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

IN T R O D U C T IO N ...... 1

I. THE CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS ...... 9

III. IN TRAINING AT SAN ANTONIO ...... 37

IE . ON TO CUBA ...... 67

IV . LAS QUASI MAS ...... 90

V. V IC TO R Y A T SAN JU A N ...... 123

VI. WAITING FOR ORDERS AT TAMPA ...... 156

V II. F A R E W E L L TO CUBA ...... 171

V U L R E T U R N T O A R IZ O N A ...... 197

REFERENCES ...... 218

vi INTRODUCTION

The winds of revolt that swept Latin America in the early part of the nineteenth century touched but briefly on Cuba. It was not until seventy-five years later that this island, the last

major Spanish colony in the Am ericas, finally broke away from

Spain. In the process of gaining their independence, the

drew the United States into a brief but important war with .

In the United States the rising feeling of im perialism played its

part in the coming of the war, but other factors also were

significant. The frontier was gone, the Indian wars were over,

and the nation was turning from an agrarian to an industrial

society. The political leaders were looking for new issues. In

this era of change and instability, the armed rebellion in Cuba

became an emotional topic of discussion from coast to coast. ^

1. For general accounts of the causes of the Spanish- American War, see Samuel Flag Demis, A Diplomatic History of the United States (4th ed., New York, 1961), 432-50; Alexander DeConde, A History of American Foreign Policy (New York, 1963), 339-48; and Richard W. Leopold, The Growth of American Foreign Policy; A History (New York, 1962), 167-79. For detailed informa­ tion on the situation in Cuba and a description of war preparations in the United States, see W alter Mi His, The M artial Spirit; A Study of Our War with Spain (Boston, 1931). An excellent analysis of the growing desire to acquire foreign possessions in the late nineteenth century may be found in Julius W. Pratt, The Expansionists of 1898: The Acquisition of Hawaii and the Spanish islands (Baltimore, lyj6).

1 2

When they realized that the course of the nation finally wae plotted for war, young men flocked into the Volunteer Army,

The 15th of February, 1898, began like any other day for the officers and crew of the U.S.S. Maine. With their vessel anchored in Harbor on the northwest coast of Cuba since January 25, the crew followed a well-established routine. That evening Captain

Charles D. Sigsbee sat down to write a letter to his wife. Shortly after taps the captain finished him letter and glanced at hie watch.

It was twenty minutes before ten. At that moment there was a tremendous explosion and the ship began to settle. Stumbling through the dark, debris-strewn passageways, Sigsbee managed to make his way to the main deck, where he supervised rescue operations. Within fifteen minutes all survivors had been taken to neighboring ships, and the Maine was abandoned. Aboard the City of , a commercial transport, Sigsbee wired his prelim inary report to Secretary of John D. Long, concluding with the forlorn plea: "Public opinion should be suspended until further report.

2. A. C. M. Azoy, Charge: The Story of the (New York, 1961), 14, 16, 17, 20. The Maine boasted a displace­ ment of 6, 680 tons and could travel at a top speed of seventeen knots. Its prim ary armament consisted of four ten-inch guns. Donald W. Mitchell, History of the Modern American Navy from 1883 through Pearl Harbor (New York, 1946), 19. Of the crew of three hundred and fifty, two hundred and fifty-two were killed in the explosion. MiUis, M artial Spirit, 105. 3

The circum stances which brought the Maine to Havana grew out of a revival of the periodic attempts by the Cubans to free their island. Early in the nineteenth century there had been several desultory revolts, but the mass of Negro slaves along the coast and poor whites in the mountains had not supported the revolutionary movements. The United States, however, offered a nearby sanctuary, and many Cuban patriots took refuge there between revolutions. The Cubans found the citizens of the United States generally sympathetic to their cause. On several occasions the

Cubans even were able to arouse adventerous American filibustering 3 expeditions. The ten-year revolt from 1868 to 1878 saw Spain commit a political blunder by hanging some Americans captured while gun-running. The resulting furor caused Secretary of State

Hamilton Fish to warn Spain either to affect a reconciliation on the island or prepare for intervention by other governments. Three years later, in 1878, a change of government in Madrid finally brought peace to the island. As before, however, the die-hard revolutionary leaders took refuge in the United States and continued 4 to p lo t.

3. Frank Freidel, The Splendid (Boston, 1958), 4 - 6 .

4, Mi Ilia, M artial Spirit, 14-15 4

At their headquarters in , the Cuban Revolutionary

Party under Jose Julian M arti, waited for an opportunity to launch

another revolt. It came in 1893 when the panic ruined the sugar business in Cuba. The following year the sugar industry suffered

another set back when the Wilson tariff restored duty on that Cuban

staple. With the economy of the island disrupted and bandits loose in the hills, Marti, sailed for Cuba. Scarcely had he landed when he

ran into a Spanish patrol and was killed. Leadership then devolved

on Maximo Gomez, a ruthless Santo Domingan, who was determined

to win at any cost. ^ Starting in the east, he carried a campaign of

destruction westward. In 1896, with the smoke of burning

plantations visible in Havana, Spain sent General Valeriano Weyler

to restore order.^

By the fall of 1896, Weyler had made considerable progress

in breaking up Gomez's Insurrectos. To combat the guerrilla

pattern of peasants working in the fields by day and seizing arm s

to harry the Spaniards by night, Weyler implemented his infamous

reconcentrado orders. According to this plan, the Cubans were

5. De Conde, History of American Foreign Policy, 339.

6. Unlike M arti, who had left Cuba at the age of eighteen, Gomez had actively participated in previous revolts. For particulars, see Millis, M artial Spirit, 31-32.

7. Ibid., 41. restricted to living in towns, and no food could be sent out of the villages. By the summer of 1897 Weyler was on the verge of complete success. He had cleared the western end of Cuba and was moving rapidly eastward. His reconcentrado policy had been very effective, but it had worked a terrible hardship on the civilians. The burning of plantations by both Weyler and Gomez created a food shortage, which caused a famine to sweep the island. The American press, universally in favor of the Cubans, overlooked the destruction of food by Gomez's forces and heaped abuse on Weyler, calling him the "butcher." In August the liberal party took control of the Spanish government and recalled W eyler, g but it was too late. The American people were demanding action.

The circulation battle between the editors of the New York

Morning Journal and New York World resulted in the emotional involvement of the American people regarding Cuba. In the fall of

1895, William Randolph Hearst bought the Journal and immediately engaged Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the World, in a bitter struggle for journalistic supremacy. Cuba provided the sensational

8. De Conde, History of American Foreign Policy, 340-41. Contrary to popular opinion, Gomez did not plan to win by force of arm s. His strategy was aimed at driving the Spaniards out by exhausting their resources. The American press overlooked the fact that much of the starvation was caused by the insurgents burning the plantations. For a fine example of Cuban propaganda, see Gonzalo de Quesada and Henry Davenport Northrop, Cuba's Great Struggle for Freedom (Privately Printed, c. 1898). 6 foundation upon which the two editors struggled. Each tried to outdo the other with garish tales of starvation, pitched battles, and

Spanish atrocities. Many stories were based on half-truths; others were pure fabrications. One of the more famous scoops concerned the reported stripping of three Cuban females by

Spanish officials on board an American ship in Havana. This appeared in the Journal with an illustration by Frederick Remington.

The W orld, however, pulled a brilliant counter-scoop by producing one of the young ladies, who denied the whole thing. Nevertheless the American people, fed a steady diet of such emotionalism, began to clamor for intervention.^

Into this explosive situation stepped President William

McKinley when he took the oath of office on March 4, 1897. Having no desire for war, McKinley suggested that Spain work out with the insurgents a peaceful solution to the Cuban question. As an alternative, McKinley warned, the United States might have to intervene. Any such settlement, of course, would have to receive the approval of the insurgents, who were not prone to acquiesce as long as the citizens of the United States supported their demands for complete independence. The fighting continued. In January,

1898, the Maine was ordered to Cuba in response to a

9. Millis, Martial Spirit, 37, 66-68. 7 request from the United States Consul-General in Havana. Ostensibly the ship was on a courtesy visit, but actually it was there to protect

American citizens from civil disorders. ^

The destruction of the Maine on February 15 set in motion the final moves which preceded the declaration of war. Within two days the Journal had published diagrams showing exactly how the bomb--the "infernal m achine"--had been placed which blew the

Maine into scrap iron. Other papers followed suit, and the press universally reported that the whole thing was a Spanish plot.

Meanwhile, a court of inquiry went to Havana and inspected the remains of the shattered vessel. The report, released to Congress

on March 28, concluded that the ship had been destroyed by a

submarine mine which ignited at least two of the forward magazines.

After receiving this intelligence, delegations from both parties

approached McKinley with the suggestion that his next message to

C ongress be decidedly belligerant. 1011

10. DeConde, History of American Foreign Policy, 342.

11. Mi His, M artial Spirit, 108, 127. In 1911 the Maine was raised and reexamined. A second board of inquiry held that distortion in the fram e, hailed as evidence of an external explosion in 1898, was really caused by the eruption of the magazines. The board went on, however, to describe new evidence of an external exjJosion further aft. With the second inspection completed, the wreck was towed to sea and sunk in deep water. For details, see ibid., 128-29. 8

During April President McKinley made his last attempts to

resist the nation's demand that he ask Congress to declare war.

He asked the Spanish government to call an arm istice, to revoke the reconcentrado orders, and to grant Cuba "full self governm ent.11

The Spanish reply was deemed inadequate. On April 11 McKinley

sent a message to Congress asking that he be authorized to end

the fighting in Cuba. Congress responded on April 20 by giving the

President power to use military force to secure independence for

the island. Five days later the United States declared war. ^ By

this time young men from all over the nation were attempting to

enlist. ^ None of these volunteers, however, had more enthusiasm

than an exuberant group of miners and cowboys from the Territory

of A riz o n a . 1213

12. Leopold, Growth of American Foreign Policy, 173-76.

13. For a discussion of the large number of applicants who desired to secure commissions in the expanding m ilitary establish­ ment, see Russell A. Alger, The Spanish-American War (New York, 1901), 29-40. Although Alger compiled his history largely in defense of hie actions as Secretary of War, he made a valuable contribution to literature on the Spanish-American War. CHAPTER I

THE CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

On April 25, 1898, the day that the United States declared war on Spain, the territorial of Arizona, Myron Hawley

McCord, received a request for volunteers. * Under the provisions of the Volunteer Bill of April 22, Secretary of War Russell A.

Alger was authorized to form a regiment of volunteer cavalry to be drawn from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and the

Indian Territory. For this regiment, which was designated the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, Governor McCord was to furnish one hundred and seventy men. ^ Fortunately, prelim inary steps already had been initiated in Arizona, and it took only nine days to get the men organized and on their way. 12

1. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 26, 1898. Born in on November 26, 1840, Myron McCord was appointed governor in 1897. Having an active interest in the war, he later resigned to assume command of the First Territorial Volunteer Infantry. This regiment, authorized under the second call for volunteers on May 25, 1898, was composed of men from the four territories. There is no liistory of the unit. See James H. McClintock, Arizona: Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer and Modern (2 vols. , Chicago, 1916), II, 524-25. McClintock's work is the only published source which deals with the efforts to raise a regiment in Arizona. It is a good, brief account of the Arizona Rough Riders.

2. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, April 27, 1898.

9 10

No other state or territory matched the speed and efficiency with which Arizona gathered her first quota of volunteers for the

Spaniah-American War. ^

The call for volunteers on April 25 did not surprise Governor

McCord. For two months he had been requesting permission to form such a unit. The quota for Arizona, however, proved disappointing. McCord had been anxious for the government to m uster in a regiment of 1,000 men from Arizona--not two troops of one hundred and seventy men. In an attempt to increase the allotment, McCord immediately wired the proper authorities in

Washington in hopes that Arizona would be allowed to furnish the entire regiment. Secretary Alger refused the request, but granted

McCord the right to name the senior regimental major. Late that same evening McCord instructed his nominee, Alexander Oswald

Brodie, a mining superintendent and form er Regular Army , to select the quota and gather them at Whipple Barracks, a Regular

Army post located three miles northeast of Prescott, the county

3. Edward Marshall, The Story of the Rough Riders: First United States Volunteer Cavalry, The Regiment in Camp and on the Battle Field (New York, 1899), 24-25. Long an accepted authority on the Rough Riders, M arshall embellished his account with numerous anecdotes which are not aibstantiated by other s o u r c e s . 11 seat of Yavapai County. * Whipple Barracks was an excellent choice for the rendezvous. Served by the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix railroad, it had adequate transportation from the south via Phoenix and from the east through Flagstaff.

The people of Prescott heartily approved the use of their city as a rendezvous for Brodie's men. With the destruction of the Maine on February 15 and the nation-wide clamor for war that followed, the residents of Prescott had been aroused over conditions in Cuba.

This feeling increased when two Cuban officers, touring the West to plead for support, lectured in Prescott. On Washington's birthday a Captain Mahoney and a lieutenant Cordier, identified only as "two

Cuban patriots," addressed a large crowd in the Yavapai Court

House. In vivid terms they described the tyrannical Spanish colonial policy, the famous reconcentrado orders, and compared the motivation behind the struggle for freedom in Cuba with the spirit embodied in the Declaration of Independence. When they had finished. Mayor William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill presided while the

residents passed a resolution calling on Congress to recognize the belligerants and to furnish them with assistance. A substantial sum to the war coffers of the insurgents also was pledged."*

4. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 26, 1898.

5. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, February 23, 1898. No additional information on these two men is available. 12

By the end of February a plan for raising a full regiment of

volunteer cavalry from the cowboys of Arizona was announced. ^

It is not clear who conceived the idea, but Mayor O'Neill and

Alexander O. Brodie brought the proposal before the governor. ^

Under their plan, as approved by McCord, the regiment would

consist of twelve troops of eighty-five men each. O'Neill would

recruit six troops from the counties in the north, and a Phoenix journalist, James Harvey McClintock, agreed to enlist six troops 8 from the south. The enlisted men would elect their troop officers,

who in turn would select the squadron commanders. The regiment

would be commanded by Brodie, who would have the privilege to o appoint only hie staff.

6. The first public release of the proposal to form a regiment in Arizona was in an Dispatch from Prescott dated February 22, 1898. The story was printed in newspapers in the territory and across the nation. Within a week Brodie was receiving applications from as far as . Ibid. , February 30, 1898.

7. McClintock always maintained that O'Neill conceived the idea and, together with McClintock, approached Brodie with the proposal that Brodie command the regiment. See McClintock, Arizona, II, 513. This version was accepted by Ralph Keithley in his highly favorable and undocumented biography, Buckey O'Neill: He Stayed With 'Em While He Lasted (Caldwell, Idaho, 1949), 214. There is no evidence to support Keithley'e claim, however, that it was O'Neill who raised the regiment. Contemporary newspaper accounts usually credited Brodie with initiating the plan to form a regiment in Arizona.

8. McClintock, Arizona, II, 513.

9. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, April 14, 1898 13

Brodie was an excellent choice to head the Arizona regiment.

Born in Edwards, Saint Lawrence County, New York, in 1849, he 10 had entered West Point at the age of seventeen in 1866. After

graduating in 1870, Brodie reported to Fort , in the White

Mountains of eastern Arizona, as a in the First

Cavalry. From that time until he resigned in 1877, he fought

Indians--the in Arizona and later, as a ,

the in Idaho. Brodie then ranched in and the

Dakotas until 1883, when he returned to Arizona. In the late 1880s

he became superintendent of the Walnut Grove Water Storage Com­

pany near Prescott. After completing a dam for that concern on

Walnut Creek, he became a colonel in the Arizona National Guard

and later was elected Recorder of Yavapai County. In 1896 he

became superintendent of the gold mines at Crown Point, a few

miles southeast of Prescott in the Bradshaw Mountains. **

10. Notarized affidavit sworn to by Brodie on December 10, 1910, in Ramsey County, Minnesota. Alexander O. Brodie Papers, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona. This small collection contains little information on Brodie1 s experiences in the Spanish-American War. See also George Washington Cullum (Comp.), Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy 6 vole., Boston, 1891-1900),IV, 198.

11. Roscoe G. Willson, "Governor Brodie, Rough Rider, Was a True Pioneer, " Arizona Days and Ways, October 10, 1954, 6. For additional biographical sketches of Brodie, see Myers T. Myers, "A Rough Riding G overnor,11 ibid. , May 6, 1956, 10-11; and Effie R. Keen, "Arizona's ," Arizona Historical Review, III, (October, 1930), 15-16. 14

Brodie had all the characteristics desired in a m ilitary officer.

He was large, standing well over six feet, with the physique and rugged, sun-bronzed features of an outdoors man. Dark brown eyes and a drooping, brown mustache complimented his tanned face. ^ By

1898 he had lived in Arizona for sixteen consecutive years and had made many friends because of his intelligence, his gentlemanly deportment, and his ability to mingle socially with people from all walks of life. He could converse with people of high society one moment and equally be at ease with a group of cowboys the next.

Firm and just in administering discipline, Brodie held the respect of all. "He never looked down on anyone," Arthur L. Tuttle, one of Brodie's recruits from Safford, later recalled. ^

In organizing the proposed Arizona regiment, Brodie received the most help from the mayor of Prescott, William O. O'Neill.

Although a resident of Arizona for nineteen years, O'Neill managed to conceal the details of his early life. Born in Ireland in I860, he 1213

12. Willson, "Governor Brodie," Arizona Days and Ways, October 10, 1954, 6.

13. Interview with Arthur L. Tuttle, formerly of A Troop, First United States Volunteer Cavalry, February 20-23, 1963, Tucson, Arizona. Now living in Salinas, California, Tuttle enlisted at the age of eighteen on May 3, 1898. Having an unusually fine memory, Tuttle furnished intelligent and candid recollections which have proven to be exceptionally accurate. He is the last survivor of the Arizona contingent of the Rough Riders. He has a small collection of personal papers. Cited hereafter as Tuttle Interview, or Tuttle Papers. 15

evidently m igrated to the United States at an early age for he arrived 14 in Phoenix in 1879. Two years later O'Neill moved to Prescott and became active in politics and journalism. As the Populist editor of the

Hoof and Horn, a Prescott newspaper devoted to cattle interests, he

incurred the political enmity of Governor McCord, a Republican, for

his outspoken criticism of the use of prisoners on labor contract to

private corporations. In spite of McCord's active opposition,

O'Neill became mayor of Prescott on January 1, 1898. A man who

enjoyed life, "Buckey, " as his friends called him because of a fondness 15 for faro, had a vibrant, magnetic personality. His military

experience was limited to a short tenure as territorial adjutant

general and some service in a Prescott company. But O'Neill

had strong aspirations, and he gave Brodie his wholehearted support. ^ 141516

14. McClinteck, Arizona, II, 523; and Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, A Troop, First United States Volunteer Cavalry, Adjutant Generals Office, Record Group 94, National Archives. Cited here­ after as AGO. Published sources agree that O'Neill was born in St. Louis or Washington in I860. But when he signed the enrollment papers at San Antonio on May 17, O'Neill listed his place of birth as Ireland. Always interested in statehood for Arizona, it is not unlikely that he anticipated a continuation of a political career, which would have required citizenship if Arizona became a state. Fraudulent information on his enrollment papers, however, would have denied him the right to a possible pension resulting from his m ilitary service.

15. Keithley, Buckey O'Neill, 210-11.

16. McClintock, Arizona, II, 513 16

As a third member of the trium virate, Brodie and O'Neill selected James H. McClintock, a big, broad-shouldered Phoenix 17 journalist who had known O'Neill for nineteen years. Born in

Sacramento, California, in 1864, McClintock had come to Arizona in 1879 to visit his brother. He liked the territory and decided to stay. During the next few years he held several jobs,including employment on the Prescott Journal and the Phoenix Arizona Daily

Republican. As a typesetter for the latter publication, he laid out the first issue. When the war came, McClintock was running a news service in Phoenix and doing free-lance writing. Like hi a 18 close friend O'Neill, he had little previous m ilitary experience.

Early in March, after publicly announcing his plan to form a regiment, Brodie tried to secure official authorization from

Washington. On March 3 he sent telegrams to both President

McKinley and Governor McCord tendering his services in the event

19 of war and requesting perm ission to raise a regiment of cavalry.

In the absence of McCord, who had gone to Washington, Acting

Governor Charles Akers forwarded a copy of Brodie's application to the President with the recom m endation that Brodie be allowed 171819

17. Ib id .

18. Phoenix Arizona Republican, May 11, 1934.

19. A. O. Brodie to the President, March 3, 1898, AGO 17 to "organize, and lead on the field of battle, a regiment of cavalry.

A week later Brodie renewed hie request by letter to the President.

After repeating his original offer, Brodie now proposed that he be reinstated in grade to rank with his class at West Point in the event that the size of the Regular Army was to be increased rather than a call made for volunteers,

A month later, when McCord returned to Phoenix, Brodie again prevailed on him to request permission. On April 2 the governor strongly recommended approval by the federal authorities.

In his endorsement of Brodie1 s idea, McCord assured the President that "no better m aterial for cavalry purposes can be found anywhere 2021

20. Charles Akers to William McKinley, March 5, 1898, AGO.

21. Brodie to the President, March 10, 1898, AGO. During this same period other people across the nation were endeavoring to secure permission to raise regiments of volunteer cavalry. On March 8, 1898, a member of the Wyoming legislature, Jay L. Torrey, wrote the governor of Wyoming to inquire if the governor would support a plan to form a regiment in that state. Two days later Torrey met President McKinley and asked for authorization to proceed with his plan. On March 23 , a Civil War veteran and adjutant general of , asked that he be allowed to raise a regiment of Western cowboys. For particulars, see Clifford P. W esterm eier. Who Rush to Glory, The Cowboy Volunteers of 1898: Grigsby's Cowboys, Roosevelt's Rough Riders, Torrey's Rocky Mountain Riders (Caldwell, Idaho, 1958), 36-42. Although W esterm eier's acccount is the only source which deals with the efforts to m uster cowboys into service as cavalry, it fails to mention the significance of Brodie's persistent efforts, which preceded Torrey1 s by at least one week.

/ 18

22 in the world, than among the cowboys of Arizona. " McCord pointed

out that the members of such a unit would require little training as they already possessed skill with horses, firearm s, and camp

equipment. Many of them had campaigned against Indians and had no fear of hostile gunfire. They would be particularly well-suited for outpost duty because of their self-reliance and knowledge of

Spanish. Coming from the Southwest, McCord continued, the men from Arizona "would be better prepared for campaigning in semi- 23 tropical countries than men secured from colder clim ates."

Although his requests failed to produce the desired authoriza­

tion, Brodie gathered the names of those in Arizona who desired to join such a unit. By the end of the first week in April O'Neill,

working closely with Brodie, had a person in every county north of

Maricopa soliciting prospective recruits. Each of these recruiters had been instructed to do this until the War Department granted 2223

22. Myron McCord to the President, April 2, 1898, AGO.

23. Ibid. Two weeks after sending this letter, McCord wired still another appeal to General Nelson A. Miles, commanding general of the Army, in which he stated: "On second instant I asked Secretary of War authority to recruit regiment of cavalry from Arizona. You know what such a regiment would be. It can be ready to m uster in ten days. " McCord to Nelson A. Miles, April 19, 1898, AGO. 19 24 authorization. At such time Brodie would travel to each county to help form the different troops and preside over the election of

officers. It is not known how many men had expressed an interest

during March and early April, but on April 4 recruiters in the little

mining town of Jerom e, in Yavapai County, promised to furnish

O'Neill with one hundred good men. ^

Me Clint ock, meanwhile, had realized less success in the

southern part of the territory than had O'Neill in the north. By

April 6 he had contacted recruiters in only four of the six southern 26 counties - - Maricopa, Pima, Graham, and Cochise. On the same

day that Jerom e had promised to furnish O'Neill with one hundred 27 men, McClintock estimated he had only sixty. In spite of this, he

expressed satisfaction with his progress, especially in the quality

of his recruits. Early that month he reported to Brodie that he had

"an excellent class of m en" who had expressed a desire to join. By 24252627

24. O'Neill to Brodie, April 6, 1898, Alexander Brodie Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, Arizona. In this letter, O'Neill listed the names of those who were taking an active part in securing volunteers. This small collection contains several important personal letters to Brodie from O'Neill and McClintock.

25. Prescott Weekly Journal M iner, April 6, 1898.

26. O'Neill to Brodie, April 6, 1898, Brodie Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation.

27. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, April 6, 1898. 20 way of illustration, McClintock described one "model cavalryman" who had just come up from the Yaqui River country of southern Sonora to enlist. "Few or none," McClintock explained, "are of the blustering, mouthing kind .... Somehow the 'tin soldier1 element is very shy 28 of the proposition. "

As recruiting continued, Brodie found that his plans had the enthusiastic support of the newspapers throughout the territory.

Most of them agreed that Brodie was an excellent choice to lead the regiment and predicted great success. The Prescott Journal Miner, reflecting the unparalleled enthusiasm of Yavapai County, kept its readers well informed of the progress as reported by Brodie and

O'Neill. Although they supported McKinley's reluctance to send a premature war message to Congress over the Maine, the editors predicted that Arizona would demand acceptance of Brodie's 29 regiment should war be declared. In southern Arizona the

Tucson Star gave its complete support. Suggesting that the command be christened "the Arizona Flying Cavalry Squadron," the Star pointed with pride to the m ilitary potential of the Arizona cow­ boys. All the troopers would be excellent shots and accustomed to a clim ate sim ilar to that of Cuba. If given the opportunity, 2829

28. McClintock to Brodie, April 5, 1898, Brodie Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation.

29. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, March 2, 1898. 21 the regiment would "sweep over the island of Cuba like a tornado, and would do more execution than ten ordinary regiments of , „30 c a v a lr y . "

Late in April, as the diplomatic relations between the United

States and Spain continued to deteriorate, Brodie became concerned over the War Department's failure to act on his request. Yet he realized that war might come at any time. To ensure that every­ thing was ready, Brodie had O'Neill write to each assistant and request a report on the status of the recruiting. In these letters

O'Neill emphasized the need for haste, pointing out that Brodie had promised to form his command within ten days after the call.

In his letter to McClintock, written on April 23, O'Neill claimed that he had nearly three hundred men selected for his northern battalion and he magnanimously offered to give one troop to

McClintock if Maricopa failed to produce enough men to form a battalion from the south. O'Neill also suggested that McClintock approach McCord with the proposition that the governor travel to

Washington and personally press for official sanction of the regim ent. O'Neil indicated that five hundred dollars could be 30

30. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, April 14, 1898. 22 raised to defray expenses. This plan, however, was never pushed.

On April 22 Congress passed the Volunteer Bill and three days

3? la te r d eclared w ar. 3132

31. O'Neill to McClintock, April 23, 1898, in folder entitled "Rough Riders--Pre-O rganization," James H. McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library, Phoenix, Arizona. This extensive collec­ tion contains much valuable information on the Arizona contingent. There is some question as to the validity of McClintock1 s claim that he was the recruiter for southern Arizona. The correspondence with interested individuals in the southern counties, as printed in the newspapers, was between each individual and either Brodie or O'Neill. There is no evidence that McClintock actively recruited outside of Maricopa County. O'Neill's letter to McClintock, written two days before the call to rendezvous, clearly indicates that it was doubtful if McClintock could furnish more than one troop. McClintock's volunteers, together with O'Neill's three hundred, gave Brodie about four hundred men. This was less than half of the number Brodie proposed to enlist.

32, While Brodie strove to secure authority to form a regiment, Melvin Grigsby of South Dakota realized that the proposed Volunteer Bill before Congress only provided for the service of National Guard units. Accordingly, he traveled to Washington and presented an amendment to Senator Francis X. W arren of Wyoming, who was then debating the Volunteer Bill in joint committee. Grigsby's amendment was incorporated into the bill exactly as he had written it. See Otto L. Sues, Grigsby's Cowboys (Salem, M assachusetts, 1899), 3-4. As amended, section 6 provided that "the President may authorize the Secretary of War to organize companies, troops, battalions, or regiments, possessing special qualifications, from the nation at large not to exceed 3,000 men, under such rules and regulations . . . as may be prescribed by the Secretary of W a r." United States Statutes at Large, March, 1897, to March, 1899, 55 Cong. , XXX, 362. With this authority, Alger decided to form three regiments of Volunteer Cavalry. Alger, Spanish-American War, 18. 23

The declaration of war on April 25 ended the possibility of

Brodie leading an entire regiment from Arizona. Under the provisions of the Volunteer Bill, Secretary of War Alger called for three regiments of Volunteer Cavalry to be composed "exclusively of frontiersm en possessing special qualifications as horsemen and 33 marksmen. " The First Regiment was to be raised in the four territories; the Second in Wyoming, and the Third in the Dakotas.

To the colonelcy of the First Regiment, Alger named Leonard

Wood, a captain in the medical corps; the lieutenant colonel was to 34 be Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

The First Regiment would have a strength of seven hundred and eighty men. One hundred and seventy would be drawn from Arizona, an equal number from the ; three hundred and forty from New Mexico, and eighty from . ^ The

War Department gave Colonel Wood a free hand in organizing his command. With characteristic energy and speed Wood drew up 333435

33. War Department Memorandum, April 28, 1898, Record and Pension Office, Record Group 94, National Archives. Cited hereafter as RPO.

34. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 18. The Second Volunteer Cavalry was to be commanded by Jay L. Torrey, and the Third Regiment by Melvin Grigsby. See Sues, Grigsby’s Cowboys, for a history of the Third Regiment. The only account of Torrey1 s regiment is in W esterm eier, Who Rush to Glory.

35. San Antonio Daily Express, May 8, 18, 1898; Prescott Weekly Journal M iner. April 27, 1898. 24 his plan of organization, designated San Antonio, Texas, as the training camp--and wired Brodie to call up his Arizona squadron. ^

On the afternoon of April 25, after receiving confirmation of his m ajority and official authorization to form the squadron from

Governor McCord, Brodie modified his plan to organize two troops instead of a regiment. Based on population according to voting registration, Brodie divided the quota among the counties to provide one troop from the north and one from the south. The northern troop was to be composed of six men each from Apache, Navaho, and Mohave Counties. Coconino was to furnish fourteen volunteers,

Graham sixteen men, and five recruits were to come from Pinal.

Yavapai was allotted the lion's share of thirty volunteers. The southern troop was to be made up of thirty-eight men from Maricopa, fourteen from Cochise, fifteen from Pima, twelve from Gila, and six from Yuma. Brodie advised his recruiters to gather their men and report to Whipple Barracks on April 29-30. In those areas where he had no active assistant, he asked the county recorder to enlist 38 the men. Brodie cautioned them to accept only those applicants 363738

36. Hermann Hagedorn, Leonard Wood: A Biography (2 vole., New York, 1931), I, 145. Hagedorn1 s work is an excellent source on the Rough Riders from a commander's viewpoint.

37. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, April 27, 1898.

38. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 27, 1898. 25 who were between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, physically sound, good riders, and proficient with firearm s. ^

During the next three days, while the recruits gathered in their respective counties, Brodie completed the final details. As captains, he nominated O'Neill for the northern troop and McClintock for the southern troop. McCord agreed to McClintock without argument, but hesitated at commissioning his old political enemy, 40 O'Neill. Brodie made arrangements with private physicians in

Tucson and Phoenix to conduct prelim inary examinations as the men 41 passed through on their way to Prescott. Just before ordering the men to rendezvous, he received notice that Arizona's quota had been increased to an even two hundred because the regimental

strength had been raised from seven hundred and eighty to 1,000 men. Brodie thus informed O'Neill and McClintock that they each would need one hundred men rather than eighty-five as originally 42 p la n n e d .

The first recruits for O'Neill's troop began arriving in

P resco tt on their own initiative im m ediately after the declaration of 39404142

39. Globe Arizona Silver Belt, April 28, 1898.

40. McClintock, Arizona, II, 513.

41. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 28, 1898.

42. Ibid., April 30, 1898 26 war. Most came from the nearby ranches and mining towns, but some came from other areas. Two residents of California- - William

Greenwood, who had served under Brodie in the First Cavalry, and

Charles Hodgdon, a prize fighter--heard of the Arizona contingent 43 and came to Prescott to join. As no orders for formal enlistment had been received at Whipple Barracks, the men stayed in town at their own expense. This had a beneficial effect on the local economy.

The hotels filled, and restaurants did a thriving business. During the afternoons and evenings the men crowded into the saloons along Prescott's famous "Whiskey Row.11 One in particular, the 44 Palace, run by Robert Brow, proved especially attractive. On the morning of April 27 O'Neil set up recruiting offices in Aitken and

Robinson's cigar store in downtown Prescott. By noon he had over fifty signatures, and more recruits were on the way from Flagstaff, 45 Jerome, Kingman, and Camp Verde.

On April 30 McClintock arrived in Prescott with forty-five men from Maricopa County, the first detachment of his southern troop. They had completed their physical examinations in Phoenix the previous m orning and had been entertained by Governor M cCord 434445

43. Prescott Weekly Journal M iner, April 27, 1898.

44. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

45. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, April 27, 1898. 27 in the afternoon and honored by a noisy demonstration upon departure in the evening. The National Guard Company, a local band, and a group of Civil War veterans had accompanied the recruits to the

Phoenix depot to wish them farewell. As the nucleus of the southern troop, they soon were followed by sm aller contingents from the other 46 southern counties. The groups from Pima, Cochise, and Yuma, 47 totalling thirty-three men, passed through Phoenix the next day.

The contingent from Yuma, headed by county recorder Cornelius

P. Cronin, was scheduled to depart Yuma on April 29, but had been delayed an additional day to allow a three-m an committee to select the required eight volunteers from more than fifty applicants.^

The sixteen men from Graham, gathered by Robert S. Patterson, a Safford rancher, arrived in Prescott on May 2. Although originally scheduled for M eClintock1 s troop, P atterson's group was assigned 464748

46. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 30, 1398. Me Clintock always maintained that he left Phoenix with twenty-eight men on April 27. See his Arizona, II, 514. He reemphasized this in an article written for the Arizona Republican on April 26, 1929.

47. Phoenix Arizona Republican, May 1, 1898. The eighteen recruits from Cochise were led by Joel Rex Hall, editor of the Biebee Orb. The Tucson group, gathered by Eugene Water bury, clerk of the Orndorff Hotel in Tucson, brought with them three men from Nogales. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, May 5, 1898.

48. While Cronin accompanied the Yuma group to Prescott, he had no personal expectation of enlisting as he was under the im pression that only cowboys were eligible. Yuma Arizona Sentinel, April 30, 1898. 28 to O'Neill bo as to distribute the county groups evenly to provide each 49 troop with one hundred men. By May 2 all the groups had reported to Prescott except for the fifteen men from Gila who were delayed by flood waters in the Gila River north of Florence. They arrived on 50 the morning of May 4.

Brodie hoped to begin form al enlistment at Whipple Barracks on April 29, but he had not yet received the necessary authorization.

With some men already in Prescott and more scheduled to arrive the next day, he immediately wired Colonel Wood to get the necessary instructions from the War Department. Brodie pointed out that he had already ordered the men to rendezvous, and they would need barracks and rations. He also indicated that a mustering officer and an examining physician would have to be detailed. Brodie concluded his request by urging that Wood take immediate action. ^ ^ In the meantime Brodie planned to quarter the men in the Yavapai Court

House and livery barn offered by Sheriff George Ruffner. Fortunately, 495051

49. Patterson's Notebook, Robert S. Patterson Papers, author's files. Although a small collection, Patterson's personal file contains several important item s.

50. Although he did not accompany the group. Lieutenant H. H. McNeily, of the Globe unit of the Arizona National Guard, formed the group from Gila County and dispatched them on May 2 in two horse-drawn coaches. Globe Arizona Silver Belt, May 8, 1898.

51. Brodie to Leonard Wood, April 28, 1898, RPO. 29 this did not become necessary ae the orders to commence enlistment 52 arrived at Whipple Barracks that same afternoon.

On April 29 Second Lieutenant Herschel Tapes of the Fifteenth

Infantry prepared to enlist the two hundred members of Brodie's 53 squadron. As fast as the recruits arrived in Prescott they were interviewed by Brodie, O'Neill, and McClintock in the court house, and those who passed were marched three miles into Whipple Barracks 54 in small groups. After being examined by the physician and formally enlisted by Tapes, each recruit received one blanket, his mess equipment, and assignment to a bunk in one of the barracks.

For the most part, the men expressed dissatisfaction with their accom m odations; they found the barracks cold, the m attresses hard 525354

52. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 4, 1898.

53. The mustering officer. Second Lieutenant Herschel Tapes of the Fifteenth Infantry, had arrived at Whipple Barracks early in April in connection with the closing of the post. A native of Ohio, Tapes graduated from West Point in 1896. Cullum, Biographical R e g i s t e r , IV , 608.

54. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 4, 1898. Other than the county groups which came to Prescott collectively, some individuals came on their own initiative. For example, William Sexsmith, a resident of Yuma who had not been chosen by the committee in Yuma which selected the applicants, came to Prescott and joined. Another Yum an was Cornelius P. Cronin, who quickly enlisted when he learned that Brodie would accept applicants who were not cowboys. Yuma Arizona Sentinel, May 7, 1898. For a sim ilar story, see Captain Thomas H. Rynning, Gun Notches; The Life Story of a Cowboy-Soldier, As Told to Al Cohn and Joe Chisholm (New York, 1931), 138, Running's account contains numerous factual errors. 30

and full of bed bugs. Some of the volunteers were satisfied with the

army rations of coffee, bacon, beans, hash, beef, and soup, but

others preferred to walk three miles into town to supplement their

diet in the restaurants.^ Most of the men behaved themselves during

this period, but one elderly recruit displayed an affection for liquor which caused him to be dropped from the rolls. Brodie had no

difficulty in securing a replacement from the 1,000 or more

57 applicants.

While waiting for the m uster to be completed, Captains

O'Neill and Me Clint ock took steps to organize their troops. From

the strange assortment of cowboys, m iners, gamblers, journalists - -

and one college ins true tor--they selected those with Regular Army

experience to conduct dismounted, close-order drill and other

activities calculated to introduce the Volunteers to army

55. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, May 13, 1898. Adalbert D. Webb, a thirty year-old employee of the Safford Arizonian, agreed to send regular dispatches under the pseudonym, "Trooper Rawhide," for publication in the Bulletin. Although cynical and prone to complain, Webb gave an accurate, week by week account of the Arizona contingent. Webb's letters were reprinted in "Arizonans in Spanish-American W ar," Arizona Historical Review, II, (January, 1929), 50-68.

56. Patterson Notebook, author's files. Webb said that the men were fed pork and beans, and "the pork was rather shy.11 Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, May 13, 1898.

57. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. Tuttle did not know what happened to the man. The offender was taken away the following morning, and Tuttle never saw him again. 31 routine. In such endeavors the men presented a ludicrous sight.

No uniforms or equipment was available for issue, and the distinct unmilitary appearance of Stetsons and high-heeled boots hampered their efforts. Nevertheless, the Volunteers enjoyed the novelty of their clumsy attempts to learn drill in the unseasonably chill wind 59 that deposited a light snow on the parade ground.

The selection of the officers was the last detail of organiza­ tion to be concluded at Whipple Barracks. Each troop would have a captain, a first lieutenant, and a second lieutenant. ^ On

April 27, the day that Governor McCord issued commissions to

O'Neill and McClintock, he also made a Phoenix attorney, Joseph

L. B. Alexander, a first lieutenant under McClintock.^* Now, with the group assembled, the men elected their second lieutenant from the several candidates who appeared. In spite of McCord's preference for Cornelius P. Cronin, who had helped to organize

58. Thomas C. Grindell, a professor in the English Depart­ ment at the Normal School in Tempo, resigned his position to enlist in McClintock's troop. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 28, 1898.

59. Patterson Notebook, author's files.

60. War Department Memorandum, April 28, 1898, RPO.

61. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 29, 1898. Born in Los Angeles in 1858, Alexander was practicing law in Phoenix in 1898. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, C Troop, AGO. A Democratic politician, Alexander also had been McCord's political enemy. McClintock, Arizona, II, 513. 32 the troop, the men selected a native of New York with prior enlisted service in the Fourth Cavalry, George B. Wilcox. In the northern troop two relatively inexperienced men were given shoulder straps.

It is not clear who selected them, but , a clerk for a mining company at Richenbar, a few miles north of Prescott, became the first lieutenant. For his second lieutenant, O'Neill accepted

Robert S. Patterson, the twenty-nine year old rancher from Safford who had brought the contingent from Graham County. ^

On May 4, with the examination and enlistment of the group from Gila completed, the Arizona squadron was ready to leave.

Brodie had received a telegram from Colonel Wood requesting that the men leave for San Antonio as soon as possible, and he was anxious to comply. ^ The General Passenger Agent for the Santa Fe,

62. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 11, 1898. There is some discrepancy about Wilcox's appointment. According to the M iner, he was the "unanimous choice of his company." Rynning, how­ ever, stated that Wilcox was elected first sergeant after Rynning gave Wilcox his support. See Rynning, Gun Notches, 140. Not everyone approved of Wilcox. On May 3 McCord wired McClintock: "If lieuten­ ancy between Willcox [sic] and Cronin, I think Cronin the more entitled as he has spent time and money recruiting. " McCord to McClintock, May 3, 1898, McClintock Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation. This is a large collection containing much valuable information on the Rough R id e r s .

63. McClintock, Arizona, II, 512-13. Frantz was born in 1869 in Illinois, and Patterson in Pennsylvania in 1868. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, A and C troops, AGO. There is no evidence that either of these two officers were elected.

64. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 4, 1898. 33

Prescott and Phoenix railroad, G. M. Sargent, had arranged for a special train of four passenger cars and one combination car. ^

Clearance had been secured for a departure at 6:00 P. M, from

Prescott. The initial plan called for the Volunteers to ride the Santa

Fe line all the way to San Antonio via Oklahoma, but at the last possible moment the route had to be changed because of washouts.

As an alternative the squadron was to change to the Southern Pacific 66 at Albuquerque and proceed to San Antonio by way of El Paso.

On the afternoon of May 4, amidst the greatest demonstration in Prescott history, the Volunteers prepared to leave for war. At four o'clock and preceded by the Prescott Brass Band, the unit marched into the town plaza in front of the court house. Formed in a line by the band stand, the men listened to an inspirational address by McCord, who had arrived that morning from Phoenix with the contingent from Gila. He brought with him a silk flag hand sewn by the Women's Relief Corps of Phoenix, an affiliate of the local chapter

65. Ibid. , May 11, 1898. Sargent had difficulty in securing pay­ ment for transporting the Volunteers. His bill for $1, 108. 20 was still unsettled on July 23, 1898. The problem of payment developed over the proper forms to use and determination of the responsible depart­ ment in Washington. G. M. Sargent to McCord, July 23, 1898, in folder entitled "M ilitary Affairs -- Territorial Volunteers -- Rough R iders," Arizona State Department of Library and Archives, Phoenix, Arizona. There are eight letters relating to the transportation of Brodie's men on file in the State Library.

66. McClintock, Arizona, II, 514 34 of the Grand Army of the Republic. Lacking & suitable cord, the ladies had decorated the top of the staff with tricolored satin ribbons.

In presenting the flag to the squadron, McCord charged the men with the responsibility of keeping his promise that it "would be carried by this battalion to the front and would be found, like the 67 plume of Henry of Navarro, waving in the fore front of battle. "

Major Brodie accepted the handsome standard on behalf of the

Volunteers, and the plaza rang with lusty cheers from the large crowd which had gathered to witness the ceremony.

Other presentations followed. The territorial adjutant general,

R. Allyn Lewis, presented the officers' commissions to McClintock, who responded with a short speech. Reese M. Ling, the Prescott

City Attorney, called O'Neill to the stand and, on behalf of the city

68 council, gave him a beautifully engraved sixshooter and holster.

Each trooper received a colored badge identifying him as a member of the "First Volunteer Cavalry -- Arizona Column." Those in

O'Neill's troop received red badges; McClintock's men got blue ones. ^

Robert Morison, a member of the city council, made the final presenta­ tion of the regimental mas cot--a young mountain lion named

67. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 11, 1898.

68. Ib id .

69. San Antonio Daily Express, May 14, 1898. 35

"Josephine. " Donated by Robert Brow, the saloon keeper whose establishment had done such a thriving business during the past week, the puma stood as a symbol of the fighting spirit of the Arizona boys. ^

Upon completion of the ceremonies at the plaza, the citizens accompanied the troopers to the depot at the northern edge of town.

The Prescott band, the Civil War veterans, the fire department, the

school children, and the governor with his staff all marched with the 71 Volunteers. Upon arrival the recruits found the cars decorated with red, white, and blue stream ers, identified by appropriate 72 slogans and filled with provisions. Over five hundred dollars had been raised that morning to stock the combination car with boiled ham, fresh mutton, pigs' feet, canned fruit, bread, and pickles. The

Volunteers expressed particular satisfaction with the three barrels filled with bottles of beer. There also were three hundred corn-cob pipes. At 7:15 the train slowly pulled out of the station through a 73 "perfect sea of hankerchiefs and parasols" that waved goodby.

70. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 11, 1898. 71. Ib id .

72. The cars carried such slogans as "Remember the Maine, " the ['First Arizona Volunteer Cavalry," and "The Arizona Cowboy Regiment." Phoenix Arizona Republican, May 5, 1898. Doubtless Rynning was in error when he stated that the cars bore the slogan "Arizona Rough R iders." Rynning, Gun Notches, 141.

73. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 11, 1898. For a brief account of the departure ceremonies, see Me Clint ock, Arizona, II, * 4 # ...... 36

The departure of the Arizona column on May 4, 1898, satisfied

Brodie's persistent efforts to gain active duty in the war with 74 Spain. In his efforts he had been supported by the governor, the newspapers, and the citizens in general. A unique organization in the history of Arizona, Brodie's squadron was the first group to go forth as an organized unit for m ilitary service outside the territory. ^ As the first of four contingents of the First United

States Volunteer Cavalry to leave for the rendezvous at San

Antonio, the Arizona column was widely heralded in the newspapers across the nation.

74. The exact number of men who left Prescott never has been definitely established. McClintock always put the number at two hundred and ten. See McClintock, Arizona, H, 515. Rynning set the figure at two hundred and forty." Rynning, Gun Notches, 141. Willson, in his somewhat garbled account, set the figure at two hundred and fourteen. See Roscoe G. Willson, "Story of the Rough R iders,11 Arizona Days and Ways, July 18, 1954, parti, 8. Tupes reported that he enlisted two hundred men. Tupes to Adjutant General, May 27, 1898, AGO. There are no copies of the enlistment papers completed at Prescott in either the National Archives or the Arizona State Department of Library and Archives.

75. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 11, 1898. CHAPTER II

IN TRAINING AT SAN ANTONIO

Hard work and some confusion characterized the activities of

Brodie's men at the general rendezvous for the regiment at San

Antonio. The officers knew that their chances of getting into action depended on their ability to get the command organized in the shortest time possible. This was quite a challenge as the entire regiment had to be built from the ground up. Fortunately, with the political influence of Roosevelt and the ability of Wood to organize, they were able to accomplish this. The capabilities and energy of Brodie proved invaluable. Under hie direct supervision the troops in the

Arizona squadron were quickly mounted, equipped, and drilled. In thirty days the Volunteers were converted from a disorganized group into an effective m ilitary organization.

The journey to San Antonio had been a memorable and satisfy­ ing experience. With the exception of the populace of Albuquerque, the townspeople all along the route had turned out in large numbers to welcome the Volunteers. Of these demonstrations, the one at

Flagstaff, held at 2:30 A. M. in a heavy snow storm , had been the

37 38 most im pressive. * At El Paso some of the troopers appropriated a stray Skye terrier, while others made strenuous efforts to entice an attractive young colored girl aboard the train. She was willing, but the troop officers forced the entire project to be abandoned. ^

These incidents evidently escaped the eyes of the reporters who lauded the Arizona boys for their "intelligence and gentlemanly deportment (which) excited the admiration of all.

The Arizona column reached San Antonio during the chilly, gray hours just before dawn on May 7. Upon their arrival at the depot, the travel-weary men boarded street cars, which had been provided by the Edison Car Line, and rode three miles south from the city to the grounds of the International Fair Association at

Riverside Park on the banks of the San Antonio River. After

depositing their belongings on the floor of the barn-like exposition building, they ate a hot breakfast and inspected their bivouac.* The high board fence, which enclosed the six-hundred park,

received particular attention from all who anticipated routine

m ilitary restriction on personal movement. They noted all holes

and loose boards as well as the ample cover afforded by the 123

1. Prescott Weekly Journal M iner, May 18, 1898.

2. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

3. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, May 11, 1898.

4 San Antonio Daily Light, May 7, 1898 39 profuse growth of pecan, sycamore, and cottonwood trees along the banks of the river. ^

As the first recruits to rendezvous, the Arizona Volunteers had their camp well established when the others arrived. On the afternoon

of May 7, the same day that Brodie's men came in, the contingent from Oklahoma also marched into the fair grounds. Raised and

commanded by Robert D. Huston, a lawyer from Guthrie, the

eighty-three Oklahomans came through the sally port in a double

column at 4:30 P. M. News of their arrival brought the Arizonans to

the entrance. They greeted their comrades with Mthree roaring

cheers and a thundering tiger. On May 10 three hundred and

forty Volunteers from New Mexico, commanded by the adjutant

general, Henry B. Hersey, who had been appointed m ajor, unloaded

from a special train of twelve cars, A week later First Lieutenant 567

5. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963; and Hagedorn, Leonard Wood, I, 147.

6. San Antonio Daily Express, May 8, 1898.

7. John C. Rayburn, "The Rough Riders at San Antonio, 1898," Arizona and the West, III (Summer, 1961), 117. For additional information on the contingent from New Mexico, see Royal A. Prentice, "The Rough Riders," New Mexico Historical Review, XXVI (October, 1951), 261-76; and Clifford W esterm eier, "Teddy's Terrors: The New Mexican Volunteers of 1898," ibid. , XXVII (April, 1952), 107-36, For a very interesting account of the procedure used to gather the New Mexicans at Las Vegas, see Albert W. Thompson, "I Helped Raise the Rough R iders," ibid., XIV (July, 1939), 2 8 7 -9 9 . ------40

AUyn Capron, on detached service from the Seventh Cavalry, brought g in one hundred and seventy troopers from Indian Territory. Except for the few recruits to be gathered from the nation at large, the arrival of this group completed the number to be collected at the rendezvous. ^

In contrast to the Volunteers from the territories, the Eastern recruits came on their own initiative. Shortly after Colonel Wood left for San Antonio on May 2, Lieutenant , who had stayed in Washington to expedite delivery of the regimental supplies, learned that the War Department had increased the authorized strength to 1,000 men. Roosevelt immediately took advantage of this situation and accepted recruits from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The first of these dudes," as the Arizonans called them , arrived on Monday, May 9, and quickly were assigned to the 8910

8. The recruits from Indian Territory were delayed in reaching the rendezvous because the officers' commissions had to come from Washington. San Antonio Daily Express, May 18, 1898.

9. On Tuesday, May 9, Wood went to Fort Sam Houston to be sworn in as Colonel of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry. Ib id . , M ay 10, 1898.

10. War Department Memorandum, May 9, 1898, AGO. When Colonel Wood left Washington on May 2, he was under the im pression his regiment would have eight hundred officers and men. Roosevelt began recruiting the Easterners on May 2, when he wrote Guy Murchie of Harvard to "bring on contingent." Roosevelt to Guy Murchie, May 2, 1898, in Elting E. Moris on and John M. Blum (ede.), The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt, (8 vols., Press, 1951), II, 822. 41 existing organizations. Three of them joined O'Neill's troop and three reported to McClintock. * Accustomed to the aesthetic Easterners they had seen visiting the West, the Arizonans were surprised at these lean,hard-m uscled ‘ athletes who cheerfully perform ed all work assigned to them. ^ Later, a few more Easterners joined the

Arizona squadron, but most were placed in a special troop Wood created for them.

On May 7, with the arrival of the Oklahoma contingent, Colonel

Wood and Major Brodie organized the Arizona squadron. It would be composed cf four troops of approximately two hundred and eighty men.

To provide the fourth unit, the two hundred men in the two Arizona troops were divided into three organizations of approximately sixty- five men each. ^ McClintock1 s popular first lieutenant, Joseph L. B.

A lexander, was made captain of the third troop. His junior officers 111213

11. Guy Murchie (Calais, Maine), Charles Bull (San Francisco), and Stanley Hollister (Santa Barbara, California) joined O'Neill; while Dudley Dean (Boston), David Goodrich (Akron, Ohio), and William Saunders (Salem, M assachusetts) were assigned to McClintock. San Antonio Daily Express, May 10, 1898.

12. At first the Arizonans scoffed at the Easterners and made fun of their riding ability. Later, they accepted them in "fullest com radship." McClintock, Arizona, II, 514.

13. It is not clear why the men from Arizona were divided into three troops. It probably resulted from the increase in strength from seven hundred and eighty to 1,000. Under the provisions of the Act of April 22, each Volunteer regiment was authorized a total strength of 1,000. On April 25 Secretary Alger called for eight troops to total seven hundred and eighty men from the four territories for Wood's 42 were First Lieutenant Robert S. Patterson, promoted and transferred from O'Neill's troop, and Second Lieutenant Hal Sayre of , 14 who had arrived with Colonel Wood on May 5. In O'Neill's group,

Quarterm aster Sergeant Joshua D. Carter of Prescott was promoted to replace Patterson. McClintock advanced George Wilcox to first lieutenant and held the remaining vacancy open until May 21, when his first sergeant, Harbo Rynning--or "Tom" Rynning as he liked to be called--was commissioned second lieutenant. ^ By virtue of their early arrival the Arizonans assumed all seniority rights and corres­ ponding troop designations. O'Neill became the senior captain and his 1415 command. On April 28 the War Department specified that each of the three Volunteer Cavalry Regiments would consist of twelve troops of seventy-seven to eighty-five men each, with fifteen more in headquarters. This gave each regiment a maximum strength of 1,035. War Depart­ ment Memorandum, April 28, 1898, AGO. On May 9 the Adjutant General advised Roosevelt: "Colonel Wood had left Washington with the understanding that hie regiment was to consist of but 800 officers and men instead of 1,000 .... the rules of April 28th are not to be changed." Adjutant General to Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt, May 9, 1898, AGO. Apparently the plan was to enlist new men to fill the troops to eight-five men each.

14. Second Lieutenant Hal Sayre was born in Central City, Colorado, in 1876. A graduate of Harvard, he arrived in San Antonio on May 5 with Colonel Wood. He formally joined the service on May 17. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, C Troop, AGO.

15. When Rynning enlisted on May 1 at Whipple Barracks he gave his name as Harbo T. Rynning, When he began signing the morning reports as first sergeant on May 17, however, he used the name Tom Rynning. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, B Troop, AGO; and Morning Report Book, B Troop, AGO. In all other accounts, including hie own Gun Notches, he always is referred to as Tom Rynning. 43 command was designated A Troop, McClintock's and Alexander's units became B and C, respectively. These three commands, together with Huston's Oklahoma D Troop, composed the Arizona 16 squadron under Brodie, the ranking major.

The reassignment of personnel to the newly created CTroop took place the next day. On Sunday, May 8, notices of the new organization appeared on the bulletin boards with the request that those who wished to transfer sign the attached roster. Thirty-seven members of McClintock's B Troop signed--but only one from

O'Neill's A Troop. ^ Me Clin lock selected thirty-two names from the list and sent the men to Brodie for transfer; while O'Neill had the names of all his troopers placed in a hat, and the first sergeant drew out thirty-one to join the solitary malcontent. O'Neill's magnetic personality had so affected his command that those selected to transfer tried their beet to avoid it. Wilber D. French of Safford, upon having his name drawn, offered a more fortunate comrade,

Jimmy Boyle, $67.00 to transfer in his place. But, French later 18 related; "The dirty, ragged Irish bum scornfully repulsed m e," 161718

16. San Antonio Daily Express, May 9» 1898.

17. Request for Transfer, May 8, 1898, "Rough Riders - Company Records," McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library.

18. Wilber D. French Statement, Hermann Hagedorn, Notes on the Rough Riders, Harvard University Library, II. Cited here­ after as Hagedorn Notes. In 1924 Hagedorn was hired by the La sky 44

Prior to this the county groups had been kept intact in one organization, and the troopers expressed dissatisfaction with having their county 19 unity destroyed.

Having completed the reassignment, the commanders selected their key non-commissioned officers. Experience and recruiting efforts were considered. For the first sergeant of A Troop, O’Neill already had named W illiam Greenwood, affectionately called

"grandma" by his men and who had retired after twenty-three years in the Regular Army. Probably older than his admitted age of forty- four, Greenwood had been a sergeant under Brodie in the First

Cavalry. He had come to Prescott to enlist when he heard that Ms old lieutenant planned to form a regiment. ^ McClintock appointed

Tom Rynning first sergeant for B Troop until May 21, when he replaced Rynning with William A. Davidson, a thorough and deliberate ex-first sergeant of Regular Cavalry. For Ms first sergeant, 21 A lexander nam ed W illis O. Hus on, a law yer from Yuma. 192021

Players Corporation, Hollywood, to write the script for a proposed movie on the Rough Riders. In gathering information Hagedorn con­ tacted more than forty veterans. Many of them wrote manuscript accounts of their experiences. These notes fill five volumes and make the best single collection of information on the Rough Riders. Hagedorn used tMs m aterial in the preparation of a novel, The Rough Riders (New York, 1929).

19. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, May 20, 1898.

20. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

21. McClintock, Arizona, II, 515, 45

In addition to the first sergeants, there were other men with prior military service. In A Troop Sergeants Charles McGarr from

Phoenix and Robert Brown from Prescott were veterans, as was

Wagoner John H. W aller and Private Arthur M. LeRoy from

Prescott. Waller had served two years in the Confederate Army where, as a guerrilla fighter, he had lost his right index finger in a 22 shotgun blast. In B Troop, McClintock had Sergeants Stephan A.

Pate from Tucson, John E. Campbell, Elmer Hawley, and Private

Richard Stanton from Phoenix. Moreover, Sergeant David L.

Hughes from Tucson and Private George Truman, who came to San

Antonio from Florence on May 28, had been commissioned officers in the Arizona National Guard. ^ Alexander's command, having 2223

22. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. Waller enlisted on April 30 at Whipple Barracks, giving Ms residence as Prescott and his age as forty-four. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

23. David L. Hughes, "A Story of the Rough Riders," David L. Hughes Papers, Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society. Cited hereafter as Hughes Manuscript, APHS. Born in Tucson in 1873, Hughes became a sergeant in McClintock's B Troop. Hie eighteen page manuscript is quite accurate. George Truman, the only recruit from Pinal County, tried to secure a commission. On June 11 Charles D. Reppy, editor of the Florence Tribune, wrote a letter of recommendation for Truman, pointing out that Truman had been a first lieutenant in the Arizona National Guard and was "well educated not only in m ilitary tactics, but other branches of learning. " George Truman Papers, APHS. Other than this letter, the Truman collection contains little information on the Rough Riders. 46 been created from the two original troops, could not m uster as many experienced men and acquired the unfortunate reputation of having inferior personnel.

On May 17, the same day that Capron'e group reported to the bivouac now called Camp Wood, the Regular Army officers from

Arizona and New Mexico arrived to muster the regiment into the

Volunteer Army. It is not clear why this was necessary, but apparently the men had enlisted in their respective territories as 25 individuals. Now they had to be mustered by troops. When

Lieutenant Tupes arrived to m uster the Arizonans, he found that several changes had occurred since the men had left Prescott. In addition to the new recruits enlisted by Roosevelt, several men were absent. Sergeant Cornelius P. Cronin of Yuma had fallen sick with rheum atism and had been sent to the hospital at F ort Sam Houston. ^ 242526

24. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

25. The Prescott Weekly Journal Miner reported on May 18 that Tupes had gone to San Antonio to correct errors made during the enlistment at Whipple Barracks. McClintock corroborated this in Arizona, II, 514. In hie request for authorization to go to San Antonio, Tupes stated the purpose was to "effect m uster in of two troops." Tupes to Adjutant General, May 10, 1898, AGO.

26. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO. Abbreviated copies of the muster out rolls for the entire regiment are in M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 260-320. Copies of the muster out rolls for Troops D, H, I, and M are in APHS. A copy of the complete roll for B Troop is in "Rough Riders - Company 47

M arshall Bird, a young recruit from Nogales, had suffered a severe head injury. Neither of them were inducted. 27

There were other problems connected with the muster. Robert

M. Hicks had become involved with the civilian authorities and had 28 deserted to avoid being apprehended. Another trooper, Frank W.

Schneck from Phoenix also had disappeared but he was enlisted upon returning to duty a few days later. ^ Tupes also refused to accept

Arthur L. Tuttle of Safford, because the eighteen year old Volunteer had fraudulently given his age as twenty-one at Whipple B arracks. 272829

Records," McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library. The roster in Marshall is incomplete and contains numerous errors. The copies provided by the National Archives have the personal rem arks section deleted.

27. Marshall Bird was thrown from a horse on May 8. In the May 19 issue of the Tucson Star he erroneously was reported killed. Bird stayed at the hospital at Fort Sam Houston until his discharge on August 8, 1898. Remarks Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, "Rough Riders - Company Records," McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library.

28. Tupes to Adjutant General, May 26, 1898, AGO. Since Hicks was absent from the muster on May 17, his name does not appear on the muster rolls. There is no further information on this m a n .

29. Ibid. There is some controversy about Schenck. According to the m uster rolls, Schenck was a resident of Phoenix and enlisted at Whipple Barracks on May 3. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, B Troop, AGO. M arshall reports that McClintock, whose troop did not have a suitable cook, ate a very enjoyable meal in a San Antonio restaurant. The meal was so good that McClintock went into the kitchen and enlisted the cook, who was Frank Schenck. See M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 38-39. 48

Tuttle appealed the decision to Major Brodie, who prevailed upon the m ustering officer of the New Mexico squadron to enlist Tuttle. ^

With the completion of the m uster on the afternoon of May 17,

O'Neill's A Troop, with three officers and sixty-eight men,

McClintock'e B Troop, with two officers and sixty-five men, and

Alexander's C Troop, with three officers and sixty-seven men, had been made an official part of the United States Volunteer Army. ^

The Volunteer regiment now comprised three squadrons of four troops each. In the Arizona squadron were A, B, and C

Troops from Arizona and D Troop from Oklahoma. The second, or

New Mexico squadron under Major Hersey, had the four troops from

New Mexico, which had been lettered E, F, G, and H. Each of the

New Mexico troops had been reduced from eighty-five to sixty-five men upon arrival, and the superfluous troopers placed in I Troop under Captain Schuyler A. McGinnis of Oklahoma. I Troop, together with K, L, and M, composed the third squadron under Major George M. 3031

30. Tupes to Adjutant General, May 26, 1898, AGO. When Tuttle enlisted at Whipple Barracks on May 2, he gave his age as twenty-one because he believed that minors could enlist only with written permission from their parents. Tupes confronted Tuttle with the boy's true age at San Antonio and refused to enlist him. Tuttle's version of this incident coincides in every respect with Tupeto report. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

31. Morning Report Book, May 18, 1898, A, B and C Troops, AGO. 49

Dunn, a close personal friend of Roosevelt's from Denver. ^ Captain

Mic&h John Jenkins, a West Point graduate from , commanded K Troop, which had been created for the Eastern recruits.^

One group from the Indian Territory elected Capron the captain and became L Troop. The remaining Volunteers from Muskogee, lettered M Troop, were placed under Captain Robert H. Bruce from

Mineola, Texas. ^

Colonel Wood won the approval of the Arizonans by his skill in organizing the regiment. Born in New Hampshire in I860, Wood had served fourteen years as an army physician. His most exacting period of duty had been in the summer of 1886 when he accompanied

Captain Henry W. Lawton's detachment of the Fourth Cavalry into

Mexico after Geronimo. ^ Wood, however, made no attempt to establish a close relationship with his regim ent. He was considerate. 32333435

32. San Antonio Daily Express, May 11, 1898, Little informa­ tion is available on Major George Dunn. He came to San Antonio with Colonel Wood, arriving May 5. He had no prior m ilitary experience.

33. Captain Micah John Jenkins graduated from West Point in 1879 and resigned from the Regular Army on March 1, 1886. He was appointed Captain of K Troop on May 21, 1898. Sam Antonio Daily Express, May 18, 1898.

34. San Antonio Daily Express, May 18, 1898. No information is available on Captain Robert Bruce.

35. Hagedorn, Leonard Wood, I, 5, 68-87. 50 but made friends with no one. "He would," according to Sergeant

David L. Hughes of B Troop, "go to the end for one of his men but he was not showy about it. "^ In Wood's calm and efficient manner the Arizonans saw a reflection of Brodic. The characteristics of both contrasted vividly with the bellicosity of the lieutenant colonel of the r e g im e n t.

Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt arrived at Camp Wood from

Washington on May 15. This thirty-nine year old New York politician with the bull neck, the flashing teeth, and the sm all eyes protected 37 by thick lenses at first did not impress the W esterners. But the strong personality of this remarkable man could not long be denied, and the troopers soon changed their opinion of him. Roosevelt's ability to make quick decisions, hie unwavering energy and enthusiasm, 38 and his friendly manner soon overshadowed his physical appearance.

In a m ilitary sense his impulsiveness and impetuosity detracted from hie ability because it interfered with hie judgment. In spite of

R oosevelt's enthusiasm and W ood's undenied ability, the troopers in 363738

36. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

37. Interview with Jesse K. Langdon, June 24, 1963, Las Vegas, New Mexico. Now living in New York, Langdon was an eighteen-year old native of South Dakota who served in K Troop, His recollections were found to be accurate. Cited hereafter as Langdon interview.

38. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 51 the Arizona column considered Major Brodie to be the real m ilitary 39 backbone of the regiment.

Both Wood and Roosevelt expressed satisfaction with the incongruous group from Arizona. Three days after his arrival Wood wrote his wife: "These men are the best men I have ever seen 40 together, and will make the finest kind of soldiers." Represent­ ing every conceivable occupation from gambler to firem an, with about half of them ranchers or cowboys, the Arizonans had a m aturity that conflicted with the popular concept that the regiment was composed of young cowboys. In age, they ranged from eighteen year old Arthur Tuttle to Sergeant Greenwood, who admitted to forty-four. The average age for the Arizona troops was twenty-eight.

Physically they averaged five feet and eight inches in height, with six-foot six-inch Albert Wright of Yuma the tallest, and Frank J,

H am er of Prescott the shortest at five-feet two and three-fourths 3940

39. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. All available sources agree that Brodie had exceptional ability. "The First Major is a dandy --M ajor Brodie, of Arizona--a grizzled old frontier soldier," Roosevelt wrote on May 25, 1898, Morison and Blum (eds.), Theodore Roosevelt, H, 833. Captain George Curry of H Troop recalled that the first time Roosevelt tried to drill the regiment he got it into hopeless confusion and had to call on Brodie to straighten it out. See George Curvy, 1861-1947, An Autobiography (University of New Mexico Press, 1958), 123. Langdon of K Troop later called Brodie "a wonderful guy. " Langdon. Interview, June 24, 1963.

40. See Wood’s letter to his wife. May 8, 1898, quoted in Hagedorn, Leonard Wood, I, 148. 52 inches. By birth they represented practically every state and

territory in the Union. Only eight were natives of Arizona. ^ "We

rendezvoused at San Antonio," wrote Wilbur French of C Troop,

"twelve hundred as separate, varied, mixed, distinct, grotesque,

and peculiar types of men .... (as were] ever assembled.

Although the men had officially joined the F irst United States

Volunteer Cavalry, the San Antonio papers soon began calling them

"Rough R iders." It is not exactly clear how this term had been

chosen, but it probably stemmed from a rem ark made by Roosevelt

that he was gang west to join a group of "rough riding" men. At any

rate the Eastern and Texas newspapers used the expression from the

beginning. The Arizona papers, however, continued to use such

designations as "Cowboy Cavalry" or "Colonel Wood's Cavalry

Regiment" until the end of May. The Arizonans at first resented the 4142

41. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, A, B, and C Troops, AGO. Tuttle pointed out that statistics taken from the rolls are not com­ pletely accurate. Some men, like Tuttle, lied about their ages; others, like Greenwood and Hodgdon, gave erroneous addresses because they thought only men from the territories could be enlisted. According to Tuttle there were several professional gamblers who put down their occupations as cowboys or ranchers. Roosevelt admitted some men joined under assumed names. See Theodore Roosevelt, The Rough Riders (New York, 1899); 30. This is vol. 13 of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt. This account by Roosevelt is the most accurate history of the regiment. It is, however, characterized by the omission of all unfavorable aspects of the regiment.

42. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, II. 53

popular designation because they considered it to be an aspersion on

their riding ability. Later they used it themselves. The regimental

officers quickly adopted it, and the official title was almost

forgotten. ^

From the San Antonio newspapers the Arizona boys learned of

the proposed mission of the regiment. On May 7 the San Antonio

Express announced that the Rough Riders would operate as an

independent command in conjunction with the insurgents south of

Havana. Their objective would be to sever the supply lines that

entered that city and other northern ports from the south. A few

days later Brodie issued a statement that the command would be

assigned the mission of hunting down Spanish guerrilla bands in the

interior of Cuba. In order to prepare for this unique assignment,

the officers did not plan to follow the Regular Army cavalry drill

because time limitations prevented the transformation of the

Volunteers into cavalrymen trained according to regulations. The *32

43. Radio address by James H. McClintock, December 31, 1930, in "Forward Arizona" series, sponsored by Union Oil Company of Arizona. Copy in Special Collections, University of Arizona Library, Tucson. W estermeier stated that the first mention of the term "Rough Riders" appeared on April 25 in the Denver Republican under a Washington dateline. W estermeier, Who Rush to Glory, 32. Actually, the expression was first used by the editor of the Tucson Star on April 21 when he quoted McCord in reference to "Colonel Brodie's regiment of Arizona Rough Riders, " Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, April 21, 1898. 54

drill selected to replace the regular exercises was designed to enable

the regiment to accomplish its predicted role in anti-guerrilla

activities. ** This proved to be only the beginning and the press,

with complete disregard for any resemblance of security, continued

to report and speculate on military plans, troop movements, and

embarkation sites and dates.

The greatest problem Brodie faced in training his squadron

concerned supplies and equipment. In spite of Roosevelt1 s efforts

in Washington, the equipment arrived slowly and in small

quantities. Fortunately, sufficient stockpiles of those items

necessary for everyday life, such as mess kits and blankets, to

equip Brodie's men were located at nearby Fort Sam Houston.

Practically everything else Wood requisitioned had to come from

depots in the E ast.44 45 This included tents, saddles, .30 caliber

Krag-Jorgenson , .45 caliber Colt revolvers, uniforms,

and the multitude of small accouterments necessary to equip t fully the regiment. The Arizonans considered the selection and

44. San Antonio Daily Light, May 8 and 13, 1898.

45. Tom Hall, The Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders (New York, 1899), 8. Of the standard works on the Rough Riders, Hall's account gives the most detailed information of the problems connected with equipping the regiment. Roosevelt is superficial. Marshall is vague. Hall is accurate until he discusses the fighting in Cuba. He is normally not considered to be a reliable source. 55 procurement of the eix-ehot Krag the outstanding example of the foresight Wood and Roosevelt used in planning for their re g im e n t.

As the Arizona Volunteers settled down to their first week of army life, they realized that Brodie had exceptional ability. He believed in discipline as well as hard work, and, under his direct supervision, the squadron rapidly began to develop m ilitary 47 proficiency. As they had received little equipment until the end of the first week, the men drilled long hours on foot in civilian clothes with broom sticks instead of rifles. In their civilian clothing, with its obvious individual differences, the Arizonans presented a ludicrous and pathetic eight as they solemnly paraded. As

Corporal French wrote:

(We were] garbed in the various habiliments of the fashions of the time. The aesthetic in their dude rags, standing collars and patent leather shoes, as well as hard-boiled hate. The m illionaires in Fifth Avenue dude .... T he cow boys 4647

46. At the outbreak of the war, the government had on hand 14,875 Krag-Jorgenson carbines. Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain (as reported by General Grenville Dodge] , Senate Doc. 221 {§ vols.] , 56 Cong., 1 Sees., Serial 3859, II, 197. Cited hereafter as Dodge Report,

47. Webb wrote: "The long brown lines are showing the effects of the work too, and the different evolutions are now performed with something like m ilitary precision." Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, June 10, 1898. 56

in chape, high-heeled boots and spurs. The miners and down- and-out ers in soiled and ragged blue denim overalls and ju m p e r s .

Brodie kept his men at drill all day. Reveille sounded each morning

at 5:30, and the activities did not end until taps sounded at 9:00 in

the evening. The schedule called for two hours of platoon drill and

49 one hour of company drill daily.

In response to Roosevelt's prodding, the supplies finally began

to arrive and were issued according to seniority. Consequently,

the Arizonans donned their uniforms before the remainder of the

regiment.®0 The standard issue consisted of cheap, cotton under­

wear, socks, one pair of rugged, high-topped shoes, canvas leggings,

a heavy, blue flannel shirt, trousers and jacket of brown duck, and

topped by a gray, . The trousers had been selected in

preference to the regular blue woolen ones because Wood felt that

they would better resist thorns and brush. This uniform did not im press the wearers for looks, but they did find it cool, strong, and com fortable. 48 495051 The acquisition of the clothing had a sobering effect

48. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, II.

49. San Antonio Daily Light, May 11, 1898.

50. On May 15 the San Antonio Daily Express reported that the procedure of equipping the Arizona squadron first caused men in other unite to offer as much as $25. 00 to any member of that squadron who would exchange places with them.

51. MeClintock, Arizona, II, 514. 57 on the men from Arizona. They now realized that they had gathered to prepare for the serious business of war. ^

The San Antonio used clothes dealers, realizing the opportunity to buy good clothing at a cheap price when the uniforms arrived, attended every uniform issue. In his weekly letter, Trooper Webb described one such individual "with a pronounced Roman nose" who offered a Volunteer from Phoenix twenty-five cents for a thirty dollar suit. The angry soldier summoned his friends, and they decided to make an example of the huckster. Placing the offender on a blanket, the outraged troopers threw him high in the air until he begged for mercy. "It is unnecessary to state," Webb concluded, "that he never came back.

Wood's original intention had been to quarter the men in tents, but the shortage of canvas forced him to use the exposition building and grandstand. After two weeks, however, the tents finally arrived and the Arizonans moved under canvas on May 20. These "dog tents, " consisting of two shelter halfs buttoned together and suspended from a cross pole, measured four feet high, four feet wide, and six and a half feet long. The two men who occupied each tent made it as 5253

52. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, May 27, 1898.

53. Ibid. For a similar account, see Chris Emmett, In the Path of Events with Colonel M artin Lalor C rim mi ns, Soldier, Naturalist, Historian (Waco, Texas. 1959). Il6-l4. See also Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 36-39. Emmett gives an excellent account of the regim ent in training at San Antonio. 58 comfortable as possible by covering the ground with straw. ^ The officers insisted that the troop areas be arranged in m ilitary fashion, with the enlisted quarters on both sides of the troop "street" and the officers' tents at the end. The members of A Troop named their street "O'Neill Avenue" in honor of their commander; while the B

Troop street became "Arizona Avenue." Alexander's men named 55 theirs "Manila Avenue." The first squadron moved into the area behind the exposition building, and the other two organizations established themselves closer to the river toward the east.

The regimental horses, like the other equipment, arrived in small groups. Purchased locally, the mounts were collected at

Fort Sam Houston and driven to Camp Wood by details sent for that purpose. In theory the horses had been broken before being accepted, but the Arizonans soon learned differently. "Some of the damn horses bucked like hell," recalled Private Tuttle. ^ Standard procedure called for the troopers to bring the horses to camp by riding one and leading eight or ten others by ropes. This proved monotonous and the Arizonans found it easier, and much more exciting, to haze them along like range cattle. The genuine cowboys, 545556

54. San Antonio Daily Light, May Zl, 1898.

55. San Antonio Daily Express, May 22, 1898.

56. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963 59 such as Sam Rhodes of the Tonto Basin and Frank Van Sicklin of

Saiford, thoroughly enjoyed working with these "broncs. " In addition to demonstrating their exhilaration by turning every water call into a wild west show of bucking, plunging, and rearing horses, they earned welcome pocket money by breaking the mounts of the more 57 timorous or less experienced troopers. The standard rate was ten dollars a head. It was one of these high-spirited animals that fractured M arshall Bird's skull when it threw him against a fence p o s t.

On May 12 Brodie led his squadron, the only one then equipped 58 with horses, out for mounted drill. Almost daily thereafter, columns of stifling dust marked areas where the troopers galloped through their maneuvers. Not until May 23, however, did the regiment drill in one body. By that time the carbines and revolvers had been issued, which helped promote the m ilitary appearance of

59 the men whose proficiency in drill had vastly im proved. On this 575859

57. Much has been written about the unsatisfactory condition of the horses. See Emmett, In the Path of Events, 94-96; Rynning, Gun Notches, 144-46; and McClintock, Arizona, H, 515. The Hagedorn Notes also contain references to the unsuitability of the h o r s e s .

58. San Antonio Daily Express, May 13, 1898.

59. Ibid., May 24, 1898. 60 particular day, selected troopers with blank cartridges galloped around the regiment firing their revolvers to teach the horses to stand gunfire. Some mounts accepted this treatm ent, but most balked, and their riders soundly cursed their "postage stamp" McClellan saddles as they tried to control their plunging horses. ^ O'Neill's troop suffered one minor casualty when Fred Bugbee's pistol accidently discharged, and the flaming muzzle-flash burned his foot and shoe. Sergeant Greenwood, thoroughly disgusted with these untamed , commented in the morning report: "Horses • totally unfit for service.

During the last week in May Wood ordered a substantial increase in drill. He had received a telegram asking him to report when hie regiment would be ready for duty. ^ Wood changed the time of morning work call to an hour before sunrise and kept the men at their tasks until sunset. Cavalry drill occupied a minimum of six hours a day, while care of the horses, guard mount, drill in the manual of arm s, and other duties consumed the remaining hours.

The long brown lines showed the beneficial effect of the increased

training, as the men becam e m ore fam iliar with drill form ations. 606162

60. Rynning, Gun Notches, 144.

61. Morning Report Book, May 18, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

62. San Antonio Daily Express. May 24, 1898. 61

This increased work load also had an adverse effect, as several men fell from their saddles or collapsed on guard post because of the long hours and oppressive heat. In spite of this, the morale of the

Arizona contingent remained high. ^

On Sundays all drill stopped to enable the men to take care of their personal needs. In the morning the regimental chaplain.

Reverend Henry A. Brown, an Episcopalian from Prescott, conducted services. To assist him, he solicited three members of C Troop,

Thomas Grindell and Wesley Hill from Tempe and Arthur Perry from

Phoenix, to form a choir. ^ In the afternoons the troopers boiled their clothes to kill the body lice, wrote letters, and gossiped with the crowds of visiting townspeople. These civilians swarmed into the bivouac every Sunday to take pictures and investigate every facet of camp life. At first Colonel Wood allowed civilians to come at any tim e, but later he found it necessary to restrict their visitations to

S u n d a y .^ 656364

63. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, June 10, 1898. Webb wrote: "Troopers have fallen from their saddles and sentries have fainted while patrolling their posts or standing in line, from heat prostration, but there is no grumbling and the man who would openly give expression to the wish that he had stayed home would speedily become the laughing stock of the regim ent."

64. McClintock1 s Radio Address, December 31, 1930.

65. Rayburn, "The Rough Riders in San Antonio," Arizona and the W est, III, 120. 62

At first, in consideration for the spirit of independence which prevailed among the W esterners, Wood applied a minimum of

discipline. Later he gradually increased it until Regular Army 66 standards had been met. When the men found it increasingly

difficult to obtain passes, they resorted to the expediency of slipping through the holes in the fence to enjoy themselves in the local bars.

The Arizonans boasted of the skill with which they eluded the

sentinels on these nocturnal excursions and noted with satisfaction

that the guard house contained many less adept recruits from New

Mexico. In an attempt to eliminate these operations, the number of

guard posts was increased twice. ^

Most of the men understood the value of discipline, and even

the "hard characters, " as Roosevelt called them, gave little trouble 68 once they understood what their officers expected. As in any

m ilitary group, however, there were some who got into trouble.

Shortly after arrival an Arizonan was fined one hundred dollars for

being drunk and disorderly. He allegedly had chased everybody off

the main street of San Antonio with a butcher knife and, after escaping

from six policem en who had arrested him , tried to upset a buggy 666768

66. The best analysis of Wood's philosophy on discipline appears in Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 15-25. See also Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 20-231

67. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, May 27, 1898.

68. Roosevelt, Rough Riders. 20-21. 63 containing two ladies. ^ Two other Rough Riders used their horses to smash a cart carrying an elderly man under the pretense they 70 were demonstrating how they intended to kill Spaniards in Cuba.

William A. Owens, a member of B Troop from Globe, acquired the nick name "Smoke-em-up-Bill" for shooting out the lights on a San

Antonio street car. Some of the men also had minor squabbles in bars and other places which were not reported in the papers. ^

The most widely publicized breach of propriety occurred during a concert held at the park by Professor Carl Beck's band. Beck had given many such concerts for the Rough Riders and, for this particular occasion, he had composed a special number called "The 73 Cavalry Charge. " Many townspeople attended the affair. At the appropriate place a band member was to fire a pistol loaded with blanks for emphasis. What followed is not clear, but a voice shouted:

"Help him out, boys." Several pistols blazed. Someone, perhaps a row dy fro m tow n, threw a sw itch and plunged the pavilion into 6970717273

69. San Antonio Daily Light, May 27, 1898.

70. San Antonio Sunday Light, May 22, 1898.

71. McClintock's Radio Address, December 31, 1930. Roosevelt covers in detail the nicknames used by the men. See the chapter, "Building the Regiment," in his Rough Riders, 3-27.

72. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

73. Professor Carl Beck was a frequent visitor to the camp. His band invariably played the popular song, "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight." This became a favorite of the Rough Riders, McClintock, Arizona, II, 516. 64 darkness. Women screamed, officers shouted "fall In," more pistole crashed, and the large crowd made a dash for the waiting street care and private vehicles, ^ The next day The San Antonio Light scored the Rough Riders in print under the headline: "Professor Beck’s Band

Played the CAVALRY CHARGE The Rough Riders Played Hell. "75

The reporters, however, who described this "pistol concert, " failed to notice that all the barrels of beer mysteriously vanished in the darkness, only to reappear in the Rough Rider camp.7^ This incident resulted in much unfavorable publicity for the regiment which, up until that tim e, had enjoyed good relations with the San Antonio n e w sm e n .

Toward the end of May the Arizonans began to speculate on their departure from San Antonio. Tuttle wrote his mother: "From the indications, I think we will leave in a few days, but if we don’t we will probably stay here all sum m er.1,77 Both local newspapers

74. Rayburn, "Rough Riders in San Antonio," Arizona and the W e s t, IH , 125. ------

75. Emmett, In the Path of Events, 113, Hall mentioned this incident, claiming that the flews paper B greatly exaggerated it. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 30. Roosevelt does not mention it at alii McCuntock recalled that '’at least one hundred troopers produced heavy service revolvers and joined in -- and not with blank cartridges." MeClintock’s Radio Address, December 3l, 1930. Tuttle stated that no ball ammunition was issued at San Antonio. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

76. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. Tuttle stated that he helped carry one of the beer kegs into the A Troop area.

77. Tuttle to his Mother, May 25, 1898, Tuttle Papers. 65 reported on the gathering of a large force at Tampa, Florida, reportedly for the purpose of invading Cuba, and predicted that the

Rough Riders would soon join it. Even Colonel Wood shared their optimism and prepared to strike camp. After he had received the telegram on May 23 asking when he could move. Wood secured marching rations, extra horseshoes, and other supplies necessary 78 for a change in station. The Arizonans, aware of these activities, began to ship their superfluous belongings home.

On May 28 orders directing the Rough Riders to move to Tampa finally arrived. After reading the telegram . Wood quietly handed it to Roosevelt and shook his hand. The emotional Roosevelt threw 79 his hat into the air and let out a yell of jubilation. The men correctly interpreted this display, and the camp went wild with demonstrations of joy. Hats, blankets, clothing, and other m aterial sailed high in the air as the excited Volunteers cheered and danced with pleasure. Not until the melancholy notes of taps spread through , 80 the camp did the men finally quiet down. The officers, meanwhile, worked late into the night to enable the Arizona column to entrain early the next morning.

78. San Antonio Daily Express, May 24, 1898.

79. Emmett, In the Path of Events, 118.

80. Solomonville, Arizona Bulletin, June 17, 1898 The boy a from Arizona had come a long way in the month they had been in the Army. Thirty days after gathering at Prescott, they prepared to board a train for the East--and perhaps Cuba.

For the past three weeks they had undergone intensive training in all those facets of m ilitary life that their commanders deemed necessary. They had drilled long hours in the hot, choking dust on horses they had to break themselves; they had endured sleepless nights in little tents infested with mosquitoes, chiggers, and

centipedes; they had lost their individualism in drab uniforms and

accepted m ilitary customs they neither liked nor understood. Their

stay at San Antonio had been a memorable one, but now they were

looking forward with eager anticipation for a hot fight in the

C a rib b e a n CHAPTER III

ON TO CUBA

When the Rough Riders arrived at Tampa, Florida, on June 1 they found everything in a state of confusion. The different regiments, both Regular and Volunteer, had been gathering there for a month, but the problems of personnel and logistics had not been solved.

Many of the Volunteers had come without equipment, and the single- track railroad, which came from the north, proved incapable of transporting the necessary supplies. To make matters worse, the

War Department kept urging Major General W illiam Rufus Shatter, commander of the troops at Tampa, to embark his army for Cuba as soon as possible. Final orders arrived on May 31, but he was unable to get the ships loaded until June 7. This delay proved to be beneficial for the Rough Riders, because they arrived in time to secure a place in the expeditionary force.

At 3:00 P. M. on May 29, some five hours behind schedule, the Arizona squadron, at the head of the Rough Riders, marched out of San Antonio. The railroad officials had agreed to have the troop train made up and wanting, but when the dusty Volunteers rode into the Union Stockyards that morning, they found that this

67 68 promise had not been kept. All the passenger cars had not arrived, and those for the stock had come without adequate loading facilities.

All that morning, while the trainmen shuffled cars along the sidings, the sweating soldiers hazed their recalcitrant horses aboard. * After they had loaded their equipment, the men climbed on the passenger cars. The accommodations turned out to be reasonably comfortable.

Two double, cane-backed seats had been provided for the soldiers who, in groups of three, stacked their blankets, packs, weapons, and personal belongings in the extra seat. ^ The Arizonans took great pride in the fact that they, the first territorial group to be organized, also became the first to entrain. The remaining eight troops under

Colonel Roosevelt did not leave until the next day.

The trip through the heartland of the form er Confederacy proved to be an exciting experience for the blue-shirted Volunteers. At every station from Texas to Florida large crowds waited to greet the Rough

Riders. New Orleans proved especially memorable because of the preponderance of winsome and flirtatious young belles, who provided a welcome distraction from the onerous duties of furnishing feed and w ater to the horses. ^ Many of the men took advantage of the long delay 123

1. San Antonio Daily Light, May 30, 1898.

2. Emmett, In the Path of Events, 120.

3. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 35. See also McClintock, Arizona, I I , 516. ------69 to exchange names and addresses with the young women. According to Webb, some of the Arizonans had difficulty communicating with the slow-talking Southerners: "Some of the boys have a hard time understanding English 'as she is spoke1 down here. The following is an example: 'Dy you all have to carry yo' bosses way down he ah and 4 tote yo' watah to cam p?"1

Notified that his squadron would be in Florida within seventy- two hours, Brodie had drawn travel rations for only three days. ^

But by the time their train had crossed the M ississippi and entered the pine forests of the deep South, the men were out of food.

Fortunately, civilians provided welcome baskets of fruit, sandwiches, and fried chicken. With outstretched hands the Arizonans leaned out of the train windows to accept the offerings. Webb, in his weekly letter, recorded their appreciation when he wrote:

At a small station in M ississippi an old colored 'Aunty' came out to our train and presented my partner with a Spring chicken,which she had prepared herself. We smuggled the chicken into our roll of blankets and after we had turned in for the night we had our first meal for that day. The old 'Aunty' will always be rem em bered with loving thoughts.

Unfortunately, many members of the Arizona squadron did not wait for provisions to be given to them. At every stop resolute

4. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, June 17, 1898.

5. Ib id .

6 . Ib id 70

Volunteers, often with the connivance of their officers, slipped off the train in search of unattended chickens, pigs, and geese. Later, after the train had started again, the troopers butchered their purloined fowl and swine, kindled small fires, and prepared hot 7 meals on the moving train. At Tallahasee, Florida, some enter­ prising foragers from McClintock's troop appropriated several hogs found rooting in the feeding-stalls next to the tracks. The station-

agent, and owner of the animals, happened to observe the theft and

complained to Major Brodie, who ordered the men to release the pigs.

As fast as the troopers threw them off one side of the car, the

animals ran underneath the train and out the other side where, hidden

from the agent, eager hands waited to throw them right back on again.

"It sure was comical then," Lieutenant Rynning recalled, "to see that

station-agent strutting up and down the platform and telling his friends: g ‘T h o s e ______ain’t going to get away with no hogs of m ine.'"

Late in the afternoon of June 1 Brodie1 s section arrived in

Tampa. Here they encountered still more of the inordinate confusion

that had characterized the trip. Halted at Ybor City, a suburb of

Tampa, the men realized that no one seemed to know what to do.

7. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. Hughes does not explain how these fires were attended. Presumably the men constructed some kind of fire box. Most of the stolen animals probably were cooked at the next stop.

8. Rynning, Gun Notches, 156. McClintock related a sim ilar incident in his Radio Address on December 31, 1930. 71

Colonel Wood, who had accompanied the first section, finally walked into town in an effort to find someone who could direct him to his q bivouac. During hie absence General Wheeler rode by and directed

Brodie to detrain and camp there for the night. The Arizonans quickly unloaded their equipment, established a picket line near a corral, and prepared to get what sleep they could. It turned out to be very little, as the remaining sections continued to arrive and unload their baggage near them all that night. ^

The next morning the Rough Riders marched to their bivouac area south of the city near the Fifth Corps Headquarters in the

Tampa Bay Hotel. The route of march passed through Tampa, and the troopers got their first good look at the city. * * From Lakeland on the north to Port Tampa nine miles south, white-canvased cities had blossomed forth to accommodate the army of 30,000 soldiers.

The dusty streets and board sidewalks of Tampa, a cigar making city of 10,000, were jam m ed with soldiers from every branch of 91011

9. Entry for June 1, 1898, in Leonard Wood Diary (May 29, 1898-July 15, 1898) in Leonard Wood Paper# , Box 2, Library of Congress. A typescript copy of the original used. Cited hereafter as Wood Diary.

10. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 77,

11. Ibid. , 78. Roosevelt was especially critical of the conditions the Rough Riders found at Tampa. He later testified: "When we reached Tampa we had twenty-four hours of utter and absolute confusion. There was no one to show us where we were to camp. The railway system there was in a condition of absolute congestion.11 Dodge R e p o r t, V I, 2257. 72 service. ^ In appearances the blue-clad Regulars stood apart from the Volunteers, who had arrived in varying degrees of readiness.

Some of the Volunteers had arrived without weapons; some of them had come without uniforms; and a few units bad no blankets, tents, or camp equipment. ^

The order for the mobilization of the Regular Army had been issued as early as April 15, and the regiments had moved to Tampa,

New Orleans, and Mobile. With the declaration of war additional 14 camps were established in Georgia, Florida, and Virginia. The

Regulars and Volunteers were to be organized into eight corps of approximately 27,000 men each. At Tampa the Fifth Corps was brought together and placed under the command of Major General

William R. Shafter, a corpulant, three hundred pound veteran of the 121314

12. Tampa Morning Tribune, June 4, 1898. For a good description of the camps at Tampa, see George Kennan, "The Facts about the Florida Camps and the Shafter Expedition," The Outlook, June 25, 1898, 467-70.

13. On June 4 General Nelson A. Miles reported to the War Department: "Several of the volunteer regiments came here without uniforms; several came without arm s, and some without blankets, tents or camp equipage .... General Guy V. Henry reports that five regiments under his command are not fit to go into the field." Cited in Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 67. For additional details of the situation in Tampa, see William R. Shafter, "The Capture of ," The Century Magazine (February, 1899), 612-14.

14. Alger discusses in detail the confusion and indecision which surrounded the preparations for war. See hie chapter, "Plans of Campaign, " Spanish-American W ar, 41-61. 73

Union Army. ^ Xn late April Shafter arrived at Tampa and established his headquarters in the Tampa Bay Hotel, a grotesque, Alhambra- type structure complete with gilded minarets and nearly a hundred 16 rooms. Soon he was hard at work organizing his command.

Ordered to follow the triangular concept of m ilitary organization,

Shafter formed three infantry divisions and one division of cavalry.

Each division contained three brigades, and each brigade had three

regiments. ^ Commanding the cavalry division was Brigadier

General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler, a diminutive, gray-bearded

ex-Confederate, who had offered his services at the declaration of

war and had been accepted by President McKinley for political

reasons. W heeler's subordinates w ere B rigadier G enerals Samuel 15161718

15. Born in Michigan in 1835 W illiam R. Shafter had come up through the ranks to brigadier general in the Regular Army. A veteran of the Civil War and holder of the , he had a reputation as a fighter. At the suggestion of General Miles, Shafter was promoted to Major General and given command of the Fifth Corps at Tampa. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 35. See also Azoy, Charge, 33.

16. The Tampa Hotel, built in 1888 by Henry B. Plant, a prominent Florida railroad tycoon, served not only as a headquarters but as a social hall for the officers. , The Cuban and Porto Rico Campaigns (New York, 1898), 46-50. Of the accounts written by correspondents, Davis's is one of the best.

17. Alger, Spanish-American War, 25.

18. Wheeler was born in Augusta, Georgia, on September 10, 1836, After graduating from West Point in 1859, he served two years in the cavalry, resigning in 1861 to join the Confederacy. In command of cavalry in western operations, Wheeler was a lieutenant general at 74

St or row Sumner and Samuel Baldwin Marks Young, both of whom had been Union generals in the Civil War, Sumner commanded the First

Brigade, which included the Third, the Sixth, and the colored Ninth

19 regiments. As the commanding general of the Second Brigade,

Young had the First and colored Tenth. ^ With only five regiments of Regular Cavalry available to him, Shaftsr never formed the

Third Brigade. All divisions were manned by Regulars whenever possible and supplemented with Volunteers where necessary.

Through late April and early May, while he struggled with the problems of his command, Shafter had received several conflicting sets of orders. On April 29 he was instructed to send 5,000 men to

Cuba to furnish logistical support to the Insurrectos operating in the southern part of the island. But the arrival of the Spanish fleet 192021 the end of the Civil War. Cullum, Biographical Register, IV, 114-15. For the political aspect of W heeler’s appointment, see M argaret Leech, In the Days of McKinley (New York, 1959), 229. 19. A native of Pennsylvania Sumner was appointed second lieutenant on June 11, 1861. By 1865 he was a breveted major. A colonel in the Regular Army at the outbreak of the Span! eh-A m eric an War, Sumner was appointed brigadier general of Volunteers on May 4, 1898. John W. Leonard (ed. ), Who’s Who in America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of the United States, 1901- 1902 (Chicago, 1901), 1105.

20. Samuel B. M. Young, born in Pittsburg, January 9, 1840, enlisted in the Twelfth Pennsylvania Volunteers in 1861. Within a few weeks he was appointed captain of the Fourth Pennsylvania. At the end of the Civil War he became a second lieutenant in the Regular Army and had risen to colonel by 1897. On May 4, 1898, he waas appointed brigadier general of Volunteers. Ibid. , 1275.

21. Alger, Spanish-American War, 44-45. 75 under Cervera forced the cancellation of this plan. A week later the War Department had ordered Shafter to land a force on the northern coast to secure and hold a beachhead pending the arrival of sufficient troops to capture the island. This plan had to be abandoned for lack of transportation. During the next few weeks, a fleet of steam transports, large enough to convey 25,000 men, was assembled at

Tampa. On May 26 Shafter was ordered to prepare for an invasion of 23 Cuba. This looked like the real thing, and orders were sent to

Colonel Wood instructing him to join General Young at Tampa as the third regiment in Young's brigade.

Shortly after their arrival the Arizonans were introduced to their division commander, "Fighting Joe" Wheeler. Their first good look at Wheeler was on Sunday, when Chaplain Brown delivered the customary service. Lounging in a palmetto grove close to their bivouac, the Arizonans, complete with cartridge belts and campaign 2223

22. On April 29 Admiral Pascual Cervera, with four and three , sailed from the Islands for Cuba. Anticipating Cervera*s destination, the American naval officers required the use of all war vessels in attempting to intercept Cervera. Consequently, none were available to escort Shafter1 s army. On May 19 Cervera slipped past the and entered Santiago Harbor. Herbert H. Sargent, The Campaign of Santiago de Cuba (3 vols., Chicago, 1907), I, 150-73. Sargent's work is the finest military history of the Spanish-American War.

23. Alger, Spanish-American War, 63. For particulars on the different orders received in Tampa, see Shafter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 613. 76 hats, were half-listening to the uninspired address. Corporal French happened to glance to the rear and there stood General Wheeler. In this white-haired little man, French saw the same characteristics that had endeared another officer to the Arizona column. No finer

compliment could Wheeler have received than he did when French w ro te :

He had a remarkably shaped head, and wonderfully expressive e y e s .... I have known another man with the same shaped head, same eyes and features. Eyes that seemed to be looking a thousand years into the future. That man was Colonel Alex O. Brodie. Joe Wheeler and Alex Brodie were in a class by themselves. Two men out of millions .... Others may be more spectacular, but it is the Wheelers and the Brodies that have made and will continue to make us a great nation.

As soon as their bivouac was organized, the Rough Riders began

practicing dismounted combat formations. With their troops deployed

as skirm ishers, the officers led their men on mock charges through

the palmetto scrub against simulated entrenchments, or supervised

defensive maneuvers while the Volunteers, crouching in rifle pits

along the beaches, snapped their empty carbines at hypothetical

attackers. ^ This was hot, dirty work, and the men much preferred

the occasional mounted drill which began soon after arrival. At the

end of each day the Arizonans frequently galloped bareback through the 2425

24. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, III. The Wood Diary for June 5 confirms W heeler's visit to the encampment during Sunday services.

25. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 36. 77

■hallow surf along the beach. Sergeant Hughes later recalled that the horses seemed to enjoy the cool spray as much as the men. ^

Varied reactions to the arrival of the Volunteer Cavalry came from the m ilitary and civilian visitors to the encampment. Although many of them came to see the Rough Riders, the civilians lacked the enthusiastic patriotism that had characterized the people in San

Antonio. The local residents already had experienced disorders caused by drunken soldiers and they had begun to lose their enthusiasm 27 for the military. Some were even carrying weapons for protection after dark. The mayor, in anticipation of trouble with the Rough

Riders, made a vain appeal to headquarters that the Volunteer's pay 28 be withheld until after they had sailed. In contrast to the civilians, praise of the unit came from both the English and German attaches, who told Colonel Wood that his regim ent had the best kept bivouac in 262728

26. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

27. The full story of the effect of the Fifth Corps on Tampa has never been told. The Tampa Morning Tribune during May, June and July carried frequent stories of riots and fights. Apparently there was no particular unit involved, for Regulars as well as Volunteers, both white and Negro soldiers were blamed. There were some racial overtones--especially in the riots that developed in the houses of prostitution. For the best account of conditions in Tampa from a soldier's viewpoint, see Charles J. Post, The Little War of Private Post (Boston, I960), Chapters 7, 8, 9, 54-74. Post was a private in the Seventy-first New York Volunteer Infantry, For the observa­ tions of a civilian observer, see Davis, Cuban and Porto Rican C a m p a ig n s , 4 5 -8 5 .

28. Tampa Morning Tribune, July 30, 1898. 78

the Fifth Corps, The German also pointed out that the Volunteer

Cavalry was one of the few regiments that had arrived fully equipped,

uniformed, and capable of moving with no other transportation 29 facilities than its own organic pack train. The Arizonans also

heard General Nelson A. Miles, the Commanding General of the 30 Army who had come to inspect the debarkation, compliment them.

On June 6, after only three days of drill, the embarkation orders

came. To the consternation of the Arizonans, however, only two-thirds

of them could go. Lack of adequate space on the troopships had forced

each cavalry regiment to take only eight troops. ^ * After careful

deliberation Colonel Wood selected Captain Alexander's C Troop, the junior unit in the first squadron, to remain in Tampa along with H, 32 I, and M Troops under M ajor H ersey. In addition to leaving four 29303132

29. Hagedorn, Leonard Wood, I, 156.

30. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, June 10, 1898,

31. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 75. The decision to take only eight dismounted troops from each cavalry regiment to Cuba was made when Shafter learned the transports could carry only 17,000 men--not 25,000 as planned. The orders came as no surprise to the Rough Riders because the Tampa Tribune had predicted this on May 4.

32, It has never been explained how the troops to remain in Tampa were chosen. Roosevelt stated that Captain Maximo Luna of F Troop appealed to Colonel Wood on the grounds that Luna, being of Spanish ancestry,should be allowed to go to Cuba to prove his loyalty to the United States. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 38. 79 troops, the orders also confirmed an earlier rumor that the Rough

Riders also would leave their horses in Tampa and serve as infantry.

"That almost took the starch out of the boys," recalled Sergeant

Hughes. "We had been planning things we would pull off on the

Spaniards on our horses, and as a cowboy is almost as helpless on 33 foot as a fish is out of water. " Some unknown trooper, upset over leaving his horse, rem arked that henceforth the regiment should be known not as "Roosevelt's Rough R iders," but as "Wood's Weary

W a lk e rs .

Furtherm ore, each embarking troop was limited to seventy men. This forced each commander to leave a good-sized squad in addition to hie horses and pistols. ^ when Captains O'Neill and

McClintock selected those to stay, there were outraged protests raised against their decisions. O'Neill's A Troop had three officers and eighty-three men assigned. From this number O'Neill had to leave thirteen. At first he named Sergeant Sam Rhodes commander of hie Tam pa detachm ent, but later he changed hie m ind and appointed 333435*37

33. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

34. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, June 10, 1898. Some accounts state that this name was given to the Rough Riders by a Regular after their arrival in Cuba. Webb's letter, written before embarkation, is quite clear on the point.

35. According to Roosevelt some of the officers and men burst into tears upon learning they could not go. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 37. See also Emmett, In the Path of Events, 122-24. 80

Corporal George Bugbee instead. ^ From the three sets of brothers in A Troop--The Bugbees from Safford, the Azbille from St. Johns, and the Wallace boys from Flagstaff--O'Neill ordered that one from each family stay behind. McClintock left eight men under Corporal

Charles Heitman and took seventy-one with him. Unlike O'Neill,

McClintock took both the Norton boys, the only family that had 37 furnished him with two of its sons. He did leave his two sick troopers. Private Sol Drachman from Tucson who had contracted m alaria, and Frank Roberts, a new recruit from Texas who fell sick 38 just before embarkation.

Many troopers scheduled to be left did everything possible to secure a place in the invading army. Some of the Eastern boys offered as much as five hundred dollars to anyone who would exchange 39 places with them. Private Martin L. Crimmons of B Troop did not have to go quite that high, as five men offered to accept his induce­ ment of fifty dollars. But Captain McClintock refused to alter the

em barkation ro ster. Crim m ons then appealed directly to Colonel 36373839

36. Morning Report Book, June 7 and 13, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

37. Morning Report Book, June 14, 1898, B Troop, AGO. There is no explanation how McClintock managed to take seventy-one men rather than seventy.

38. Emmett, In the Path of Events, 123; and Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, July 14, 1898.

39. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, June 16, 1898. 81

Roosevelt, who declined to interfere and told Crimmons there would be no c h a n g e s .40 In spite of this promise, Albert Wright, the six-foot six-inch trooper in Alexander's troop, joined headquarters as the regimental color bearer. Wright took with him the silk banner of the Arizona squadron in preference to the beautiful flag brought by the 41 contingent from Nerw Mexico.

The nine-mile move to the docks at Port Tampa proved to be a mass of confusion. According to Roosevelt, it was more of "the higglety-pigglety business" that had characterized the entire operation 42 at Tampa. Marched from their camp to a nearby siding to meet a train on the evening of June 7, the Rough Riders waited until early morning for transportation that never arrived. About 2:00 A. M. Wood ordered his sleepy soldiers to another siding where, he had been told, another train would meet him. Again no transportation appeared, and the first light of day disclosed that the men had spent the last few hours of darkness within rifle shot of their old encam pm ent. At this point 404142

40. Emmett, In the Path of Events, 123.

41. In addition to Sergeant Wright, some other reassignments were made to allow certain individuals to go. The second lieutenant of M Troop, John C. Greenway, was attached to G Troop. Sergeant , also of M Troop, was transferred to L Troop. Langdon of K Troop recalled that there was considerable "shuffling" to enable Wood to take "the cream of the crop. " Langdon Interview, June 24, 1963. For additional information, see Emmett, In the Path of Events, 123; and McClintock, Arizona, II, 516,

42. Dodge Report, VI, 2257 82 determined and resourceful Colonel Wood commandeered a train of empty coal cars, which happened to pass headed in the opposite direction, and ordered the engineer to transport his Volunteers to the 43 docks. Tired and black with coal dust--but undaunted in spirit-- the troopers chanted their regimental slogan as they rolled into the loading area at Port Tampa:

Rough, tough we're the stuff ^ We want to fight and can't get enough.

While Major Brodie supervised the unloading of the coal train at the port. Colonels Wood and Roosevelt went off to find their 45 transport. After spanking coal dust from their uniforms and equip­ ment, the Arizonans rested on their blanket rolls and studied the colorful spectacle of the Fifth Corps embarkation. In the harbor,

swinging slowly at taut anchor chains, lay thirty-four transports.

Each one identified by a large white number painted on the bow. No

specific loading plan seemed to exist, and the Volunteers watched

regiment after regiment, accompanied by laden transport wagons, hurry along the beaches and pier to find a place on one of the ships. 434445

4 3 . W ood Diary, June 7-8, 1898. See also Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 92-95.

44. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 55. On January 7, 1930, in his Radio Address, McClintock stated that First Sergeant Davidson composed this slogan.

45. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 39. 83

Each unit could be identified as to component by the type of weapon

carried. The Regular Infantry had Krag rifles, the Regular Cavalry had short carbines, and the Volunteers shouldered obsolete .45

caliber Springfield#. All marched under full field pack with gleaming,

brass-filled cartridge b elts.^

After a short wait Colonel Roosevelt, obviously excited,

returned and told his officers that the regiment could take ship 47 number eight, the Yucatan--if they could get it before anyone else.

Wood already had gone aboard to take possession and direct the captain

to berth his ship at the wharf. The Arizonans needed only a brief

explanation to get them moving. They had not come this far only to

be left now! To a man the troopers jumped to their feet, buckled on

their cartridge belts, threw their blanket rolls over their shoulders

and marched to the pier at double time. They arrived none too soon.

Just behind them came the Seventy-first New York Volunteer Infantry,

which also had been assigned to the Yucatan. Colonel Roosevelt, with 4647

46. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. For a similar account, see Post, Little War of Private Post, 65-69.

47. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. The transports were purchased or chartered from private shipping companies and converted to troop­ ships. The Yucatan was one of the largest; only six vessels carried more men than the Yucatan. Alger, Spanish-American War, 76-78. 84 hie grinning Rough Riders already on board, turned the New Yorkers back at the gangway.^®

By late afternoon, June 7, the Rough Riders had loaded and were ready to sail. They had aboard eight troops of seventy men each with 49 their personal equipment and firearm s. For support they had two

Colt rapid fire guns, presented to the regiment by wealthy New York friends, and a pneumatic dynamite gun which had been assigned to them at Tampa. Lacking enough men to fill the ship, Colonel

Wood perm itted four troops of the Second Infantry to come aboard.

This brought the total number to forty-three officers and seven hundred and seventy-three enlisted m en. ^ The Rough R iders expected to sail 48495051

48. George P. Hamner's Autobiography, George Hamner Papers, Hollywood, Florida. A member of F Troop, Hamner recently completed a two hundred page autobiography which contains several chapters on his experiences as a Rough Rider. Having served as orderly for Colonel Wood and General W heeler, Hamner offers a fresh insight into the personalities of these two officers. At the present time Hamner's account is unpublished. Cited hereafter as Hamner M anuscript.

49. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 37.

50. Ibid. , 47. The two Colt machine guns had been received on May 18. San Antonio Daily Express, May 19, 1898. The dynamite gun, which had been attached to the Rough Riders at Tampa, consisted of two tubes with a superimposed barrel. A charge of guncotton was exploded in one tube, which forced compressed air into the breech by way of the second tube. This propelled a three-pound projectile. The weapon had a range of two m iles. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle P a p e r s .

51. Alger, Spanish-American War. 78. 85 immediately, but they soon learned that the invasion had been postponed 52 because a Spanish fleet had been reported off .

For the next eight days the armada swung at anchor in Tampa

Harbor. There was very little that could be done to keep the men occupied. Cramped in their limited quarters the Arizonans played cards, wrote letters home, fished, and swam in the tepid waters of the bay. Although disappointed at the delay, they derived some satisfaction in being part of the impressive m artial array. "The sight in the harbor is a magnificent and im pressive one," wrote

Private Hodgdon of A Troop, "and shows what war means when one sees nothing but big warships with ugly guns pointing at you. The men considered it fine sport to swim from ship to ship to visit with friends. On one such excursion Sergeant Sam Rhodes fell victim to

a stingray. From that time on his unsympathetic comrades called 54 him "Stingaree Sam. "

On June 13, as bands played and soldiers cheered, the

Yucatan weighed anchor and took its place in the fleet steaming

down the bay for the open sea. Shortly after a near-collision with 525354

52. On June 8, 1898, three American ships, cruising near Cuba, were reported as a Spanish and a . The American transports were ordered not to leave Tampa until the navy could destroy this Spanish "ghost fleet." Ibid., 72-74.

53. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, June 22, 1898.

54. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. 86 a grounded transport, the ship halted for the night. ^ The following afternoon, after the flotilla had been formed, the force started for

Cuba. In three divisions of three parallel columns each the ships steamed south at an average speed of five knots. Naval patrol boats protected the front, the rear, and both flanks of the convoy. The enormity of the occasion did not escape the Arizonans, who fully realized that they had a place in the largest amphibious operation in their nation's history. ^

Unaccustomed to life at sea, the men from Arizona found that they had to make adjustments to their new environment. No longer could body lice be controlled by boiling clothing, but the men substituted the simple expedient of dragging their infested uniforms 57 behind the ship. One morning Tuttle, who practiced this technique at night, awoke to find that the propellers had cut the line and he had lost an irreplaceable pair of trousers and a shirt. Crowded together with no possibility of voluntary isolation, and perhaps psychologically

55. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 42. McClintock later claimed that the narrowly avoided collision would have been a disaster because the ammunition for the dynamite gun would have exploded. See his A r iz o n a , II , 5 1 7 .

56. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 15, 1898.

57. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. Post explains that there were three kinds of body lice. The first, which infested the seams of clothing, was called the "seam squirrel. " The second was the well-known "crab." The third was the type that attached itself to the scalp. They called this one "the Rough R ider." Post, Little War of Private Post, 170-71. 87 affected by the thought of approaching combat, an occasional flare of temper disturbed the customary harmony. Corporal Ed Doherty, a big, quarrelsome ex-miner from Jerome, selected Fred Bugbee,

one of the few men who had become seasick, as the object of hie

scornful and derogatory rem arks. Beside himself with rage,

Bugbee seized hie Krag and threatened to shoot his now white-faced

tormentor. Several of the Graham County boys, who recognized

Bugbee1 s vow to be no idle threat, managed to disarm their angry 58 comrade and hustle Doherty out of sight.

Only the prospects of getting into action enabled the men to

tolerate the discomforts aboard ship. At first Captain O’Neill's

troop had been quartered on deck, but after several days they had

to join B Troop in the multiple tiers of double bunks stacked between

decks. No breath of fresh air circulated to these quarters, and the

sweltering troopers surreptitiously competed for sleeping room

on th e d eck . To supplement the monotonous diet of coffee, hard­

tack, and canned meat, the men paid outrageous prices for additional

food: a sandwich cost twenty-five cents, lemons went for ten cents

apiece, warm beer sold for thirty cents a pint, and half a cup of ice

58, Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

59. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 15, 1898. 88 water cost ten cen ts.^ Some profit-conscious sailors also provided cheap whiskey at twenty dollars a gallon. According to Webb it left much to be desired. "The only thing there seems to be plenty of aboard this ship is whiskey," Webb recorded. 'In hie young days your correspondent has experimented with some pretty tough bug extract in Arizona, yet he can truthfully say that he has never tackled any red liquor that would come up to the standard of this rat poison sold right here on board this government ship.

After all the difficulties encountered in getting to Tampa and on a ship, the Arizonans were on their way to war. They missed their comrades in Captain Alexander's C Troop, but they welcomed the

New Mexicans in Captain Frederick A. M uller's E Troop, which now constituted Brodie's fourth unit. The other four embarking troops,

F, Ge L, and K, had been assigned to Roosevelt, who went as the 62 other squadron commander. As their ship steamed further into the

60. Entry for June 17, 1898, in the diary of Roger S. Fitch, Fitch Papers, Lae Vegas City Museum, Lae Vegas, New Mexico. Cited hereafter as Fitch Diary. A native of Buffalo, Fitch came to San Antonio and enlisted in G Troop on May 27. His diary is detailed, clear, and accurate. The Las Vegas City Museum is commonly called the "Rough Rider M useum." Most of the files of Roosevelt's Rough Rider Association are kept there. The curator, Mrs. Odzella Todhunter, is the widow of Private W illiam Love of I Troop.

61. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 15, 1898.

62. MeClintock, Arizona, II, 517. Born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1862, Muller came to the United States in 1879. He 89 tropics, the Arizonans speculated as to their ultimate destination.

Some thought they would go to , but most predicted the campaign would take place in Cuba. They were in general agreement that either Havana or Santiago would be the objective. On the morning of June 20 all speculation ended when the ships changed course and, taking a new bearing, headed west. They were following the southern coast. The army of invasion was headed for Santiago. ^

served five years an as enlisted man in the Sixth Cavalry. Ralph Emerson Twitchell, The Leading Facts of New Mexican History (2 vole., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1911), II, 540. Commissioned by the Governor of New Mexico, Miguel A. Otero, on April 25, 1898, Muller raised hie E Troop in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico. Miguel A. Otero to Frederick A. M uller, April 25, 1898, in folder labeled ''Letters Received File," Miguel A. Otero Papers, New Mexico State Archives, Santa Fe, New Mexico. This collection contains a great deal of information on the contingent from New M ex ico .

63. Fitch Diary, June 20, 1898. CHAPTER IV

LAS QUASI MAS

With the arrival of his flotilla off the Cuban coast on June 20,

General Shafter made plans to get hie troops ashore and into a position to reduce Santiago. The landing began on the morning of

June 22 at the sm all village of Daiquiri, twenty-five miles east of

Santiago Harbor. Although the debarkation of their troops was unopposed, the commanders quickly faced overwhelming logistical problem s, which were compounded by the failure of the Cubans to provide support. Despite these difficulties elements of W heeler's division soon were advancing toward Santiago. About halfway between the point of landing and the objective, the Rough Riders assaulted the Spanish lines at the little town of Sevilla--and there fought the first battle of the Cuban campaign.

Located ninety m iles south of Florida Cuba has a typical

Caribbean geography. This "Pearl of the ," the largest island in the West Indies, has a maximum length of seven hundred and sixty miles and an average width of eighty m iles. A mountain range, which reaches its highest elevation in the east, runs the entire length of the island. Yearly rainfall averages fifty-two

90 91 inches, with two-thirds of it falling during the rainy season which begins in June and ends in November. *

As a m ilitary objective in 1898, Cuba posed complex logistical and tactical problems to Shafter's invading forces. Transportation facilities between the widely scattered centers of population were limited to a few prim itive roads and inadequately maintained rail­ roads. The only significant cities were the seaports of Havana, on the northwest coast, and Santiago de Cuba on the southeast. Both ports had excellent harbors and large garrisons of Spanish troops.

To control the native population of 1,600,000 Spanish-speaking inhabitants, the Spaniards maintained a garrison of 80, 000 Regulars and 25,000 volunteers.

During the six-day voyage from Tampa to Cuba, Shatter had studied maps and intelligence reports prior to selecting a tentative landing site. Ordered to capture the Spanish garrison at Santiago and cooperate with the navy to destroy the Spanish fleet in the harbor.

Shatter carefully surveyed the terrain around Santiago as hie ship proceeded slowly along the coast. ^ Santiago itself could not be

1. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, I, 35-36.

2. Nathan C. Green, The War with Spain and Story of Spain and Cuba (Baltimore, 1898), 52.

3. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 63. See also Shatter, "Cap­ ture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 614-16. 92 approached from the sea because it lay four miles inland at the head of a narrow channel. Spanish batteries at Morro Castle near the mouth of the harbor, Scoapa across the bay, and Punt a Gorda further up 4 toward Santiago effectively protected the inlet. Shatter tentatively decided to land to the east at either Siboney or Daiquiri. Siboney lay fifteen miles from the harbor, and Daiquiri nine miles farther.

Neither of these small hamlets had a harbor, nor did the rocky shoreline offer any protection from the constant trade winds. Before forming a definite plan of operation. Shatter decided to consult with

General Calixto Garcia, leader of the Insurrectos, and Admiral

William T. Sampson, commander of the blockading navy. ®

In the afternoon of June 20, while his fleet rode at anchor off

Santiago, Shafter went ashore to meet with Sampson and Garcia.

Sampson wanted the army to affect a landing near Morro Castle at the harbor entrance, but Garcia concurred with Shafter that the troops should land at Daiquiri. Although this village lay nine miles farther

4. The Punt a Gorda battery, a mile up the bay from Morro Castle,was the only battery of significance. It had four modern Hotchkiss cannons and two rapid fire guns. The guns emplaced at Morro Castle and Scoapa were obsolete. Some of them were cast of bronze and dated 1718. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, I, 221- 22.

5. Alger, Spanish- American War, 85-86. On May 29 elements of the American fleet sealed Cervera's squadron in Santiago Harbor. On June 1 Admiral Sampson arrived with two and two lesser vessels to take command of the blockade. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, I, 171-73. 93 from Santiago than Siboney, it had landing facilities in the form of an iron pier. ^ Garcia assured Shaftsr that the Spanish forces in the vicinity numbered 12,000 men, with six hundred at Siboney and three hundred more at Daiquiri. At the conclusion of the conference Shaiter issued his orders. On the morning of June 22, following a thirty minute naval bombardment, the Fifth Corps would land at Daiquiri and regroup for the march on Santiago. To keep General Arsenio

Linares, commander of the Department of Santiago, from concentrat­ ing his forces in opposition, the navy would attempt to conceal the operation by sending several warships and transports west to 7 bombard three coastal villages.

As they sailed west along the Cuban coast toward Santiago on

June 20, the Volunteers gazed intently at the terrain looming before

them. Behind the narrow beaches was a high ridge which ran parallel

to the coast. Lush, tropical vegetation covered the area with a g brilliant shade of green. When they anchored off Santiago late that

6. Shafter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 615. The large metal pier at Daiquiri was built by the Juragua Iron Mines Company to transport ore from the nearby mines. The Juragua Company was financed by capital from the United States. Pratt, The Expansionists of 1898, 251,

7. Shafter, "Capture of Santiago, " Century Magazine (February, 1899), 615-18.

8. The Rough Riders first saw Cuba on June 17, when the high mountains on the northeast coast became visible. Two lighthouses also were seen. During June 20, while the fleet sailed from 94 afternoon, the men found they could not see the city because of interposed hills, but the ancient guardian of Santiago, Morro Castle, was clearly visible. "We can see Morro Castle as plainly as you can the San Xavier from the School house, " wrote Sergeant Hughes to his 9 brother back in Arizona. Like an enormous watchdog, with its formida­ ble stone walls a monument to Spanish colonial glory, this fortress perched on a cliff just above the harbor entrance.

After dark on the evening of June 21, the American transports

steamed twenty-five miles eastward toward the small hamlet of

Daiquiri. Debarkation was to begin at daybreak. The men had been told they would land in the morning and spent the evening getting their

equipment ready. According to Webb the carbines, which had not yet been fired, were carefully disassembled, cleaned, oiled, and

reassembled; cartridge belts and canteens were filled; and each man

placed his personal belongings in hie long horseshoe roll in order to

be able to disembark at a moment's notice. "Before this letter

Guantanamo Bay to Santiago, Wood noticed that the "mountains (were) beautiful and much like the giant ranges in Arizona and Sonora," Wood Diary, June 17-20, 1898.

9. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, July 14, 1898. A prominent landmark in southern Arizona, the Franciscan-built Mission of San Xavier del Bac stands southwest of Tucson on the west bank of the Santa Cruz River. The structure referred to by Sergeant Hughes was completed about 1797. Rufus Kay Wyllye, Arizona: The History of a Frontier State (Phoenix, 1950), 61. ” 95 reaches its destination,11 Webb predicted, "the Arizona volunteers will probably have smelled powder for the first time on the field of b a t t l e . " ^

The debarkation began at 10:00 A. M. on June 22. Following a spectacular thirty minute bombardment of the coast, Shafter ordered the advance units of the Second Infantry Division ashore. Brigadier

General John C. Bates was to follow with his brigade, and W heeler's

cavalry division was to land behind them. Unexpected difficulties

arose immediately. The sea was unusually rough; the supply of

steam launches and longboats was found inadequate, and the pier was

too sm all. In an attempt to speed up the landing, the sailors began

running their boats through the pounding surf and onto the beach. As

the Rough Riders watched the debarking soldiers form by troops and

march into the underbrush as fast as they landed, they realized that 12 the Spaniards had decided not to oppose the landing.

As the Volunteers waited to climb into the longboats, someone,

perhaps Colonel Roosevelt, decided to send a group ashore to raise 13 the regimental colors over Daiquiri. The logical placed seemed to

to be a blockhouse on Mount L osiltires, a tall hill just east of the 101112

10. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 15, 1898.

11. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 92-93.

12. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 110-11.

13 Me Clintock, Arizona, II, 518 96 landing point. Color-Sergeant Wright, Surgeon Henry La Motte, and

Chief Trumpeter Clay Platt secured a boat and made an early landing with the infantry. When they reached the top of the hill they found that Edward M arshall, a correspondent for the New York Journal, had preceded them. After Wright made several disastrous attempts to scale the pitched roof, he gave the flag to a sailor who had just joined the group. This man managed to lash the flag to the staff on top of the blockhouse. ^ The soldiers on the beach and transports below saw the Rough Rider flag as it swelled in the morning breeze and gave it a rousing greeting. On board the Yucatan, "an Arizona captain" recognized the satin ribbons and threw hie hat to the deck as he shouted: "Howl, ye Arizona m en--If s our flag up there!" ^ The invasion turned into a noisy celebration as men cheered, steam whistles shrilled, and warships fired a salute. "No flag on land or sea ever had a grander salutation," concluded Captain McClintock,

"and the flag was the flag of the Arizona squadron.

The Rough Riders got ashore just before landing operations were suspended at dark. In m id-afternoon with the help of a Cuban pilot, 141516

14. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 67-68.

15. McClintock, Arizona, II, 518.

16. Ibid. Azoy claims that Captain J. J. Crittenden, Company B, Twenty-second Infantry, was the man who raised the American flag over Daiquiri. See Azoy, Charge, 74. Roosevelt does not mention the incident. 97 furnished by a form er aide to Roosevelt in the Navy Department, the

Yucatan moved closer to the beach, and the Rough Riders headed for the pier in longboats and steam launches. ^ The wharf proved to be of little value as the wooden planks had been removed, and the heavy surf made it impossible to lash the boats to it. As a result the heavily laden men waited until the boat rose on a swell to a height even with

18 the top of the pier and then jumped to the slippery surface. All the Volunteers got ashore safely, but a boatload of colored troopers from the Tenth Cavalry capsized. Two of them drowned in spite of

Captain O'Neill's attempts to save them. Fully clothed, O'Neill dove into deep water at the end of the wharf in a futile effort to locate the 19 two men. In spite of these difficulties nightfall found Lawton's division, Bates's brigade, and the Second Cavalry Brigade, a total of

6, 000 men, safely ashore on Cuban soil. ^

The decision to allow the Fifth Corps to land unopposed reflected the uncertainty that ch aracterized the decisions of the Spanish high 17181920

17. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 46.

18. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 113.

19. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 47. This incident received much publicity in the Arizona newspapers.

20. Alger, Spanish-American War, 98. For other accounts of the landing at Daiquiri, see Prentice, "Rough Riders," New Mexico Historical Review, XXVII, 29-30; and Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 110-11. 98 command. General Arsenic Linares, commander of the Department of Santiago, had 36,582 men available, but he had scattered them in sm all garrisons all the way to Guantanamo, one hundred miles to the east. Although numerically strong these troops suffered from low morale caused by food shortages and tardy distribution of pay. In addition they had become accustomed to fighting a defensive war in sm all detachments stationed in stone blockhouses with connecting breastworks. At first Linares planned to hold Sib one y and evacuate

Daiquiri, but he changed his mind and abandoned Daiquiri on June 22 and Siboney the day after. His troops moved three miles northwest from Siboney down the Santiago road and fortified a naturally strong position near the town of Sevilla, At that location on the morning of 21 June 23 they repulsed a Cuban attack.

As soon as the Rough Riders got ashore they established a small 22 camp behind the Tenth Cavalry on the outskirts of Daiquiri. Although they found many crude buildings which had withstood the bombardment, they had been ordered by Colonel Wood not to enter them. The profuse growth of vegetation, which included palm and mango trees, waist-high grass, and a thorny plant somewhat like an Arizona yucca 2122

21. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 12, 45-56. Sargent's account is the only major source wUch contains specific information on the situation within the Spanish Army.

22. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 115. 99

■whose spines could pierce a canvas legging, afforded protection for the prolific jungle creatures. The area teemed with colorful tropical birds, large, hairy tarantulas, and hideous land crabs, which scuttled into the brush and clicked their wicked-looking pincers at the curious onlookers. ^

The appearance of the Cuban people—both civilian and m ilitary-- had a profound effect on the Arizonans. Shortly after the men had landed, they were besieged by these ragged unfortunates who came

streaming into Daiquiri to beg for food and relate their tales of 24 Spanish atrocities. The Cuban soldiers wore little clothing, but

proudly exhibited firearm s and edged weapons of every conceivable

manufacture and description. They accepted all the hardtack and salt

pork they could get, in addition to the extra suits of underwear donated

by some of the Arizona troopers. As fighting men they appeared to be

of little value. Sergeant Hughes later compared the Cuban Insurrectos

with the Indians of Mexico when he wrote:

I have traveled among the Yaquis when they were at war with the Mexicans, among the Opitas, Moctezumas, and the Taraumaria Indians, and in all my travels I never saw such a dilapidated, hungry, undressed group of men in my life as these Cuban soldiers were. The only thing they wore was a cartridge belt, mostly empty, to this some of them would arrange a ’G* string. Some of the m ore energetic would fabricate sandals out of the 2324

23. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

24. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898. 100

fiber of the Maguay, Spanish dagger, or coca leaves fastening them to their feet with thin grass cords. ^

The caustic first sergeant of McClintock's B Troop, Billy Davidson, expressed the opinion of many when he inspected the Cuban allies and concluded: "So that's what we came to free ! If the walking wasn't so blankety-blank bad, I'd go home right now.

On the morning of June 23, after a night of little sleep, the

Arizonans waited with impatience for orders. They had been directed not to unroll their packs and each man had slept in the curve of his blanket roll--only to be soaked by a heavy rain that fell just before dawn. In addition their sleep had been disturbed by the crash of rifle shots as nervous sentries fired at land crabs 27 moving through the brush. As the day progressed and no orders

arrived, the troopers sought relief from the hot sun. Some bathed in a nearby creek; others constructed shelters with fronds from the 28 num erous palm trees. At 1:00 P. M. orders finally came for the 25262728

25. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

26. McClintock, Arizona, II, 519.

27. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898. Many state­ ments in Hagedorn Notes refer to the disconcerting noise made by the crabs moving through the brush after dark.

28. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 120. M arshall says these palm frond shelters were constructed on June 22, the same day that the Rough Riders landed. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 72. 101 regiment to march to Siboney. The men quickly packed their meager belongings, drew rations for three days, formed by troops, and marched west down the narrow, rocky trail that led to Siboney. They made an im pressive sight as they marched off with their packs neatly 29 rolled and their carbines sparkling in the midday sun.

The nine mile march from Daiquiri to Siboney emphasized the difficulties of transporting men and supplies in Cuba. Because

Lawton's infantry had left for Siboney the night before, Wood set a fast pace so as to arrive in time to participate in any possible fighting.^®

Roosevelt led the advance with his squadron, and Brodie's men followed at the rear of the column--an unprecedented place for the

Arizonans who always before had marched in the van. The tram p of many feet churned the trail into a bed of dry dust, which rose in clouds to envelop the long column. Few trees grew along the route to provide relief from the hot sun. ^ Each man carried about sixty pounds of 293031

29. Fitch Diary, June 23, 1898.

30. Late in the afternoon of June 22 Shafter had been informed by the Cubans that Siboney had been evacuated. Shafter immediately ordered Lawton, whose division had debarked first, to march to Siboney and secure the town. Lawton left Daiquiri on the evening of June 22 with two brigades. After camping along the trail that night, Lawton's division entered Siboney about 8:00 A. M. on the morning of June 23. The last elements of the Spanish garrison withdrew toward Sevilla as Lawton's men reached the village. Shafter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 617-19.

31. New York Sun, July 12, 1898. 102 32 equipment, much of which he soon began casting away. As the unite which had gone before had done the same thing, the path became so littered that it appeared to mark the route of an army in retreat rather than of one advancing to fight. As the march continued the 3' column grew progressively longer as stragglers began to fall behind.

The leading elements of the Rough Riders reached Siboney at dark and established camp on the outskirts by the glare of naval 34 searchlights, which attended the debarkation of the F irst Division.

None of the troops had established a unit m ess, and the men paired off to prepare supper. Many of the Arizonans, proficient in the skills of outdoor life, concluded mutually beneficial arrangem ents with the

Easterners who did not know how to cook. The dude rustled the wood 35 and water while the W esterner tended the rations. Scarcely had these preparations commenced when the inevitable evening rain put an

end to the culinary endeavors. Some of the troopers, in open defiance

32. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898.

33. New York Sun, July 12, 1898.

34. As soon as Shatter learned of Lawton's occupation of Siboney, he ordered Kent's F irst Division to proceed to Siboney and debark there. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 101. For an account of the landing at Siboney, see Post, Little War of Private Post, 81-83. See also Richard Harding Davis, "The Rough Riders' Fight at G uasim as,11 M cClure's Magazine (September, 1898), 261. 35

35. Oscar A. Wager Statement in Hagedorn Notes, III. Wager was a twenty-year-old resident of Prescott who enlisted in O'Neill's Troop on May 3, 1898, at Whipple Barracks. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, A Troop, AGO. 103 of strict orders, took refuge in the thatched Cuban huts. ^ Tuttle and his friends from Graham County sought shelter under some wrecked railroad cars. Here they kept small fires burning and provided hot coffee to their comrades who straggled into the bivouac until midnight. ^

While his men prepared their bivouac at Siboney, Colonel

Wood rode off to receive his orders from General Young, the 38 brigade commander. Young had secured permission from General

Wheeler to make a reconnaissance in force down the Santiago road 39 the next day. The Spaniards had established a line across the

Santiago road at Sevilla, three m iles from Siboney, and Young decided 36373839

36. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

37. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

38. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 51-52.

39. Young's Battle Report, June 29, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of W ar, November 29, 1898, Serial 3744 (2 vole.), I, 332. Cited hereafter as Young's Battle Report. There is some question as to whether or not Wheeler exceeded his authority in ordering Young's brigade to explore the road toward Sevilla. See Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 100-04; and Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 57-60. In his official report Wheeler stated that after receiving a map and a description of the Spanish defenses at Sevilla from the Cubans he "determined to make an attack." W heeler's Battle Report, June 26, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898, I, 162. Cited hereafter as W heeler's Battle Report. Shafter later said that he intended to keep Lawton's division in the advance, but that W heeler pushed on past Lawton. Shafter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 620. 104 to probe their positions with two converging columns. Young ordered

Wood to advance at daybreak down a tortuous path on top of the ridge just north of town, while he took eight troops of Regulars along an

easier route down in the valley.^ The two approaches intersected

near a grove of Guasimas trees a mile in front of Sevilla. It was here 41 that the Cubans had been defeated that morning.

At 5:40 A. M. on June 24 the Rough Riders started up the steep

trail to the top of the long ridge that led to Sevilla, three miles 42 away. Colonel Wood, riding ahead of the first squadron led by

Roosevelt, set a fast pace in order to arrive at Sevilla concurrently

with the Regulars, who followed an easier road in the valley to the

right. Behind Roosevelt's squadron marched the two Arizona troops

with Captain Huston's D Troop and Captain M uller's E Troop. All 43 four troops were under the command of Major Brodie. Each man

carried a blanket ro ll, with his belongings packed in the ends to m ake 40414243

40. Young's Battle Report, June 29, 1898.

41. The ensuing battle was named for the grove of Guasimas trees which Roosevelt through! resembled acacia trees. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 53. Although Las Guasimas is the accepted name of the battle, some newspaper accounts referred to it as "Las Guaymas" or "Guasime. "

42. Wood's Battle Report, June 25, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898, I, 344-45. Cited hereafter as Wood's Battle Report.

43. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 56. 105 it ride comfortably on the shoulder, a full cartridge belt, and a full,

canvas-covered canteen which swung from the shoulder. Each trooper also carried rations of canned meat, green coffee beans, hard 44 tack, and canned tomatoes. Before long the weight of the packs

and steepness of the trail began to take effect, and the Arizonans

came across stragglers who could not hold up under the fast pace.

By the time the regiment had halted on top of the ridge, half a mile

from Siboney, a total of fifty-two men had dropped behind the 45 column. After a short rest the march resumed with Captain 46 Capron's L Troop deployed as the advance guard.

When they reached the top of the ridge above Siboney, the Rough

Riders found that the crest sloped slightly downhill toward Sevilla.

This enabled them to move rapidly once they reached the top. The

dense jungle foliage, which grew like walls along both sides of the

trail, reflected no sign of human life. Only the chirping of birds and 444546

44. New York Sun, July 12, 1898.

45. Surgeon Henry LaMotte Testimony, Dodge Report, VI, 2558.

46. Wood’s Battle Report, June 25, 1898. The decision not to deploy an advance guard until after the regiment reached the top of the ridge caused some observers in Siboney to state that the Rough Riders advanced in a dense column without an advance guard. See Post, Little War of Private Post, 84, That L Troop was sent ahead of the column on top of the ridge is confirmed by Roosevelt in his Rough Riders, 56; Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 135; and M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 99. The members of L Troop 106 noise of men broke the morning stillness. In spite of repeated warn­ ings the Volunteers seemed unconvinced that they would encounter

Spaniards, and their officers found it difficult to control the incessant

chatter. Some of the men in B Troop even began singing "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight."^® Wood ordered another halt and the Arizonans scattered to the shade. Suddenly an order

came down the line for silence and this quickly was followed by the

command to "load chambers and magazines. "^9 This order put a

sudden end to all talking. Only the rattle of breech bolts and clicks

of the magazine covers snapping shut could be heard.

As soon as he had gone forward to verify Capron's report that

L Troop had located the Spanish outposts, Colonel Wood began

deploying his regiment. ^ Troops G, K, and A received orders to

form a skirmish line under Roosevelt to the right of L Troop. Brodie

was ordered to extend the line into the m ore open te rra in to the left 47484950

who contributed to Hagedorn Notes all agreed that L Troop was in the advance with a squad under Sergeant Hamilton Fish deployed as a point.

47. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 56-57.

48. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle Papers,

49. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 57.

50. Ibid. , 57. There is some disagreement as to whether the Spanish positions were actually seen or were located by the discovery of an Insurrecto killed the day before, and whose body had been mentioned by General Castillo in his description of the Spanish position. See M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 96. 107 51 with E, F, and D Troops. McClintock’s B Troop remained on the

trail behind L Troop in reserve. Wood expected his right wing, with

O'Neill’s Arizonans at the extreme end, to extend along the north

slope of the ridge and into a sm all valley to link with the Regulars

moving up a ridge which paralleled the Rough Riders' position to the

right. This arrangement had been partially completed when Spanish

rifles and machine guns, located along the trail in front of the Rough

Riders, began raking L Troop. At the first volley the mules carrying

the Colt macliine guns bolted to the rear. The dynamite gun had been

left at Siboney; Wood, therefore, led hie regiment into the fight without

supporting weapons.

The opening shots of the found O'Neill's

A Troop moving forw ard in a skirm ish line along the north slope of the 5152

51. Wood's Battle Report, June 25, 1898.

52. There is a wide discrepancy as to the number of troops deployed when the first shot was fired. Wood's report is vague and seems to indicate he had three troops on line. Wood's Battle Report, June 25, 1898. Roosevelt states that he had G Troop and one platoon of K in position, with the rem ainder of K and all of A Troop still behind the firing line. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 57. Marshall maintains that all eight troops were still on the trail in column formation when the first shot was fired, and that Wood did not deploy the regiment until after he had gone forward to verify that L Troop had been fired upon. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 103. The letters written home by the members of A Troop seem to agree that A Troop had started to deploy when the firing started. This would indicate that three troops were on line with two more moving up. 108

c o ridge. To their left G Troop already was in position to the right of

JL Troop, and K Troop was coming up on line next to G Troop. The

Arizonans had left their packs on the ridge and had followed K Troop into the matted tangle of brush along the side of the ridge. The vegetation made the advance extremely difficult and restricted

observation to the extent that each man could see only his immediate

comrades. O'Neill ran up and down the skirm ish line and did his best to preserve some semblance of troop formation. His men had

advanced one hundred and fifty yards along the slope, and had not

yet come up even with K Troop, when a few scattered shots followed

by the thunder-roll of a heavy volley served notice that the battle had

s t a r t e d . ^

As the men in O'Neill's troop plunged through the brush along

the slope to take a position to the right of K Troop so as to form a

continuous line, they found themselves in a direct line of enemy fire.

The first shots directed at A Troop, which came from the thick brush

on a ridge to their direct front at the end of the valley, were too high

and the bullets whistled harm lessly overhead. O'Neill moved calmly

along the skirm ish line ordering his men to stay low and keep 535455

53. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898.

54. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 57.

55. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898 109 moving. ^ He directed several volleys at the ridge at the end of the valley, but immediately countermanded the order when a squad from

K Troop, crouched in a ravine in front of A Troop, sent up a howl of 57 protest. Most of the Arizonans withheld their fire because they could not see the well-camouflaged Spaniards, but others "were popping away in true Arizona style" whenever they thought they saw a target. 58 Ag the troop continued to press forward the dense under­ brush gave way to more open terrain, and the Spanish rifle fire became more accurate. Here A Troop suffered its only casualties • when Corporal George Doherty and Private Edward Liggett, both from

Jerom e, were killed. Doherty was shot in the head and Liggett in 59 the chest. Still another man, struck on the head by a bullet-sheared

tree limb, provided comic relief as he rolled down the hill under the 60 im pression that he had been shot.

The two attacking columns, the Regulars on the right and the

Volunteers on the left, soon made the enemy position untenable. The

56. Ib id .

57. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

58. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898. Tuttle stated that he never saw a Spaniard at Las Guasimas and fired only five shots at the command of O'Neill. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

59. Record of Events Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

60. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. 110

Spaniards had fortified a long hill which ran perpendicular to the avenue of attack, and the two ridges occupied by the cavalrymen pointed straight into their rifle pits. As the Rough Riders continued to move forward under heavy fire, they forced the Spaniards to abandon their positions on the left flank. In sm all groups the defenders ran down the ridge to join their comrades entrenched along the main trail. O'Neill's men, down in the valley, could not see this activity but K and G Troops, further up the slope to the left, had some clear shooting. As A Troop advanced up the valley without receiving any more fire, the men realized that--for them--the battle had ended. The continuous popping of rifles to the left, however, indicated that the center and left wing of the Rough Riders still faced brisk resistance.^

McClintock's B Troop, meanwhile, had been designated as the

regimental reserve and did not reach the firing line until after the

fight had started. Brodie had arranged D, E, and F Troops to the left.

61. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 61.

62. Langdon to Edwin Emerson, June 29, 1950. Copy in Patterson Papers, author's files. Edwin Emerson went to Cuba as a correspondent for 's Weekly. On July 12, 1898, he resigned this position and enlisted in K Troop. In later years Emerson was active in the veterans' organizations. At the present time his extensive and important collection of personal papers is in the possession of his daughter, M rs. Gwendolyn Penniman, Saratoga, California. 63. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898. I l l but soon found they could not support L Troop astride the trail. To

relieve these hard-pressed troopers from the Indian Territory,

Colonel Wood ordered B Troop to advance and deploy between L and F 64 Troops to the immediate left of the footpath. So rapidly had the fight developed that McClintock's Arizonans reached the firing line

only ten minutes after the first volley. ^ With the exception of one

squad, which had become lost, McClintock brought his company

forward in good order. ^

Although it came up late, B Troop entered the busiest part of

the line, deploying under a hail of bullets from the well-executed

Spanish volleys. Showered by leaves and twigs cut by the heavy fire,

McClintock had just placed his men in a line of skirm ishers when he

went down with two bullet wounds in his ankle. 'T saw you fall,11

Private Wiggins later wrote him: "You first staggered and caught

your Ballance and then fell Waveing your Revolver over your Mad as 67 you went down. 11 McClintock called for First Lieutenant George *

64. Wood’s Battle Report, June 25, 1898.

65. Record of Events Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO.

66. The squad led by Sergeant Hughes had become separated from the rest of the troop when they had stopped to remove their packs and had crossed to the right of the trail where they took up a position between L and G Troops. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle Papers. Hughes confirmed this. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

67. Thomas Wiggins to McClintock, January 15, 1899, McClintock Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation, 112

Wilcox, turned the troop over to him, and was carried back to the aid station on the broad shoulders of Private Bruce Profitt, a husky ex­ rancher from Phoenix. ^ The other two casualties in the troop.

Private Thomas Wiggins from Bisbee, who had been shot in the hip, and Private Norman Orme from Phoenix, who had a serious lung wound, came in later. ^

As soon as he had verified that Lieutenant Wilcox had assumed

command of B Troop, Major Brodie mounted an attack on the Spanish

right flank. Placing M uller's E Troop directly behind Huston's D

Troop to cover his exposed left, Brodie ordered an advance on the

Spaniards entrenched near a ruined ranch house to his direct front. ^

The squadron had scarcely moved out when a Spanish bullet shattered

Brodie's right w rist. Stunned by the impact, Brodie sat down in a

small clearing and calmly smoked a cigar that Private Charles Utting

of B Troop had lighted for him. ^ * At first he refused to leave the

68. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

69. Record of Events Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO. M arshall claims that when McClintock was shot a wounded member of B Troop lay down between McClintock and the firing line. Later, when the aid men arrived, they found the soldier dead. See his Story of the Rough Riders, 109. According to the official records no member of B Troop was killed at Las Guasimas. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO.

70. Wood's Battle Report, June 25, 1898.

71. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Brodie Papers, Museum of Northern Arizona. 113 firing line, but the pain and loss of blood so weakened him that he finally consented to go to the aid station in the rear. Meanwhile, the entire left wing continued to move forward. 72

While Brodie walked to the aid station, his squadron was rallied by Colonel Roosevelt who came over from the right and took command 73 of the left wing. On the final leg of the assault the troopers withheld their fire until they had approached within three hundred yards of the

Spanish lines. At this point they opened up a heavy fire as they emerged from the brush into a more open field. The Spaniards, now under orders to withdraw, fired a few parting volleys and then retreated down the road toward Santiago with most of their dead and wounded. Lieutenant Wilcox led his B troopers forward until he reached an impenetrable thicket backed by a barbed wire fence just short of the ranch house. Here the troop halted and took no further part in the closing actions of the day. ^ According to Lieutenant 75 Rynning B Troop had been engaged two hours and forty minutes.

72. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 63. 73. Ibid. After the Spaniards had withdrawn from their position in front of the Rough Riders' right wing, Roosevelt moved G Troop across the trail and joined the left flank. Roosevelt decided to make this rearrangem ent without the consent or knowledge of Colonel Wood.

74. Record of Events Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO.

75. Rynning, Gun Notches, 159. Rynning1 s account of Las Guasimas is confusing and conflicts with other sources. For example he states that the Rough Riders came up on the Spanish rear and were 114

With his exhausted Rough Riders in possession of the Spanish entrenchments, Wood considered his men incapable of further pursuit and decided to camp there and wait for orders. The first sergeants rounded up their men. The members of A Troop took great pride when every man that had left Sib one y that m orning--except for the two who

mmmm were dead--responded to roll call. McClintock’s troop had lost three men. Thirty minutes later three troops of the colored Ninth

Cavalry arrived on the field and went on picket duty eight hundred yards to the front. These soldiers had hurried up from Siboney to save the regiment from a reported ambush and they expressed great disappointment that the fight had ended. One Negro cavalryman accosted Sergeant Hughes with the excited plea: "Show me a Spaniard.

I am rarin* to go. " Hughes could do nothing more than point to a body 79 lying in the nearby grass.

The tale of ambush and disaster, that had brought the Ninth

Cavalry forward in relief, also became the basis of the premature attacked by the Spaniards. Rynning, Gun Notches, 159. Roosevelt states that it took one and a half hours to drive the Spaniards out of • their positions. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 63. Fitch said the fight lasted two hours. Fitch Diary, June 24, 1898.

76. Wood's Battle Report, June 25, 1398.

77. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898.

78. Wood's Battle Report, June 25, 1898.

79. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 115 battle descriptions released by the press. These reports started "when

Edward Marshall, a correspondent for the New York Journal, was shot in the back while standing very close to Colonel Wood. The regimental adjutant. First Lieutenant Tom Hall of New Jersey, saw Marshall 80 fall and assumed it was Wood who had been shot. What happened next is not exactly clear. It seems that Hall rode toward Siboney spreading the rumor that the Rough Riders had been ambushed; that

Wood had been killed; that the regiment was being cut to pieces and 81 in dire need of support. The eager correspondents, thirsting for news of the battle, flashed the report home that the Volunteer Cavalry had been ambushed and wiped out. This report seemed entirely plausible to General Lawton, in command at Siboney, because he

80. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 143.

81. John Fox, Jr. , "With the Rough Riders at Las Guasimaa," Harper's Weekly, July 30, 1898, 750-51. See also McClintock, Arizona, II, 520-21. Neither account mentions Hall by name, referring to him as "the adjutant" or a "staff officer." The veterans who contributed to Hagedorn Notes gave free rein to their opinions of Hall. French called him a "despot, a tyrant, a martinet. " Others said worse. Hamner said that the men were so upset over Hall's behavior at Las Guasimae that they planned to ride him back to Siboney on a rail. Roosevelt heard of this plan and stopped it. Hamner Manuscript, Hamner Papers. In his own account Hail is somewhat vague. He reports his trip to Siboney only by saying; "I tried, however, without success to communicate the fact (Hall's belief that Wood had been shotj to General Young." Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 143. Neither Roosevelt nor M arshall mentions the incident. Early in July Hall returned to the United States on a hospital ship and resigned shortly thereafter. No Rough Rider either forgave him or forgot him. He was the most hated man in the regiment. 116 already had received a request for reinforcements from General

W heeler, who had observed the actions of the Regulars along the valley road. As a result three troops of the Ninth had been ordered to reinforce the Rough Riders.®^

The Arizonans left in Siboney reacted immediately to the news of the purported m assacre. Chaplain Brown, anxious to learn what was happening, had started up the trail with John Fox, a correspondent for H arper's Weekly. The Chaplain had just flourished his six-shooter with the boast he could "settle a Spaniard at fifty paces" when they learned of the "ambush." Brown showed considerable distress at the 83 news and insisted on joining the command as quickly as possible. A sim ilar reaction came from Farrier Barney Harmsen of B Troop, who had been left at Siboney because of rheumatism. Harmsen supposedly met Hall on the trail and was told that his troop had been annihilated and his captain was dead. Taking a firm grip on his carbine, Harmsen

82. General W heeler, who had gone forward to observe Young's actions along the valley road, had sent a request for reinforcements shortly after the fight started. Although Young's Regulars reached the Spanish positions before the Rough Riders, they delayed the attack for ten minutes to give Wood time to get into position. Both columns started firing at about the same time. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 61-63. For an example of the early press releases reporting a disaster at Guasimas, see "The Fight of the Rough Riders," The Outlook, July 2, 1898, 518-21. For an account of the fighting of the Regulars along the valley road, see Caspar Whitney, "The Santiago Campaign," H arper's New Monthly Magazine (October, 1898), 797-99.

83. John Fox, "Las Guasimas," Harper's Weekly, July 30, 1898, 751. 117 started up the slope with the expostulation: "If the good old troop is gone, by God, it's my place to go with it."

After they had consolidated their position along the ridge, the

Rough Riders sent details into the brush to locate the dead and wounded. Unfortunately, vultures had found some of the fallen first.

After inspecting the mutilated body of Corporal Doherty, the big miner from Jerome who had quarreled with Bugbee, O’Neill turned to Roosevelt and asked: "Colonel, isn't it Whitman who says of the vultures that 'they pluck the eyes of princes and tear the flesh of kings ?'"85 Roosevelt, surprised at the inquiry, replied that he did not know the quotation. Early the next morning Chaplain Brown, in the presence of most of the regiment, committed the bodies of seven dead Rough Riders to their graves in the little basin where they had 86 fought and died.

For two days after the engagement the Volunteers camped on the battlefield. Details sent back down the trail to locate discarded equipment reported that the Cubans had rifled the haversacks for all the rations. "We was the worst starved-out bunch for three days after the Quasi mas run-in that ever happened," wrote Lieutenant

84. McClintock, Arizona, H, 521.

85. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 68.

86. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, August 24, 1898 118

Rynning. "When we went into action at Guasimas we piled all our haversacks in a heap, and while we was fighting the Spaniards, the lousy Cuban soldiers came along and stole every bit of grub out of them. This shortage of food became so acute that Roosevelt personally led a detail to Siboney in search of rations. The most valuable man in this endeavor, however, proved to be Chaplain Brown.

Not only did the Chaplain acquire bacon, coffee, and hardtack, but he also located a stray mule and brought up the regimental mail from

S ib o n e y .

Based on the performance of their allies on June 24, the

Arizonans concluded that they could expect no help from the Cuban

Insurrectos. Two Cubans had accompanied Wood's regiment to

Guasimas. One, a guide, disappeared into the brush at the first

volley and was not seen again. Scarcely had the fight commenced

when the other, a major in the revolutionary forces who had bragged

of his proficiency with a machete, had been seen using the flat side

of that same machete to whip his mule as he galloped back down the

trail. General Castillo's group of eight hundred, who had been

87. Rynning, Gun Notches, 179. The Hagedorn Notes contain many references to the theft of the blankets and food by the Cubans.

88. Phoenix Arizona Republican, August 30, 1898. See also Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 71.

89. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898. In their letters home as published in the territorial newspapers, the Arizonans 119 scheduled to participate in the battle, did not arrive on the battlefield until long after the Spaniards had withdrawn.^® Here they quickly and irreparably strained Anglo-Cuban relations by stealing the food and blankets the Rough Riders had left along the trail before the 91 a tta c k .

After establishing camp and cleaning their equipment, the

Arizonans found time to exchange battle experiences. It had been a hot fight, but the troopers thought they had done well. Reportedly not im pressed by the Spanish technique of firing by volley, the men did have considerable respect for the rapidity with which the Spaniards had fired. In a letter to his brother, Henry B. Fox, a member of

A Troop from Jerom e, described the enemy fire: "Great heavens I how those bullets did fly; they plinked us thicker than a swarm of bees. Although this fired proved too much for two members of the regiment who ran, the Arizonans could report with pride that everyone expressed contempt for the Cubans. Chaplain Brown reported: "I haven't found a man in the entire army who has any use for the Cubans , , . . those 1 have seen which number several thousand, are lazy, ignorant, cowardly and worthless creatures. " Prescott Weekly Journal M iner, August 24, 1898.

90. Young's Battle Report, June 25, 1898.

91. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898.

92. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, July 21, 1898 120 in A and B Troops had stayed on the field. "Not an Arizonan has flinched," MeClintock wrote Governor McCord, "although scores have 93 fallen on the battlefield. " Little John Foster, B Troop's Trumpeter, had been with Colonel Wood. He related how he had overheard Wood reprim and Roosevelt for his failure to advance pickets in front of 94 the left wing after the Spaniards had retreated.

On June 26, two days after the battle, the Rough Riders moved two miles closer to Santiago. They established a new camp in a brushy glen beside a mountain stream , buttoning their shelter halves 95 together to form little tents for protection against the daily rains.

Rations continued in short supply, but Chaplain Brown continued to bring up more from Siboney. A few cases of m alaria now appeared, and the adjutant received a report that Private Leroy Tomlinson, of 96 B Troop, had died of fever aboard the hospital ship Olivette. As the days passed the Arizonans watched regiment after regiment move into bivouac along the Santiago road. This troop concentration, augmented by growing stockpiles of ammunition brought up by mule

93. Ibid. , July 28, 1898. Fitch wrote: "Only two men in the entire Reg't Showed the 'white feather.Fitch Diary, June 24, 1898. 94. John Foster to Emerson, July 13, 1950, Copy in Patterson Papers, author's files.

95. Fitch Diary, June 26. 1898. Fitch reported that the regiment moved at 11:00 A. M. on June 2b. Roosevelt states that the regiment moved on the afternoon of June 25. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 70.

96. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 163. 121 train, convinced the men that some type of offensive action had been planned. In his weekly letter Webb concluded: "I think a big battle is eminent.

At Las Guasimas the Rough Riders demonstrated their ability to withstand the pressure of combat. Their performance refuted the vociferous clamors of the skeptics and lent substance to the most ardent supporters of the regiment. It had been a difficult battle for

Wood to conduct. His sole experienced squadron commander had received an early wound; his lieutenant colonel had rearranged the order of battle without his knowledge or consent; and a rumor of his own death had spread through the command. Nevertheless, less than five hundred Volunteers, together with an equal number of Regulars, 98 had driven 1,500 Spaniards from prepared defenses. Although their attackers did not know it at the time, the Spaniards had received orders to withdraw before the action began--their stand at Las *II,

97. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, July 22, 1898.

98. The exact number of Rough Riders engaged at Las Guasimas has never been definitely established. The regimental strength on the morning of June 24 was eighty-three officers and five hundred and seventy-eight men. About one hundred men were left at Siboney to guard the equipment there. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 59. In addition it is not known how many of the fifty-two men who dropped out of the m arch from Siboney to Sevilla rejoined the regiment before or during the fight. 122 99 Guasimae amounted to little more than a rear-guard skirmish. The victory gave the Fifth Corps a new staging area five miles closer to

Santiago with ample space for camp grounds and an adequate supply of good water. Shaiter quickly began assembling his troops and supplies for the coming attack on Santiago.

99. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, H, 69. Matthew . Forney Steele believes that Linares should have made the decisive battle of the campaign at Guasimas. See his American Campaigns (2 vole., Washington, 1922), I, 623-24. CHAPTER V

VICTORY AT SAN JUAN

Waiting in their rain-soaked bivouac near Sevilla after the battle of Las Guasimas, the Arizonans soon learned that their next objective would be Santiago. The route to this Spanish citadel, which lay five miles west of their position, crossed the valley of the San Juan River. In anticipation of an attack down this road, the Spaniards had fortified a long ridge called the San Juan Heights which blocked the road as it came out of the valley. Here the

Rough Riders were to participate in two gallant charges, success­ fully overrunning the Spanish trenches and opening the road for final victory. Although the attack would center on this mile-long ridge, it would become known as the battle of San Juan Hill.

On the morning of June 30 General Shafter made a personal reconnaissance of the terrain that lay before his army. Accompanied by his staff, he rode a mile and a half west of the Rough Rider bivouac to a small hill just above a ranch named El Poso. * Before him spread a green, basin-like valley, covered with jungle and bisected 1

1. Shafter'e Report to the Adjutant General, September 13, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898, I, 152. Cited hereafter as Shafter*s Report.

123 124 by two muddy little rivers which intersected after crossing the road to Santiago. Grim crowned a long hill, called San Juan

Heights, which rose above the jungle at the west end of the valley.

The road to Santiago passed through El Poso, crossed the Aquadores and San Juan Rivers in the valley, and passed over the ridge to the 2 immediate right of San Juan Hill, the highest point on the escarpm ent.

Three miles to the north Shaftsr could see the little village of El Caney, reportedly garrisoned by a strong body of Spaniards. At that very moment Generals Lawton and Chaffee were making a detailed reconnaissance toward El Caney. ^

In the afternoon, and after his reconnaissance, Shafter called in his division commanders. When he stated that the success of the operation against the San Juan Heights hinged on the speedy reduction of the garrison at El Caney, he was assured by Lawton, who considered

2. Edwin Emerson said that the Spaniards called these hills "Los Cerros del Rio San Juan" and that the highest hill was called "Cerro Gordo." Edwin Emerson to Charles E. Heitman, July 17, 1948, in Who Got There First? Regulars or Rough Riders on San Juan Hill? Questions Raised during the 50th Anniversary of the Santiago Campaign of 1898, answered by Edwin Emerson, Troop K, 1st U. S, Volunteer Cavalry of 1898 (W hittier, California: Roosevelt's Rough Riders Association, c. 1948), 12 pages. The only known copy of this pamphlet is in the Robert Denny Papers, New Mexico State Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico. A form er member of I Troop, Denny kept a card file on each member of the Rough Riders Association until his death in 1955.

3. Shafter1 s Report, September 13, 1898. For a description of the San Juan River valley, see Caspar Whitney, "Santiago Campaign," H arper's New Monthly Magazine (October, 1898), 806. 125 the weak Spanish defense at Las Quasi mas, that the Second Division

4 could take the village in two hours. With this assurance Shafter drew up his operations order. At daybreak on July 1 Lawton's division would attack and take El Caney, then march south to the San Juan

River at the base of San Juan Heights and form part of the right flank of the assault line. The cavalry division, which included the Rough

Riders, upon hearing that El Caney had fallen, would move from El

Poeo down the Santiago road to the ford on the Aquadores River, then deploy to the right and join Lawton's division coming down from El

Caney so as to form a continuous line along the San Juan River.

Kent's F irst Division would follow the cavalry, but deploy to the left of the road. For support Grim e's battery of four Hotchkiss mountain guns at El Poso would provide overhead fire. ^

Before this plan could be implemented unexpected sickness altered the high command in the cavalry division. "Fighting Joe"

W heeler, flat on his back with fever and unable to attend the council of war, sent Brigadier General Sumner to take charge of the division.

The commander of the Second Brigade, General Young, had also fallen ill and Colonel Wood, the senior officer, was placed in command of hie brigade. Roosevelt automatically assumed command of the Rough

4. Shafter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 621-22.

5. Shafter's Report, September 13, 1898. 126

Riders. ^ Already the commander of the Volunteers in the eyes of the public, Roosevelt finally had secured nominal command of the re g im e n t.

On June 30 the Fifth Corps began moving into position for the coming assault. Late that afternoon the Rough Riders drew rations

7 for three days, formed by troops, and marched west to El Poso.

There, the men had been told, they were to bivouac that night and move on San Juan the following morning. Other organizations already had started forward, and the troopers found the trail to El Poso choked with soldiers from many different units. At one point the

Volunteers were separated from their brigade when an infantry unit broke into their ranks, but they found an unused bypass which enabled them to double the column and rejoin their comrades. Shortly after dark the Rough Riders reached El Poso and encamped alongside the road. After they had eaten, many of the Arizonans, aware that the next day would find them in battle, wrote letters home by the light of O flickering cam pfires.

6. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 71, 76-77. Although he was still sick, Wheeler returned to the front at noon on July 1 and took charge of the cavalry division later that afternoon. See Shafter's Report, September 13, 1898.

7. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 73.

8. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 175-77. As Hall points out, the campfires alerted the Spaniards as to the exact location of the Fifth Corps on the evening of June 30. 127

General Arsenio Linares, aware of the Fifth Corps's deployment on the evening of June 30, arranged his command in three defensive positions across the Santiago road. He established hie first line, composed of five hundred and twenty-one men with two rapid fire guns, on the San Juan Heights. On the hills to their rear four hundred and eleven men formed the second line, while one hundred and forty men were held in reserve. As at Guasimas Linares failed to commit all available troops. Consequently, he faced the Americans with numerical inferiority. He also failed to reinforce or withdraw the small garrison stationed at El Caney. This left but five hundred

Spaniards at El Caney, totally isolated without support or hope of o relief, to oppose Lawton's 6,000 infantrymen.

Early on the morning of July 1, as the first light of day arrived to dispel the pre-dawn darkness, the Rough Rider encampment at El

Poso stirred with activity. Up before dawn the Arizonans gathered dew-soaked wood and nurtured little campfires that sputtered in the morning gloom like so many tiny fireflies. The nearby stream furnished water for cooking as well as washing, and the aroma of frying bacon and simmering coffee soon permeated the crisp, morning air. After breakfast some of the men climbed the ridge above El Poso to gaze at the Spanish lines across the valley on San Juan Heights. From

9. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 99-100. See also Steele, American Campaigns, I, 600-602. 128 tine vantage point the basin appeared to be shrouded in the inevitable morning mist which rose from the rain-soaked earth. Ghost-like tree tops swayed above this vapor which partially obscured the base of the heights, but dissipated at the top to reveal fresh earth from recently dug trenches. The apprehension of the soldiers combined with the calm stillness of early dawn to spread an atmosphere of hushed expectancy over the entire regiment.

The members of A Troop had scarcely rolled from their blankets when their commander received orders to move them from

El Poso down the ridge toward Santiago Harbor to protect the remainder of the regiment from a surprise attack. ** Some of the troopers had not yet finished breakfast when Sergeant Greenwood

10. Thomas P. Ledgwidge Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV. Ledgwidge was a most interesting man. Very little is known about his early life, but from 1896-98 he fought the Spaniards with General Garcia near Santiago. Early in 1898 he returned to Washington and gave President McKinley a map of the Spanish defenses at Santiago. Ledgwidge was living in Santa Fe at the outbreak of the war and enlisted in E Troop. A rticle written by Robert Denny for the W hittier (California) News, March 12, 1933. Copy in the possession of Arthur Stockbridge. In an interview on December 8, 1962, in Phoenix, Stockbridge, a form er member of F Troop, claimed that Ledgwidge told him this same story while on guard duty one night in Cuba. Cited hereafter as Stockbridge Interview. Ledgwidge1 s own statement in the Hagedorn Notes is unusually well written and found to be highly accurate when compared with other sources. It confirms delivery of the map to McKinley.

11. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, September 2, 1898. Roosevelt makes no mention of detaching A Troop. Hall said that O'Neill's troop left El Poso on the evening of June 30. See his Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 178. 129 moved them out. Two men. Privates Fred Champlin from Flagstaff, and Alexander Wallace from Pasadena, California, stayed behind to 12 guard the troop supplies and equipment. Anxious to avoid a repitition of the disaster that had befallen the advance guard of L

Troop at Guasimae, O'Neill sent a force of twelve volunteers under a tough and capable Sergeant, Henry W. Nash, from Young, Arizona, ahead of the main body. The troop advanced some two miles south toward the harbor without contacting the enemy. ^ Several guerrillas were seen, but they disappeared into the brush before they could be fired upon. Some of the men also thought they heard the unmistakable

flat, brittle cracks of several M ausers, but no bullets fell in their

vicinity. ^

From their new positions on the ridge east of Santiago Harbor,

O'Neill's men had an excellent view of the surrounding terrain. To

their left were the placid blue waters of the harbor; to the right front

lay the chocolate-colored threads of the San Juan and Aquadoree Rivers,

with the San Juan Heights beyond the rivers. As the troopers gazed at

this panoram a the sudden crash of artillery broke the silence, and a 121314

12. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle Papers,

13. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

14. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, September 2, 1898. 130 shell arched through the air to explode in a cloud of smoke in the

Spanish lines. ^ More shots followed, but O’Neill hurried his troop back down the ridge toward El Poso in order to participate in the advance on San Juan Heights. ^

The battle of San Juan Hill began on July 1 at 7:00 A. M. with

Grime's battery of artillery pounding the enemy positions. At first the Spaniards did not reply, and shot after shot whistled across the 17 valley to explode on their breastworks. The Rough Riders, who had gathered near the battery at El Poso to watch this spectacle, cheered heartily when several direct hits knocked bricks and other debris from a red blockhouse silhouetted on the skyline. Cynical

Dick Stanton of B Troop, seated comfortably on a pile of bricks along­ side the road, quietly observed his cheering comrades and remarked to Sergeant Hughes: "In a few minutes you are going to hear some

1R cheering on the other side." His words proved prophetic. Within a few seconds the men heard a distant boom, followed by a peculiar ...... p...... „ s 15. Ib id .

16. Tuttle stated that a messenger came up from El Poso to deliver Roosevelt's order that A Troop rejoin the regiment. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

17. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 75-76.

18. Hughes Manuscript, APHS 131 hissing sound high in the air. With an ear-splitting roar the first 19 Spanish shell exploded harm lessly high above the Volunteers.

The pall of smoke that hung over Grim e's battery on the ridge gave the Spaniards a convenient target upon which to concentrate their fire. ^ Their first shot burst too high, but successive rounds were more accurate. One shell exploded directly above the Rough Riders, knocking Wallace down and filling Champlin's legs with shrapnel.

Wallace recovered but Champlin died thirty-two hours later, after his leg had been amputated in a futile effort to save him. Another shot struck a building and killed several Cubans hiding there.

Grim es's battery also received a direct hit, which put one gun and 22 its crew out of action. Realizing that the slopes of El Poso afforded scant protection, Roosevelt and his Rough Riders plunged down the

side of the hill toward the Sam Juan River. Here Roosevelt received o rd ers to m arch down the Santiago road to the ford over the A quadores. 1920212223

19. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 76.

20. Grim es's battery, composed of four Hotchkiss mountain guns, fired cartridges containing black powder which created a thick cloud of white smoke. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

21. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle Papers.

22. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

23. In testifying before the Dodge Commission, Roosevelt stated that the men went "over the crest of the hill into the brush; and 132

Just as the men formed to move, O'Neill's troop came up and fell in at the rear of the column. ^

The Arizonans had learned to expect a certain amount of confusion in their forward movements and the march to the ford proved to be no exception. Several infantry units had preceded the

Rough Riders, but they had been halted along the narrow road to let 25 the cavalry pass. The road became a sweltering mass of humanity as the Volunteers picked their way over tangled, slippery tree roots and halted infantrymen. As at Guasimas the men had left their haversacks and blanket rolls behind, but this tim e, unlike Guasimas, the Colt machine guns also had been left. Roosevelt's men had not gone far when they heard an ominous hum in the trees overhead. Even those who had never been under fire recognized the sound of rifle bullets. The Rough Riders, who already had been baptized at Guasimas, joked about their untested com rades in other units who instinctively 242526

I found it difficult getting the regiment together again." Dodge Report, IV, 2263-64. This scattering of the regiment before the Spanish fire is confirmed in the Hamner Manuscript. Later Roosevelt indicated that he sent the Rough Riders over the hill. See his Rough Riders, 76.

24. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. Tuttle stated that the rem ainder of the regiment already had started moving down the trail when A Troop arrived.

25. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 76.

26. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 187. 133 ducked when bullets rattled through the tree tops. All of the Spanish fire did not prove high, however, for as the men pressed on, they

7 7 passed several blue-clad bodies crumpled along the road.

As he had received no definite instructions, Roosevelt halted the column when he reached the ford to obtain further orders. Tired and soaked with perspiration, his troopers sank to the ground to rest.

Roosevelt then rode up a small knoll to a point where General Sumner, mounted on a large white horse, and several other officers had gathered to observe the crossing. After a short conference Roosevelt returned and ordered his men to fall in and follow him across the 28 Aquadores and into the brush beyond. O’Neill's Troop, marching at the rear of the column, had just started across the ford when an observation balloon arrived. This presented an excellent target, for

Spanish bullets soon were smacking into the balloon with im pressive 29 regularity. A group of exasperated soldiers, including A Troop's 272829

27. Ledgwidge Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV; and Hamner M anuscript.

28. Hall, Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 188; and Tuttle Interview, February 23, 19o3. Roosevelt makes no mention of stopping at the ford on the Aquadores.

29. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. There is some question as to the exact location of the Rough Riders when the balloon arrived at the ford. Roosevelt said he got his men across the river before the balloon arrived. See his Rough Riders, 77. Accounts written by the Rough Riders are in general agreement that other units interfered with troop movements at the ford, but that the Rough Riders had started across the river when the balloon arrived. All accounts comment on the 134

Frank Van Siclin, seized the guy ropes and hauled the bullet- ridden target down. As it neared the ground, Tuttle, lying a short distance away, heard the observer, suspended in a basket below the balloon, shout to someone down on the ground: "They are strongly entrenched on your front and on your right.

Holding their carbines across their chests to keep them dry, the

Arizonans splashed across the hip-deep waters of the Aquadorcs and marched three-fourths of a mile north. At a sunken road just beyond a small stream they received orders to halt. ^ * The thick brush along the river had slowed the rate of march, but it had also shielded them from

enemy rifle fire. Now, as the column reached the road, the brush thinned out and a plunging fire began to hit the regiment. Troop and

squadron formation, already confused by the movement through the brush, began to dissolve as the men sought shelter along the road and 32 down in the n earb y c re e k bed. 303132 heavy fire directed at the balloon. Colonel Wood, in charge of the Second Brigade, wrote that the arrival of the balloon "caused the loss of lives of a large number of our men. It was one of the most ill judged and idiotic acts I have witnessed." Wood Diary, July 1, 1898.

30. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

31. Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898, I, 688. Cited hereafter as Roosevelt's Battle Report.

32. A search of all available sources has failed to reveal the order of march for El Poso, All accounts indicate that after the battle 135

From their cover along the road bed the Rough Riders studied the Spanish positions. Half a mile to the front a small hill, on which sat an abandoned sugar mill and two large iron kettles, rose behind the San Juan River. Five hundred yards behind this knoll, which the men called "Kettle H ill," was the higher mass of San Juan Heights.

A narrow, grass-covered valley with a small lake and a few scattered

3 3 palm trees separated these two promontories. The sunken road headed straight toward Kettle Hill and passed over the crest near the sugar mill. Mounds of dark earth revealed trenches all along the crest, and it was from here that the Spaniards were firing at the

Rough Riders. The troopers wanted to shoot back, but the officers forbade it, knowing that the Ninth Cavalry was crouched in the grassy field between the Volunteers and Kettle Hill. ^ Unable to reply to the

Spanish fire or escape the stifling heat, the Rough Riders huddled along

the road and waited.

of Las Guasimas and assumption of command by Roosevelt the regiment moved as a body, with little regard for squadron organization. After assuming command Roosevelt invariably referred to the Rough Riders as "my men" or "my regiment. " He rarely mentioned deploying the regiment by squadrons.

33. Marshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 193-94. Some accounts say there were three kettles by the sugar mill. For another description of the terrain in front of the Rough Riders, see Caspar Whitney, "Santiago Campaign," H arper’s New Monthly Magazine (October, 1899), 806. ------

34. Hughes Manuscript, APHS 136

Roosevelt held his command in this exposed position for an hour.

Although firing at long range, the Spanish riflemen began to hit their targets. Snapping Mauser bullets fell in profusion along the road and killed several Volunteers as they lay in the hot sun. Soon the wounded formed a steady file to the rear--either under their own power or helped along by their comrades. ^ The depressing situation was relieved only by the antics of Emilio Cassi, A Troop's

Monacoan-born trum peter. Cassi had lost hie hat, his carbine, as well as hie bugle, and he repeated over and over in uncontrolled

excitement as he ran up and down the road in front of his comrades:

"I lose my bugle ! I lose my bugle !" Another man. Private Henry

"Shorty" Sellers of A Troop, picked up an unusual souvenir when a 36 spent Mauser bullet doubled his hat brim into his eye.

Not being seasoned products of m ilitary training and discipline,

the Volunteers began to show signs of demoralization under this galling

fire. In full realization that his troopers needed something to steady

them, O'Neill walked up and down the road with pronounced disdain

for the bullets that churned about him . He already had expressed his 3536

35. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898, I, 686. Cited hereafter as Roosevelt's Operations Report.

36. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. 137 opinion that an officer should never take cover. ^ Several of his

subordinates, as well as Lieutenant who had deployed

K Troop close by, implored O'Neill to take cover. ^ What happened next is not exactly clear. Smoking the inevitable cigarette O*Neill

continued to walk up and down the line joking with the men. He

seemed confident in a statement he had made earlier that "the Spanish bullet has never been molded that will kill Buckey O'Neill. Later

he walked over to confer with Captain Robert B. Howze, an aide to

General Sumner. Tuttle, who had just stood up to give aid to wounded

Sergeant Greenwood, heard the hum of their conversation. He glanced

to his right and saw the two officers talking about fifteen feet away.

While Tuttle was looking right at him , O 'Neill was struck squarely in 373839

37. Prescott Weekly Journal M iner, July 29# 1898.

38. Ibid. , and Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

39. All accounts agree that O'Neill made this statement, but there is a wide discrepancy as to when he said it. The classical version is that he was struck down immediately after he uttered it. The letters written by members of A Troop immediately after the battle that were published in the newspapers do not support this version. A letter from Lieutenant Carter published in the Prescott Journal Miner on July 27, 1898, states that the rem ark was made earlier. Webb does not mention it at all. Hall maintained that O'Neill made the statement on June 30. See hie Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders, 179. Roosevelt, M arshall, and McClintock all report the popular version--that O'Neill was shot as he finished the statement. McClintock, however, implied that there is some doubt. McClintock's Radio Address, January 7, 1931. 138 the open mouth and collapsed without a sound, "I heard the bullet, "

Tuttle recalled. "You usually can if you're close enough. It makes a sort of a 'spat.1 He was dead before he hit the ground.

When O'Neill fell in that dusty little road before Kettle Hill, his troop ceased to exist as an organized unit. Immediately after the fatal shot struck. Lieutenant Frank Frantz, who naturally succeeded to the command, rushed to his captain's body. He then ran down the creek bed in search of a doctor without even pausing to wash his bloody hands. ** The logical man to restore confidence, experienced

Sergeant Greenwood, whose ankle had been badly shattered by a rifle bullet, already had been dragged to the rear by Webb and

Tuttle. With their leadership in doubt the Arizonans in A Troop drifted off to fight with other troops. "The death of Captain O 'N eill," Webb wrote, "seemed to paralyze the troop as no one appeared to know what to do . . . . each man in the troop started out to do a little fighting 4041

40. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. After a comparison with the accounts written home immediately after the battle, it is concluded that Tuttle's version is substantially correct. O'Neill's death created a sensation in Arizona. The colored citizens of Phoenix, upon learning of the death of O'Neill, sent a resolution to the captain's widow expressing regret at the loss of a "true and tried friend, the territory one of its foremost citizens, the Army of the United States a gallant officer, and his family a devoted husband and indulgent father. " Phoenix Arizona Republican, July 18, 1898.

41. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 139 on his own account to get even with the Spaniards. Private Henry

Bardshar, an ex-miner from Prescott, attached himself to Roosevelt 43 and remained at his side throughout the rest of the campaign.

Although O'Neill's death afforded an opportunity for the men to retire from the firing line, they continued to participate in the engagement on their own initiative.

Meanwhile, B Troop was deployed behind O'Neill's men and was also suffering from the Spanish fire and oppressive heat.

Lieutenant Wilcox was anxious to maintain control of his men and h e repeatedly walked up and down the line to supervise their deployment.

But the hot sun and exertion of movement soon forced him to seek 44 shade after turning the troop over to Lieutenant Rynning. A short time later Rynning became ill, and First Sergeant Davidson took over the troop from Rynning. This capable veteran personally took charge of the first platoon and entrusted Sergeant John E. Campbell, an ex-cavalryman from Phoenix, with command of the second one. ^ 42434445

42. Solomonvillc Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898.

43. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 80.

44. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

45. Record of Events Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO. In his first edition of the Rough Riders, Roosevelt stated that Rynning also became ill. But, in subsequent editions, he said Rynning stayed with his troop "until dark. " See Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 82, and correction on 76-77. In his own account Rynning states emphatically that he was not sick and that Roosevelt, in writing 140

In addition to their officers, several enlisted men either became incapacited by the heat or suffered wounds which removed them from further action. ^

While the Volunteers crouched at the foot of Kettle Hill, other units moved into attack positions to their left. The Rough Riders were on the extreme right flank in front of Kettle Hill, with the Tenth

and First Cavalry Regiments to their immediate left. Sumner’s brigade was in front and slightly to the left of Voting’s brigade and 47 extended the line almost to the Santiago road. To the left of the

road and in front of San Juan Hill, Kent had five infantry regiments

on line. Lawton’s division was still engaged at El Caney, three miles

to the north, and could not join the cavalry as planned. By 12:00

W heeler’s cavalry and Kent's infantry division occupied a m ile-long 4647

his Rough Riders, "got just about everything wrong." See Rynning, Gun Notches, 176. Additional light on the m atter is found in the Hughes Manuscript, Not once in his eighteen page manuscript does Hughes mention Rynning by name. In the Remarks Section of the Muster Out Rolls in the McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library, Rynning was reported sick from July 1-3.

46. Record of Events Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO, The wounded and sick troopers were not identified.

47. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 78. 141 front to the east of the San Juan River. From these positions the entire force began moving forward in a general assault shortly after n o o n .

After an hour of inactivity Roosevelt, who already had concluded that his position along the road had become untenable, finally received orders to support the Regulars in a general forward move- 49 ment on the Spanish lines. Roosevelt's celebrated "crowded hour" began when a staff officer delivered the message and the colonel ordered him men out of the creek and down the road. In a column of troops deployed as skirm ishers the cheering Volunteers came forward on the double. Roosevelt rode at the rear of the column at first, but moved to the front when the rear troops, moving rapidly, began to pile up on those in the lead. ^ The regiment dissolved into a dense brown mass of scurrying soldiers. All pretense at m ilitary formation vanished in a universal desire to be first on the hill. Here and there 48495051

48. Shafter's Report, September 13, 1898. See also Colonel Vincent J. Esposito (ed.), The West Point Atlas of American Wars (2 vole., New York, 1959), I, map 156. 49. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898. 50. In describing the assault on Kettle Hill, Roosevelt admits he made no attempt to_ preserve m ilitary formation: "I soon found that I could get that fine [me rear one] , behind which I personally was, faster forward than the one immediately in front of it, with the result that the two rearm ost lines of the regiment began to crowd together; so I rode through them both." See his Rough Riders, 81-82.

51. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898. 142 a splash of color above the battered campaign hats and polished carbines marked the progress of a troop guidon.

As they pushed forward the Rough Riders found that th e Regulars had not yet received orders to advance. Sergeant Campbell, Dudley

Dean, and Henry Bardshar, three of the Arizonans who had joined

Roosevelt as a "fighting tail," heard a sharp exchange between their 52 colonel and the officers of the F irst and colored Tenth Regiments.

These two units, halted in the field directly in the path of attack, declined to advance without orders from their own commanders.

Determined to continue with or without support Roosevelt replied:

53 "Then let my men through, sir." The eight of grinning Volunteers rushing by proved too much for the Regulars and they plunged into the advance. This made the assault general. The Spaniards now faced a heterogeneous mixture of Regulars and Volunteers--black men and white. ^

As they approached the San Juan River at the base of Kettle

Hill, the Volunteers found that the enemy fire was becoming more accurate. Rifle and m achine gun bullets snapped cleanly overhead, 525354

52. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 82-83.

53. Ibid., 84. There is a wide disagreement as to Roosevelt's exact words, but accounts agree that such an exchange did take place. See M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 187.

54. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders. 187. 143 but some slugs popped in the air and the Rough Riders thought the

Spaniards were using explosive bullets. Later they learned that the

.45 caliber bullets used by the guerrillas had a brass jacket which 55 had a tendency to strip off with an audible popping sound. Straw hats worn by the Spaniards presented good targets as they bobbed up and down in the trenches and gave the Arizona marksmen an oppor- 56 tunity to operate their own carbines. The excitement of the charge affected the entire command and compounded the spreading confusion.

Trumpeter John Foster of B Troop, finding that no one paid any attention to his bugle calls, finally threw the instrum ent into the 57 brush and began firing his carbine.

From the river bed the Rough Riders scurried up the lower

slopes of Kettle Hill in the final leg of the charge. On the west bank

of the river they encountered a thick, hedge-like growth backed by

55. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 78. The men had experienced the same phenomenon at Las Guasimas. In making out hie morning report on June 25 Sergeant Greenwood made the notation: "Enemy used explosive bullets. " Morning Report Book, June 25, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

56. Nicholas Vyne Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV. Nicholas Vyne, a member of G Troop from Emporia, Kansas, was living in Camp Verde, Arizona, when he contributed to Hagedorn Notes. His account is one of the better ones. Langdon also recalled using the straw hats as aiming points. Langdon Interview, June 24, 1963.

57. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 144 two barbed wire fences. The first arrivals cut lanes through the hedge with machetes, but the barbed wire proved to be a more formidable CO obstacle--especially to Roosevelt who was still mounted on hie horse.

The Arizonans with him, however, and several colored troopers from 59 the Tenth Cavalry lifted the posts out of the soft, mushy ground. The

Spaniards, who had decided to avoid a hand to hand fight, evacuated their trenches as the line of advancing cavalrymen reached the second fence where Roosevelt dismounted. ^ This gave the Arizona boys their best opportunity of the day and Bardshar, in the presence of his 61 colonel, dropped two who ran out of the house in front of him.

A hail of rifle and machine gun bullets, abetted by shrapnel,

hammered Kettle Hill as the Rough Riders stumbled to the top. The

Spaniards had withdrawn five hundred yards to the west and had joined

their comrades entrenched on San Juan Heights. They lost no time in 62 bombarding their old position. To support Kent's infantry, who

58. Ledgwidge Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV.

59. Henry P, Bardshar Statement, Ibid. See also Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 84. Roosevelt differs from Bardshar in that Roosevelt states the first fence was the boundary of the sunken road and not intended as an obstacle.

60. "The Spaniards did not want any hand to hand fighting," wrote Fitch in his diary on July 1, 1898.

61. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 89.

62. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898 145 already had started up the lower slopes of San Juan Hill, half a mile to the left, Roosevelt established a base of fire. As fast as his men came up Roosevelt ordered them to form a skirmish line and open fire on the Spanish trenches. ^ By this time Sumner’s cavalry brigade, located between the Volunteers and Kent's division, also had started to move onto that portion of the heights to the right of

San Juan Hill. The silent blue figures that studded the valley bore 64 mute testimony to the intensity of the Spanish fire.

The occupation of Kettle Hill by the Rough Riders on the afternoon

of July 1 signaled the end of the first phase of the battle for the heights in front of Santiago. Accompanied by soldiers from the First

and colored Tenth Regiments, the Rough Riders had taken the first

Spanish positions in the battle. ^ In spite of having lost three of their

five officers, the Arizona troops had fought well. Both Wilcox and

Rynning later returned to duty, but the death of O'Neill was, according

to Roosevelt, "one of the severest that could have befallen the regiment.

63. Richard Harding Davis, "The Battle of San Juan," Scribner's Magazine (October, 1898), 402. See also Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 8&.

64. W heeler's Report, July 7, 1898, in Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898, I, 172. Cited hereafter as W heeler's Report, W heeler had an excellent opportunity to observe the actions of the infantry as well as the cavalry, because Shatter used Wheeler to carry instructions to General Kent.

65. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898. 146

He was a man of cool head, great executive capacity, and literally dauntless courage. Casual!ties among the enlisted men also had been heavy, but Roosevelt’s unwavering confidence in his regiment was unshaken. He already had determined to continue the attack on that portion of San Juan Heights to his front as soon as he could regroup hie regiment.

Although no longer advancing over open terrain, the Arizona

Volunteers suffered more casual!ties on Kettle Hill than they had during the charge. Enemy artillery proved to be especially effective.

Using fuses timed for air bursts, the Spanish gunners placed a devasting barrage of shrapnel on the cavalrymen, who were utilizing all available cover. Some of the men occupied the Spanish trenches, while others crouched behind natural obstacles. A few sought refuge behind the iron kettles, which rang like bells when 67 struck by Spanish bullets. B Troop, which had lost few men in the assault, now paid a heavy price for its role in the engagement.

One of the first to fall was Private John W. Swetmam of Globe.

Swetman, who had established a reputation as a crack shot, was encouraging his comrades to take careful aim before they fired. As he knelt on one knee to conform with his own exhortation, he suddenly

66. Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898.

67. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 86. 147

La toppled over with a bullet hole squarely in the center of his forehead,00

A burst of deadly shrapnel fatally wounded Private Oliver B. Norton, and his brother, Sergeant John Norton, carried him to the aid 69 station established behind the sugar mill. Here another artillery shell killed Private David Logue from Globe, and Corporal Joel Rex

Hall from Bisbee.

In addition to the four Arizona men who died on Kettle Hill, several others received disabling wounds, but refused to leave the firing line. Sergeant Hughes, who had suffered a bad scalp injury just after he crossed the river, stayed at the front until just before the regiment moved off the hill. Charles B. Jackson and Wagoner

John H. W aller, in A Troop, also were wounded but refused to 72 withdraw. Jackson was shot in the neck, and Waller in the arm .

With many of his injured men on the firing line, Roosevelt became

concerned about morale and personally ordered several to the rear for treatm ent. One of them. Private Bugbee, his face covered with

68. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

69. Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898.

70. Remarks Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library.

71. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. See also Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898.

72. Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898. 148 blood from a gash in his head, was ever remembered by the Arizonans because of his reply to Roosevelt: "You go to hell. We are not going back." Roosevelt walked off and Bugbee stayed.

After he had consolidated the position on Kettle Hill, Roosevelt

secured perm ission from General Young to lead a charge up San

Juan Heights. Supported by three of Lieutenant John H. Parker's

Gatling guns and accompanied by a few Regulars, the Volunteers

moved out as Kent's infantry approached the top of San Juan Hill, 74 half a mile to the left. Behind their excited colonel the Rough

Riders made this second charge in the same wild disorder as they

had the first. Watching from El Poso, one correspondent commented

that his view of the cavalrymen moving across the green valley was

"a glorious, almost incredible sight. " Roosevelt, dressed in

soiled brown trousers and white suspenders crossed over hi a blue

shirt, proved to be the most conspicuous figure on the field. With

73. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. This statement also has been credited to a man named Ben Rushby. Unidentified newspaper clipping. Me Clint ock Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation. According to the roster in M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 260-320, there was no man named Ben Rushby in the regiment.

74. After deciding to make the charge on San Juan Heights, Roosevelt shouted for his men to follow him and ran a short distance down the hill. When he discovered that only five men from F Troop had followed, he returned to the crest of Kettle Hill where he found General Sumner, who had just arrived. Sumner told Roosevelt to go ahead and make the charge. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 88.

75. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Hagedorn Notes, IV 149

an unfailing penchant for the dram atic, he had tied a blue bandana to his hat which stream ed behind him like a banner. He had left his

saber behind and carried only his pistol as he led his Rough Riders 76 across the valley.

From their position near the sugar mill on Kettle Hill, the first

platoon of Wilcox's troop watched the charge. Under Sergeant

Davidson they had been ordered to rem ain on Kettle Hill with the

reserve force. But they never forgot the colorful spectacle before 77 them. The troopers noted that there was little military formation

during the charge. The Rough Riders, accompanied by elements of

the First and Ninth Cavalry and a few stray infantrymen, followed

individual tactics of sprinting forward in short rushes. At each stop

they paused to fire their carbines--then dashed to the next cover.

Both ends of Roosevelt's line became crowded when some troopers

swerved to the flanks to avoid the small lake in the center of the

grass-covered valley. The pond proved to be quite shallow, however, 78 and many waded through it. Throughout the entire attack Parker's

76, Prescott Weekly Journa.1 M iner, August 24, 1898. Also Davis, "The Battle of 3ah Juan," Scribner’s Magazine (October, 1898),

77, Remarks Section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO, After giving Roosevelt permission to lead the charge on San Juan Heights, Sumner held a sm all force on Kettle Hill as a r e s e r v e . 78, Ledgwidge Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV. See Davis, "The Battle of San Juan," Scribner's Magazine (October, 1898), 402. 150 drumming Gatlings provided excellent fire support. Parker had pushed his guns well forward to support the cavalrymen from the closest range possible. All along the Spanish trenches ahead of the

Rough Riders spurts of dvst indicated the accuracy of this steady

The ferocity and determination of the attack, coupled with

Parker's accurate fire, caused the Spaniards to withdraw before the 80 cheering cavalrymen over-ran their trenches. Only a few resolute individuals clung to their posts--and there they died. With his 81 pistol Roosevelt him self killed one who ran out of a blockhouse.

Another fell to Bill Page, a private in A Troop from Richenbar. As

Page and Tuttle ran up the ridge, they saw a Spaniard jump out of the first trench right in front of them. With no time to stop and too close to shoot, Page swung his carbine by the stock and clubbed the man *

79. Langdon Interview, June 24, 1963. Roosevelt also paid high tribute to Lieutenant Parker: "Very great assistance was rendered us by Lieutenant Parker's Gatling battery at critical moments; he fought his guns at the extreme front of the firing line in a way that repeatedly called forth the cheers of my m en.11 Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898. Parker reciprocated with praise for the Rough Riders when he said: "They were the finest body of Volunteers who ever wore uniform, and they were stamped indelibly with the personality of Theodore Roosevelt." See John H. Parker, The Gatlings at Santiago: History of the Detachment, Fifth Army Corps at Santiago (Kansas City, M issouri, 1898), 179.

80. Fitch Diary, July 1, 1898.

81. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 89. 151 82 down. Several Spaniards fell victim to close range rifle fire, a few surrendered, but most withdrew to the low hills behind San Juan

Heights to take up positions with the second line. Roosevelt’s panting troopers swarmed into the double set of Spanish trenches and planted their guidons on the ram parts. Kent's infantrymen occupied San Juan

Hill to the left--and the entire ridge of San Juan Heights had fallen.

It was only 2:30 P.

The remainder of the afternoon proved uneventful. Ordered not to advance further, Roosevelt directed his men to dig in and hold the ground they occupied. Lying in the grass along the crest of the ridge, the Rough Riders traded shots with the Spanish second line all afternoon. They were aided by Parker's Gatlings, which had come up on line to the right of the Volunteers. The officers found they could move on the reverse slope with safety and by late afternoon they had partially restored m ilitary organization. As night came on the firing began to slacken.

Under the cover of darkness the Volunteers consolidated their hard-won position on San Juan Heights. After repelling an abortive

Spanish counter attack with rifle fire at dusk, the Rough Riders began

82. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963,

3 3 e W heeler's Battle Report, July 7, 1898.

84. Roosevelt, Rough Riders. 90-92. 152 digging trenches and rifle pits on the m ilitary crest overlooking

QC Santiago. 3 With shovels and picks abandoned by the Spaniards they worked all night. Stanton of B Troop furnished hot coffee to those digging the trenches. A Troop's Oscar Wager and others, in spite of guerrilla activity in the rear, obtained drinking water from the San 87 Juan River behind their positions. No pack train arrived with rations, but quantities of rice, peas, and a large kettle of simmering stew left by the Spaniards were carefully rationed among the Rough

Riders. ^®This was the first food the men had eaten since 4:00 A. M. and, together with the coffee and hardtack a few of the men managed to carry through the day-long battle, it made a satisfactory supper.

The two Arizona troops had been foremost in the entire fight for San Juan Heights and had a long casualty list to bear gory testi­ mony. Out of the fifteen Rough Riders who died that day--eight were in the Arizona troops. In addition to Captain O'Neill, the only

regimental officer killed, three enlisted men in A Troop died, and four in B Troop. Out of seventy-one wounded Rough Riders, sixteen 89 were in A and B Troops. Moreover, Roosevelt recommended Waller

85. Solomonvillc Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898. 86. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

87. Wager Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV.

88. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898. i 89* The casualty list on July 1 refutes the popular misconception that the battle of Santiago, particularly the participation of the Volunteer 153 and Bugbee for a "medal of honor" for their refusal to leave the firing 90 line after being wounded. Sergeant Hughes of B Troop and Private

Jackson of A Troop were commended for the same reason. Oliver

Norton, Dudley Dean, Richard Goodwin, Sergeant Campbell, John

Foster of B Troop, and Samuel Greenwald of A Troop were all mentioned for fighting with "marked gallantry" in the official reports of th e b a ttle . ^ *

Although all units that participated in the attack did so in varied degrees of confusion, few of them rivaled the lack of command that characterized the Rough Rider advance. In spite of having promoted

Cavalry, was a comic opera affair. Out of the four hundred and ninety Rough Riders who went into the battle, eighty-six were killed or wounded on July I and more the next day. In addition forty were over­ come by heat. See Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898, and Operation's Report, July 20, 1898. A Troop went into action with three officers and sixty-eight men. The troop lost one officer and nine men on July 1, and five men wounded on July 2. Morning Report Book, July 1-3, 1898, A Troop, AGO. B Troop's Morning Report Book is m issing, but the troop went into action with two officers and approximately sixty-eight men. Ten men were lost on July 1, and one man on July 2. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library.

90. Roosevelt to Assistant Adjutant General, March 20, 1899. Copy in Hagedorn Notes, V. In this letter Roosevelt requests medals of honor for seven of his men for their actions on July 1.

91. Roosevelt's Battle Report, July 4, 1898. It speaks well for the two Arizona troops, which made up one-fourth of the Rough Riders engaged, that Roosevelt included the names of ten Arizonans in the list of twenty-eight men he commended by name in his report to Colonel W ood. 154

Captain Micah Jenkins, a graduate of West Point, to squadron commander, Roosevelt had made no attempt to deploy his regiment by squadrons. At one point in the advance Jenkins had halted his squadron to straighten his lines. Koting the movement Roosevelt snapped at Jenkins: "Let the formation take care of itself. The thing to do just now is to take the hill. Lead your men forward. Staff officers present also increased the chaos by issuing unauthorized instructions. In some cases they even directed the deployment of troops. 93 Throughout this confusion Roosevelt led his regiment like a company, as he ran ahead of the line with boyish enthusiasm and shouting for the men to follow. Gallantly led--but not commanded- - the Rough Riders stormed the heights behind their hat-waving c o lo n e l.

In the fighting on July 1 the Rough Riders had actually participated in two separate charges. In the first, which they had headed up the

92. Ledgwidge Statement, Hagedorn Notes, IV.

93. See Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 120.

94. All accounts are in agreement that a great deal of confusion surrounded the charge led by Roosevelt on San Juan Heights. In a letter to the author dated December 13, 1962, Langdon wrote: "As far as I am concerned, the battle of San Juan was fought by a heterogeneous mob, composed mostly of Rough Riders with a mixture of First and Third white regulars and Ninth Cavalry, together with Captain 'Blackae1 Parker’s Battery of Gatling Guns." Langdon to the author, December 13, 1962, author's files. 155 sunken road to Kettle Hill, they had been joined by elements of the

First and Tenth Cavalry Regiments. From Kettle Hill they had joined the extreme right flank of the charge on San Juan Heights, initiated by Kent's infantry to the left. During both actions the

Rough Riders had become badly mixed with soldiers from other units.

With three of their five officers removed by death or illness, the

Arizonans had followed any officer. Regular or Volunteer, who happened to be close by and imbued with an offensive spirit.

Although badly disorganized--they had all stayed on the field. Webb proudly reported: "W herever the fighting was the hottest that day there could be found the men from Arizona in the forefront of battle. "95

95. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin. August 19, 1898 CHAPTER VI

WAITING FOR ORDERS AT TAMPA

While their comrades campaigned in Cuba, Major Henry B.

Mersey's squadron, consisting of Troops C, H, I, and M, waited for orders at Tampa. * The men had been left with the understanding that they would sail for Cuba as soon as transportation became available, but when Santiago fell they concluded that their chances of getting into the war were slim. This realization dampened enthusiasm and morale declined. Although they did not have to contend with Spanish bullets, the Tampa detachment suffered many privations in Florida. Tropical rains turned their camps into muddy lakes; dysentery and m alaria appeared, forcing many into hospitals. The hot, humid climate sapped them of their energy.

Only the proximity of Tampa, with its bars and dance halls, afforded any form of relaxation. Under such conditions the officers found it exceedingly difficult to enforce discipline. ^

1. Because of enlistments and several discharges, there was a great fluctuation of personnel under Major Mersey. Originally, Mersey had four troops of approximately eighty-five men each and eight detachments of about fifteen men each--a total approximate strength of four hundred and seventy-five officers and men. Morning Report Bod% June 13, 1898, Troops A-M, AGO.

2. George Curry; An Autobiography, 124. There is less information available on tne jxougn R iders'left in Tampa than on any

156 157

June 8 had been a sad day for the men from Arizona in Captain

Joseph L, B. Alexander's C Troop. On that day they had watched their comrades crowd aboard the Yucatan without them. Together with the detachments from A and B Troops, the Arizonans under

Alexander were left with the understanding they would soon take the horses to Cuba. ^ But the orders never came. On three separate occasions Major M ersey's squadron received an alert; but each time cancellation orders squelched the exultation. Even General Shelter, who realized the need for mounted troops after the battle of Las

Guasimas, was unable to secure the services of the Tampa contingent. *

Heartsick over the situation, the men lost their enthusiasm for the m ilit a r y .

The camp was in a m iserable location. Established on low ground three miles west of Tampa and near the bay, it had inadequate other aspect of the regiment's history. Curry devotes only three pages to this period of duty.

3. On June 8 Alexander had a total force of three officers and one hundred and seven men. Eighty-four men were in C Troop, and twenty-three were on detached duty from A and B Troops. The men in these two detachments were carried on the morning reports of their respective units. Morning Report Book, June 8, 1898, A, B, and C Troops, AGO.

4, On June 28, 1898, Shatter contacted Alger; "wired yesterday would like First Cavalry horses and Wood's, with squadron of those regiments left at Tampa, but they should come at once. With them I do not think the enemy could escape. " Dodge Report, II, 924. Alger never took action on this request. 158 drainage and stagnant pools formed when the summer rains came.

Dark, sonorous clouds of mosquitoes rose from these miasmatic breeding places each evening to descend on the Volunteers. During the day these pests were replaced by swarms of flies, which buzzed incessantly around the odoriferous droppings from 1,200 horses and mules near the camp. In time the camp site in the bottom land was abandoned, and the men moved to a sandy ridge, covered with scrub oak, which encircled most of Tampa Bay. The men were now out of the mud, but there was no relief from the winged insects. ^ Fortun­ ately, there was a supply of good water piped from the city, but it arrived warm for the pipe lay on top of the ground exposed to the sun.

As the hot days of June passed morale among the Volunteers at

Tampa sagged. Whether or not they were aware of the old m ilitary axiom that the status of morale in any combat organization is reflected in the appearance of its members, the visitors to the

Arizona bivouac noted that Alexander's men deplored their forced inactivity. There was little m ilitary uniformity. The men wore ill- kept uniforms. Sleeves were rolled up, leggings and suspenders were worn only by a few, and hat brim s were shaped according to whim.

Tom Sloan, a native of Arizona, visited a group of Volunteers from

5. Tampa Morning Tribune, July 30, 1898. See also George Curry: An Autobiography, 123-24.

6. Major Henry B. Hersey Testimony, Dodge Report, III, 114 159

Phoenix and described the conditions he found. Sloan wrote: "Phil

[Private Philip m Q Herald has a fine crop of whiskers of which he is justly proud. (Corporal Frank A.l Woodin looks like a train

robber. (Corporal Charles E.] Heitman is the only respectable looking one of the whole outfit.Sloan also indicated that several

officers had made themselves unpopular by their arbitrary behavior.

Alexander, it was rumored, was having disciplinary problems with

the men. Later Tom Davenport, a mule packer stationed at Tampa,

refuted this allegation by insisting that Alexander had established

O good relations with his men.

The Volunteers forcibly expressed their discontent to the

visitors and correspondents who entered the bivouac. They complained

that they had enlisted to fight Spaniards and not to perform sham

battles in the palmetto groves of Florida. They had expected to find

fever and disease in the humid jungles of Cuba, but to contend with

sim ilar conditions in their own country far removed from the enemy

was another m atter. As cavalrymen they appreciated the necessity

of caring for their own mounts, but they had not entered the federal

7. Phoenix Arizona Republican, June 27, 1898. The nonconfor­ mity in dress of the soldiers is evident in the photographs of the camp at Tampa. Patterson Papers, author’s files.

8. Phoenix Arizona Republican, July 16, 1898. 160 g service to serve as "horse grooms" for others. On July 9 Private

John H. Jackson, of A Troop's detachment from Jerome, joined six

others and deserted rather than face the monotony of garrison duty in Florida.

In order to relieve monotony, the officers tried to keep the Rough

Riders occupied. Alexander began drill each morning at daybreak

before the day became too hot. Upon completion of the routine camp

functions which followed drill, the troopers retired to their tents to

seek protection from the sun. As part of the July 4 celebration H

Troop, led by the popular bronco buster Tom Darnell, issued a

challenge for a "roping, riding, and shooting match" to any cavalry

troop for a purse of $100. 00 to $500, 00. ^ One troop from the

Second Cavalry accepted, but at the last moment the Rough Riders 13 withdrew their challenge. Late in July Captain George Curry, *11

9. Tampa Morning Tribune, July 30, 1898.

10. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A Troop, AGO. The names of those from other troops who deserted are listed on the roster in M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 260-320.

11. Tampa Morning Tribune, July 30, 1898. See also M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 54,

12. Tampa Morning Tribune, July l, 1898. Tom Darnell, a cow­ boy from Demine, New MeMco, had the reputation of being one of the finest riders in the regiment. Interview with Chris Emmett, November 25, 1963, Official Historian for the Rough Rider Association. Through long friendship with the veterans, Emmett has a great deal of m iscel­ laneous information on the Rough Riders. Cited hereafter as Emmett I n te rv ie w .

13. Tampa Morning Tribune, July 7, 1898. 161 commander of H Troop, hired an excursion boat and took his men for 14 a tour of the bay. These were stop-gap measures only and did not effectively raise morale.

The Arizonans complained about the quality as well as the quantity of the rations issued at Tampa. For example, they received such unusual meals as grease-covered pork and potatoes with coffee for breakfast. ^ Because his squadron received the Regular Army issue, Captain Curry, who temporarily succeeded Major Hersey as the squadron commander, concluded that the problem originated within his own command. Together with the acting post adjutant.

Lieutenant Hal Sayre of Alexander's troop, Curry assembled enough evidence to justify the arrest of his quarterm aster sergeant, charging that he had sold government rations--particularly fresh vegetables--to civilian merchants. Curry immediately had the man arrested, appointed another quarterm aster sergeant and prepared a court m artial.

Notwithstanding the adverse conditions at Tampa, Alexander's

Arizonans rem ained in good health at first. During June and early 141516

14. Ibid., July 29, 1898.

15. Phoenix Arizona Republican, June 27, 1898.

16. Before the court m artial could be held, the regiment pre­ pared for discharge. The officers decided to avoid the inconvenience of a trial, and the suspect was allowed to resign rather than face a court m artial. The quarterm aster sergeant was not identified. George Curry: An Autobiography, 124-25, 162

July only two or three men were absent each day. Toward the end of

July and early August, however, the number of absentees rose

17 alarmingly. In addition to malaria and dysentery, the two moat common afflictions, typhoid also appeared at Tampa, claiming the lives of Nathaniel B. Adsit from Buffalo, New York, on August 1,

Frank H. Clearwater from Brownsville, Texas, on September 2, 18 and Thomas M. Newnhone from Phoenix on August 4. Several others had to be discharged because of disability. The regimental surgeon, Henry LaMotte, who had returned to Tampa after Las

Guasimas, later testified that the increased sickness came as a result of the lax discipline which permitted the sinks, or latrines, to 19 go unattended.

Although the three Arizona troops suffered a combined loss of twenty men during June and July, the squadron actually gained strength because of new enlistments at Tampa. Even after the battle of San Juan the magical name "Roosevelt's Rough Riders" had a great attraction, and recruits came from all over the country to enlist.

Between June 13 and August 7, six recruits arrived in Tampa for duty with C Troop. Fifteen new men joined the detachm ent of O 'N eill's 171819

17. During August C Troop averaged over twenty men on sick report every day. Morning Report Book, August, 1898, C Troop, AGO.

18. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, C Troop, AGO.

19. Dodge Report, VI, 2257. 163

A Troop, and fourteen reported to Corporal Heitman for service with

McClintock's B Troop. ^ Gould Norton, who enlisted on June 29 in

B Troop, joined two older brothers, Oliver and Edward, who were 21 already in the troop.

Some of the new recruits found their way to Cuba. Shortly after the fall of Santiago Roosevelt replaced Wood as commander of the

Second Cavalry Brigade, Wood having been made M ilitary Governor of Santiago. As this left only one field grade officer. Major Jenkins, to assist Roosevelt, Major Hersey was ordered to Cuba. This gave several troopers the opportunity to get to Cuba, and Hersey took 22 approximately twenty-five men with him. Of this group at least one, Horatio C. Pollock who had enlisted on July 3, was from the 23 A rizona contingent. Two others, John D. Hubbell from Boston and 20212223

20. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A, B, and C Troops, AGO.

21. There is some discrepancy about the enlistment of Gould Norton. According to the official records, Gould Norton enlisted on June 29 and his brother, Oliver, was killed at San Juan on July 1. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, B Troop, AGO. Marshall maintained that Gould enlisted after his brother's death, bearing a letter from his father to McClintock which stated: "This is my third son. I send him to you to take the place of my son Oliver, who was killed." M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 209. McClintock related a sim ilar story in his Radio Address on January 7, 1931.

22. Major Henry B. Hersey Testimony, Dodge Report, III, 118.

23. Horatio Pollock to McClintock, November, 1928, "Rough Riders - Company Records," McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public L ib r a r y . 164

Willis McCormick from Salt Lake City, traveled to the island on their 24 own initiative and there enlisted in A Troop on July 20. Several newspaper correspondents also enlisted in the regiment. Because most of them came from the East, they joined Woodbury Kane's K

T ro o p . 25

In addition to caring for 1,200 horses and mules, the Rough

Riders also had to provide for their mascots. Now approaching maturity "Josephine," the puma brought by the Arizonans, succumbed to her natural instinct to prowl at night. One evening she escaped from her cage and slipped among the horses, causing them to break loose from the picket lines in terror. The next day the Volunteers rounded up their excited mounts and soundly cursed the nocturnal habits of the young mountain lion. ^ In contrast to the unreliable and ill-tem pered Josephine, the golden eagle "Teddy," brought by the New Mexico contingent, wandered the company streets untethered and thoroughly content with his m ilitary adventure. The other mascot,

"C uba," a sm all dog brought by the group from the Indian T erritory, 242526

24. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

25. Morning Report Book, July, 1898, K Troop, AGO.

26. Alvin C. Ash Statement, Hagedorn Notes, III. Ash, from Raton, New Mexico, was a member of G Troop. Roster in M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 293. For a sim ilar story, see Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 151; and W esterm eier, Who Rush to Glory, 123. 165 accompanied Wood's troops throughout the Santiago campaign and 27 returned to the United States with them.

At first the troopers at Tampa had the privilege of visiting the nearby towns, but when sm all-scale riots began breaking out, the 28 officers limited the number of passes issued. One of the most serious incidents occurred when a group of five shot up a house of ill-repute in the best W estern traditions of a Saturday night. The incident started when three mule packers and two Rough Riders from

Li Troop tried to gain admittance to an establishment on Central

Avenue run by "Alice M ay." Upon being denied entrance--perhaps because of previous cases of disorder by drunken soldiers--the pleasure seekers with drawn pistols tried to force their way in. The occupants, not at all intimidated, seized weapons of their own and rallied around their proprietress to fight off the invaders. In the melee which followed, one of the troopers was shot in the arm , and

"Alice May" had both bones in one leg broken by a bullet. A provost m arshal detachment from the Fifth Maryland finally arrived to still 29 the gun-play and place the revelers under arrest. Although they 272829

27. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 151.

28. New York Sun, June 10, 1898.

29. Tampa Morning Tribune, June 23, 1898. For a similar story, see W estermeier, Who Rush to Glory, 240. The biggest problem concerning leave in Tampa proved to be the social mixture of colored and white soldiers in the houses of prostitution. One 166 were punished by civilian authorities, the rowdies tarnished the reputation of the regiment because of the incident. Reporting the episode under the blazing headline, "Shot a Woman - Privates and

Packers of the Rough Riders are in Jail," the Tampa Morning

Tribune added to the popular conception of the Rough R iders1 irresponsibility. One of the regimental officers, incorrectly identified as the "captain of L Troop," attempted to salve public relations when he announced that the troop "was well rid of such m e n .

The troopers from Arizona had other difficulties in Tampa.

One problem involved military courtesy. Corporal French of C

Troop, because of his good behavior and strict observance of m ilitary custom, occasionally received perm ission to go to town. Once he took Private William Sexsmith, a cowboy from Yuma, with him. It so happened that Sexsmith and another independent-minded trooper from Yuma, Al Neville, had taken an oath to never salute an officer. 30 cowboy from southern New Mexico shot and killed a Negro soldier over the capricious affections of a white prostitute. Ash Statement, Hagedorn Notes, III.

30. Tampa Morning Tribune, June 23, 1898. , the captain of L Troop, already had been killed at Las Guasimas when this incident occurred. Of the other troop officers, First Lieutenant John Thomas was on a hospital ship with a leg wound and Second Lieutenant Richard C. Day was commanding the troop in Cuba. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 62. The detachment of L Troop left in Tampa was probably under the control of Captain Robert Bruce, the commander of M Troop, the other unit from Indian Territory. 167

This apparently had caused no trouble until this particular day on the streets of Tampa. A portly major, offended by Sexsmith's failure to salute and not appeased by French's snappy attention to m ilitary courtesy, accosted the husky private and gave him the opportunity to correct the oversight. When Sexsmith again refused to salute him, the major summoned m ilitary police. After the trooper had knocked one of them down, Sexsmith was arrested and placed in the guard house for eleven days. Each day the major turned up to give the cowboy a chance to render the long-overdue salute. "The record shows," 31 recalled French, "that he never did."

Most of the destruction perpetrated in Tampa was by boisterous soldiers from units other than the First Volunteer Cavalry. Apparently these errant soldiers felt that Roosevelt's national stature rendered his men immune to arrest and they all claimed to be Rough Riders when apprehended. Consequently, many incidents came to be erroneously reported. This fact became a matter of public record shortly before the squadron left Tampa when an apology appeared in the Tampa Tribune:

M arshall Burke says the Rough Riders have given him less trouble than any organization in either regular or volunteer army that has camped here. Many arrests have been made where the arrested parties claimed to be Rough Riders, and 31

31. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, III 168

the accounts were published giving the regiment credit for their devilment. When these cases were investigated it would be found that the offenders were wagoners, packmen, or belonged to some other cavalry regiment.

But by that time the Rough Riders already had a soiled reputation-• a reputation they never did quite live down.

Disciplined or not, the W estern miners and cowboys with their athletic Eastern comrades made a lasting impression on those who served with them. For example, Kurtz Eppley, a member of

Essex Troop of the New Jersey National Guard stationed at Tampa, described vividly the Rough Riders stationed there:

The Riders are the toughest set of men I have ever met. Many of them are 'man killers1 of some note in one part or another of the wild and woolly West. They drink, gamble and raise the devil generally. Their language is beyond description and they are always fighting and ready to shoot at the first chance that offers. They all carry 45-calibre six-shooters and knives and when they get in Tampa on a good time they make things howl. ^

Although awed by such physical non-conformity, Eppley revealed another facet of W estern character when he commented on the gregarious nature of the Volunteers. "On the other hand," he continued, "they always stand ready to help a fellow out of any difficulty, and w ill share their last cent with you. 323334

32. Tampa Morning Tribune, July 29, 1898. A sim ilar apology, appearing in the THbdhfe on july 3u, concluded that "there is no more gentlemanly nor b6tier behaved set of men found anywhere," than the Rough Riders. 33. See Eppley1 s letter, quoted in W esterm eier, Who Rush to G lo r y , 241, '

34. Ibid. In his Radio Address on January 14, 1931, McClintock stated: "We are proud of our regiment, tho we only wish it known not as 169

Early in August the order came for the Rough Riders at Tampa to prepare for discharge. It came as no surprise as different regiments had been leaving Tampa for two weeks. A myriad of tasks faced the Volunteers before they could entrain for the final rendezvous on Long Island. Equipment had to be cleaned and stored on the baggage cars; horses had to be prepared for shipment on the stock cars; and the multitude of small details which surrounded the closing of the camp grounds had to be completed. J The effective strength of C Troop had been reduced to seventy-nine per cent by fever, but the remaining troopers, motivated by persistent rumors that the regiment would disband as soon as it could be assembled, 36 eagerly fell to their tasks.

The departure of the Rough Riders from Tampa ended a disappoint­ ing period of active duty. Almost forgotten by the press, nearly half of the regiment had remained in anonymity while their comrades had been lauded for gallantry in Cuba. Although they had not seen combat, the unacclim ated troopers had suffered through a difficult sum m er. 3536 a Wild West troupe, but as a body of disciplined American volunteer soldiers.11

35. Tampa Morning Tribune, August 6, 1898.

36. On August 7, the day before the Tampa detachment left for Long Island, C Troop had one officer and nineteen men absent out of three officers and eighty-one men assigned. Morning Report Book, August 7, 1898, C Troop, AGO. 170

Disease and boredom had been a relentless enemy. Even though they took great pride in the accomplishments of their comrades in Cuba,

the fact remained that they had not done any fighting. Even the

attempts of Roosevelt, who complimented them on the way they had 37 followed orders, failed to placate them. For the rest of their

lives, especially at the gatherings of the veterans’ organizations,

many of these men would fear the inevitable question: "Were you 38 left behind with the horse detail?" 37

37. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 151.

38. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle Papers. CHAPTER VII

FAREWELL TO CUBA

The cessation of hostilities after the battle of San Juan forced the Rough Riders to prepare for still another campaign--the struggle with the adversities of the tropical climate. Despite cheering news of the fall of Santiago on July 15, the Volunteers remained in bivouac outside the city where mud, rain, and fever soon began to take their toll. During this trying period the Volunteers lost more men from the natural elements and inadequate supply than they had on the battlefield. Morale deteriorated as sickness increased and few supplies came forward. By mid-July, as the fear of yellow fever grew, both the officers of the Fifth Corps and public opinion in general began exerting pressure on the War Department to with­ draw the United States troops from Cuba.

The morning of July 2 found the Rough Riders in the trenches dug along the crest of San Juan Heights. The enemy opened the day with a heavy bombardment and pushed their skirm ishers forward.

But this demonstration failed as the Arizonans, along with the other

Rough Riders behind the crest, tumbled into their trenches to stop

171 the attack with rifle fire. Throughout the remainder of the day intermittent exchanges between the arm ies continued. One man in 2 B Troop and four in A were wounded. The Arizonans also took their turn in the sharpshooter trench located in front of the main line.

Here William Snodderly, a member of B Troop from Bisbee, established a reputation. Snodderly spotted a mounted officer at

1, 000 yards and cleanly shot his horse. Rynning noticed the 3 officer "went up in the air with all four legs and his saber waving. "

That evening after dark the Arizonans continued preparing trenches and machine gun emplacements. Even then, the sound of a scrap- 4 ing shovel usually brought a Spanish volley. 1234

1. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898. Roosevelt said this was more of a demonstration than an actual attack. See his Rough Riders, 94.

2. The four wounded men in A Troop were: Emilio Cassi and Edward O'Brien from Jerome; Charles Perry from Perry's Landing, Texas; and Stanley Hollister from Santa Barbara. Race Smith from San Antonio was the only casualty in B Troop. Remarks Section, Roster of A and B Troops in M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 262-71. The Muster Out Rolls from the National Archives have this information deleted. The Morning Report Book makes no mention of these casualties by name.

3. Rynning, Gun Notches, 173. In later years Snodderly always referred to himself as "sharpshooter" rather than by rank. Phoenix Arizona Republican, April 26, 1929.

4. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 173

With their position on San Juan Heights consolidated and adequately manned, the Rough Riders turned their attention to the guerrila sharpshooters who skulked in the rear. Supplied with brown sugar and hollow bamboo shoots filled with drinking water tied above them, these riflemen lurked in the protective foliage of high trees overlooking the trails and fords. Armed with .45 caliber rifles instead of M ausers, they fired at any convenient tar get--including medical personnel, wounded men headed for the rear, couriers,

5 and water details. Some of the Arizonans had drawn fire while getting water from the stream behind their lines, and there was a rumor that the guerrillas were ex-convicts released with promises of amnesty if they performed this bloody work. ^ With great relish the cowboys from Arizona threw their energies into ridding their locale of the sniper menace.

Roosevelt picked thirty sharpshooters, including William

Proffitt and Dick Goodwin of B Troop, to track down the guerrillas in the thickets before and behind the lines. The first day out the

detail killed eleven with no loss to them selves.^ At the same time 567

5. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 118. The contributors to Hagedorn Notes, III, were especially critical of the guerrillas. They told many stories of being fired upon while securing water from the stream behind San Juan ridge.

6. Mar shall,Story of the Rough Riders, 145. There is no evidence which proves that this charge had any basis in fact.

7. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898. In discussing the same incident later, Roosevelt called Goodwin a Californian 174 other men, hunting on their own initiative, killed several in the trees above the San Juan River. The Volunteers from the West excelled at this type of warfare and quickly perfected a technique of hunting in pairs. After locating a suspected sniper position, one man, with all due caution, circled the position briefly exposing himself from time to time until the Spaniard moved to lay his rifle on the decoy.

The other soldier, in a position of good observation, waited until the

sniper's movement pinpointed his exact location and then simply shot him down. ®

The Arizonans gave little quarter to the guerrillas. With orders to take no prisoners, Goodwin and his partner, a colored soldier

from the Tenth Cavalry, located two snipers hidden in twin palm

trees behind the lines who were firing toward the Rough Riders'

positions. Shooting together at the same time, they brought one

sniper down from his lofty perch like a squirrel. The other dropped

his rifle and, armed only with a machete, climbed down to plead for

his life in broken English. When Goodwin later reported the action to *

and Proffitt a typical mountaineer from North Carolina. See hie Rough Riders, 119. Actually, both men were in Arizona at the outbreak of the war and Proffitt was born in Texas. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, B Troop, AGO. After his discharge Proffitt returned to Arizona and, a few years later, was murdered while prospecting in the Bradshaw mountains. McClintock's Radio Address, January 14, 1931.

8. Stockbridge Interview, December 8, 1962. 175

Roosevelt, he displayed two Spanish rifles and two straw hats. In reply to Roosevelt's query as to what had happened to the sniper who had surrendered, Goodwin calmly replied: "Sir, you said not o to take any prisoners, so the nigger cut his throat."

After his command had occupied San Juan Heights on July 1,

Shafter paused to evaluate his precarious position. His corps stretched in a long, thin line from the El Caney road to a mile south of the El Poso road. He had no reserve and his supply lines were over extended. ^ At first Shafter seriously considered retreating from the field, but after a conference with his division commanders and encouragement from the War Department, he finally decided to hold his position. ** On the morning of July 3 Shafter formally demanded that the Spaniards either surrender Santiago or evacuate the non-combatants, for he planned to begin shelling the city at

10:00 A. M. the following morning. General Jose Toral, who had replaced the wounded Linares, refused to surrender. After further 91011

9. Hughes Manuscript, APHS.

10. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 166.

11. After advising the War Department that he was considering a withdrawal, Shafter called in Ms division commanders and put the m atter up to them. Except for General Bates all agreed that Shafter should hold Me position. On July 3 Alger suggested that Shafter not withdraw. Ibid., 174-77. For additional details, see Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 128-35; and Azoy, Charge, 149-53. 176 negotiation, however, a truce was worked out to extend from July 3 to July 10 in order that all refugees could evacuate Santiago. ^ At noon, July 3, the guns fell silent all along the front.

By the time the truce went into effect on July 3, Shatter had invested Santiago from the east and from the north. Hie corps was arranged in a fishhook-shaped line five miles long. The cavalry division occupied the center of the line, their guns covering the m ile- long ridge between the El Poso and El Caney roads. To the left

Kent's infantry held the heights to the south, with Bates's independent brigade coming from the coast to hold the extreme left flank.

Lawton's exhausted division was marched in from El Caney on the morning of July 2 and ordered to extend the right flank across the northern approaches. ^ G eneral G arcia's Cubans were given the 121314

12. Shafter's Report, September 13, 1898. See also Shafter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 626-28.

13. Shafter's Report, September 13, 1898. See also Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, II, 124-25. For an excellent map showing the position of Shafter's forces from July 3-15, see Esposito (ed.), West Point Atlas, I, map 157.

14. Lawton's division had been badly mauled. On July 1 the Spanish garrison of five hundred and twenty men at El Caney had fought off Lawton's 6,653 men from 6:30 A. M. until 4:00 P. M ., when the Spanish survivors finally surrendered. Lawton lost twenty- nine officers and four hundred and twelve men killed and wounded. Less than one hundred Spaniards escaped. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, H, 102-107. For a vivid description of the fight at El Caney, see Arthur H. Lee, "The Regulars at El Caney," Scribner's Magazine (October, 1898), 403-12. 177 mission of blockading the city from the west. Although the firing had been suspended the officers kept their men busy preparing fortifica­ tions. In the event that surrender negotiations failed, the city would 15 have to be taken by siege.

The truce gave Roosevelt an opportunity to award promotions and commendations to those who had distinguished themselves during the fighting at San Juan. Many changes had occurred in A Troop, as

O'Neill had been killed and Sergeant Greenwood had been wounded.

Although he had failed to exert control over the troop after O'Neill fell, Lieutenant Frank Frantz, nevertheless, won a captaincy for his 16 own personal courage. Roosevelt also recommended that Samuel

Greenwald, a young private from Prescott, be promoted to second

lieutenant. When Greenwald's commission arrived a few weeks

later, he was transferred to I Troop. As his first lieutenant Frantz

accepted John C. Greenway, who was promoted from second lieuten- 17 ant and transferred from G Troop. Sergeant Henry B. Fox from 151617

15. Shafter's Report, September 13, 1898. See also Bonsai, "Fight for Santiago," M cClure's Magazine (October, 1898), 501-502.

16. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, September 14, 1898. 17. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A Troop, AGO. Greenway was originally in M Troop, but went to Cuba as an extra officer attached to G Troop. Several accounts in Hagedorn Notes mention that Greenway was conspicuous along the firing line in both engagements. After the war Greenway came to Arizona from Michigan and became active in the Calumet and Arizona Mining Com­ pany. There is an extensive collection of Greenway papers at the Arizona Pioneers' H istorical Society in Tucson, but it contains little information on the Rough Riders. Prescott replaced Greenwood as first sergeant. In B Troop,

Lieutenant Wilcox was not promoted, but he retained command. He also began receiving captain's pay from the time he took over the 18 troop on June 24.

The Arizonans found that watching the Spaniards, who were plainly visible in and before Santiago, proved a welcome diversion from the hot work in the trenches. The city was only a mile away, and the Spanish fortifications contrasted with the serenity of the whitewashed walls and red tiled roofs. Lieutenant Carter wrote:

"Well, I can see the Dons standing over there in the trenches. We 19 expect to fix them as soon as they take down that white flag."

Every day Spanish work parties appeared to string barbed wire, dig trenches, and emplace batteries. Several of these guns, it was noted, were located close to well-marked hospitals. Unarmed search parties prowled between the lines, occasionally building fires over the bodies of Spaniards who had died in the withdrawal from the San 1819

18. Notation on Wilcox's discharge, in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Georgia Muir, Bisbee, Arizona. Wilcox kept few records of his Rough Rider experiences. Hie uniforms are in APHS.

19. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, July 27, 1898. On July 6 Lieutenant Carter wrote a long letter to his brother, which was printed in several territorial newspapers. On July 26 C arter's letter appeared in the Phoenix Arizona Republican with the comment that it contained the "most complete news" from the battlefield yet received. 179

Juan Heights. ^ The men also had a fine view of the truce parties which met daily to negotiate for the surrender, or "make medicine" as the Arizonans called it. On July 6 the Volunteers gathered on the parapet to cheer the prisoner exchange which returned Commodore 21 Hobson and his crew from the M errimac.

Although the front remained quiet during the day, sporadic rifle fire disturbed the tranquility after dark. Duty on the outposts was on a rotating basis, and the different troops took turns on the unpopular

"cossack posts.11 Several men occupied each post at the same time under the assumption that some would sleep while others stood guard.

Most of the Arizonans, however, did not sleep during this duty, for the dark, stormy tropical nights made the pickets on both sides uneasy. In addition the men found the rifle pits uncomfortable because the nightly rains often filled them waist deep. The colored troops of the Tenth Cavalry occupied the lines adjacent to the Volunteers for a tim e, and the Arizonans particularly disliked having the colored 2021

20. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, July 27, 1898. For a sim ilar account, see Rynning, Gun Notches, 177.

21. Prescott Weekly Journal Miner, July 27, 1898. At 3:30 A. M. on June 3 Assistant Naval Constructor Richard Pearson Hobson, with a crew of seven volunteers, steamed into Santiago Harbor on a large collier, the M errimac. His objective was to blockade Cervera'e fleet by scuttling the M errimac in the narrow channel opposite Estrella Point, half a mile from the harbor entrance. In the face of an intense bombardment, the M errimac was sunk according to plan, but strong tides pulled her to one side of the channel where the vessel offered little obstruction to the harbor. Hobson and his crew 180 soldiers on duty so close, for the Negroes often fired at sounds in the darkness. Such firing, once begun, frequently spread to other units and the officers, in spite of the truce, had difficulty in restoring 22 order. On one such occasion, in a brief flash of lightning, the

Rough Riders savy a cloaked Spanish officer walking along the trenches to quiet his men. His success reflected the high state of discipline in 23 the Spanish Army.

Hostilities flared again briefly on July 10, with the artillery on both sides signalling the end of the truce by bombarding the opposing lines. The dynamite gun of the Rough Riders, located behind their trenches, also opened up during the exchange. This lasted only 24 one day, for the truce went back into effect late that same afternoon.

The Arizona troopers, some of whom had been tem porarily assigned to tile dynamite gun squad, found it to be largely ineffectual. Its projectile, fired at low velocity by com pressed air, traversed a high, 222324 were fished out of the bay and made prisoners shortly after daybreak. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba, I, 224-27.

22. W ager's Statement, Hagedorn Notes, in . See also Roosevelt, R ough R i d e r s , 127-28.

23. Edwin Emerson, article written for Collier's Weekly, in Hagedorn Notes, IV.

24. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 132. 181 wobbly trajectory which could be traced with the bare eye. This gave the Spaniards ample time to seek cover before the shell struck. To make matters worse, the breech mechanism jammed after every second or third shot, and the Volunteers kept the gun in action only 25 with assistance from Parker's Gatling Gun Detachment. One shell did explode on a suspected gun emplacement, and the Rough Riders cheered as Lieutenant Tiffany's machine guns shot down a number of 26 Spaniards who fled the explosion. The Colt machine guns also had limited value because they jammed when fired enough to become hot.

As a result, the only support weapons of significant value continued to be the Gatling guns.

On July 11 peace was restored, and Roosevelt moved his command 27 north into a position astride the Santiago-El Caney road. Here the

Rough Riders found themselves directly in the path of the Cuban refugees fleeing Santiago. In contrast to their expressed contempt for 252627

25. Jesse Langdon to the editors of Life Magazine, September 9, 1952. Copy in the possession of Chris Emmett, Santa Fe. Written in response to an article which appeared in Life on August 25, 1952, Langdon's letter gives full credit to Captain Parker for keeping the dynamite gun and machine guns in action. See also Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 132.

26. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 132. For a similar account, see Prentice, "Rough R iders,11 New Mexico Historical Review, XXVII, 38.

27. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 133. 182 the Cuban soldiers, the Arizonans felt great compassion for the ragged, impoverished, and undernourished civilians. When his Rough

Riders began sharing their reduced rations with the unfortunates,

Roosevelt, fearful of contagious disease and anxious to maintain the combat readiness of his regiment, ordered his men to stop aiding the Cubans. The order proved difficult to enforce. Upon hearing of these instructions, A Troop's Charles Hodgdon protested:

"The Almighty would never let a man catch a disease while he was 28 doing a good favor. "

On July 15, after several conferences between the lines,

Generals Shatter and Toral finally agreed to end the fighting before

Santiago. The only prerequisite was Toral's request that a token bombardment by the Americans precede what the Spanish General preferred to call a "capitulation." That night Capron's battery fired 29 the last ill-aimed shots over Santiago. Two days later, on July 17,

28. Ibid. , 134. The statements in Hagedorn Notes, IV, contain many references to the large numbers of refugees who were fleeing Santiago by the El Caney road. Thousands fled to El Caney where they constructed a temporary encampment. Alger, Spanish*American W ar, 183. Rynning states that some Rough Riders were placed on detached service to help feed the refugees. See his Gun Notches, 183.

29. Under the provisions of the surrender, aU Spanish troops in the Department of Santiago were to stack arm s on the morning of July 17. The entire force would be returned to Spain as soon as possible. See Shatter, "Capture of Santiago," Century Magazine (February, 1899), 626- 28. 183 the Rough Riders gathered on the sandbagged parapets to watch the

Ninth Infantry march into Santiago. Cheers rolled up and down the line as the stars and stripes appeared over the city. Santiago de 30 Cuba had fallen- -but the Spaniards still occupied Havana.

The next day W heeler's cavalry division received orders to march five miles toward El Caney and locate a camp in a healthier area up in the hills. The Rough Rider column began moving in the heat of the day, and the men, already weakened by fever and lack of 31 food, reached their destination in a state of exhaustion. In spite of a pack train made up of mules supplied by Chief Packer Tom

Horn, of Arizona, and stray animals rounded up by the troopers, 32 much of their equipment had to be left in the trenches. Some of the squads loaded their gear on a mule and made the march with little difficulty. Other groups, less fortunate in their ability to locate stray 33 an im a ls, had to c a rry th e ir p o ssessio n s. 30313233

30. Fitch Diary, July 17, 1898. For a sim ilar description of the surrender, see Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 133.

31. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 32. Born in Missouri in I860, Horn came to Arizona in 1875 as an employee of the Overland Mail Route, which ran from Santa Fe to Prescott. , Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter (Denver, Colorado, 1904), 1-26. Although Ms kook does not mention it, Horn went to Cuba as a chief packer. Because of limited transportation, only eight pack trains were selected to accompany the Fifth Corps. See Lauran Paine, Tom Horn: Man of the West (London, I960), 149-51. ------

33. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 184

Upon arrival at their new location, named Camp Hamilton in honor of the Ninth Cavalry commander who had fallen at San Juan, 34 the Volunteers made it as comfortable as possible. They quickly removed the brush that covered much of the hill, laid out neat company streets, and pitched their tents--all in conformity with

Roosevelt's instructions. In nearby Spanish blockhouses they found wood for tent floors, over which green boughs were laid for beds. A clear stream below the hill provided fresh drinking water and also the first opportunity to bathe in two weeks. In time field kitchens were established along its banks. ^ With a shortage of dry fire wood making cooking difficult, some enterprising foragers from A Troop broke into the nearby summer home of a French consul and removed the mahogany stairs. This wood made a hot, but expensive fire--as the United States government later paid for damages. ^ In spite of the healthier location at Camp Hamilton away from the stinking, sodden trenches, the A rizonans, disheartened by their tropical environm ent, 343536

34. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 135. Colonel John Morrison Hamilton, a native of New York and Civil War veteran, had been killed on July 1 while leading the Ninth Cavalry Regiment. Francis B. Heitman (comp. X H istorical Register and Dictionary of the , From its organization, September 29, 1789 to March 2, 1903 (2 vols., Washington, 1903), I, 493.

35. Prentice, "Rough Riders," New Mexico Historical Review, X X V II, 42.

36. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. 185 expressed dissatisfaction with the surroundings. "It rains every day here," wrote Webb, "and we are wet all the time. It is a devil of a 37 country to live out doors in."

Weakened by inadequate food and tropical heat, the Volunteers found that the arduous march from San Juan to El Caney destroyed the combat readiness of the regiment. The morning after the move one hundred and twenty-three men reported on sick call. This virtually 38 eliminated the Volunteer Cavalry as an effective military force. The

Arizonans of A and B Troops suffered a great deal from the effects of wounds and disease. From the fall of Santiago on July 17 to the end of 39 the month, A Troop averaged thirteen men on sick report every day.

A sim ilar condition existed in B Troop, as shown by roll call on

July 15, when only twenty-two of the original seventy-one men 40 answered muster as present for duty. "I now have but half of the six hundred men with which I landed four weeks ago fit for duty,"

Roosevelt wrote Wood on July 20, "and these are not fit to do anything

41 like the work they could do then." Many of the sick troopers, aware

37. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898.

38. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898.

39. Morning Report Book, July, 1898, A Troop, AGO.

40. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Buckey O'Neill Scrapbook, Sharlott Hall Museum.

41. Roosevelt's Operations Report, July 20, 1898. 186 of the persistent rumors that treatm ent in division hospitals offered little change from conditions on line, preferred to stay with their regiment and refused to be evacuated. The serious fever and gunshot cases, however, did not have this option and many soon were berthed 42 on a hospital ship headed for the United States. On July 3 Brodie,

McClintock, and other invalids on the hospital ship Olivette had the memorable experience of watching Admiral Cervera's barnacle- 43 encrusted fleet steam out of Santiago Harbor to its destruction.

Throughout their campaign in Cuba, the Volunteers suffered from insufficient and unappetizing rations. Instead of the canned corn beef, which the troopers preferred, the meat ration usually consisted of limited quantities of canned roast beef. This insipid and saltless meat became the object of much derision among the Arizonans, who called it "canned horse.11 In an attempt to make it palatable, the men cooked it with mangoes, hardtack, or any available vegetable to make a stew called "mulligan" or "slum gullian." Even then they did not 44 like it. Sergeant Nash of A Troop forcibly expressed the sentim ents 424344

4 2 . I b id .

43. McClintock's Radio Address, January 14, 1931. On the morning of July 3 six Spanish ships under Admiral Cervera steamed out of the harbor. In a running gunfight to the west, every vessel was sunk or run aground by 1:20 P. M. See "The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet," The Outlook, July 9, 1898, 618-22.

44. Langdon to editors of Life, September 9* 1952. Copy in possession of Chris Emmett. 187 of all when he later testified that the roast beef, "or, as the boys called it, 'canned horse,1 was as near devoid of any wholesomeness or appetizing qualities as it was possible for beef to be. McClintock considered the meat so bad that he left "a couple of hundred cans" on the Yucatan when he landed his men at Daiquiri at the beginning of the

. 46 c a m p a ig n .

The rations sent forward at regular intervals after the fighting around San Juan were so inadequate that Roosevelt sent details to

Siboney and Daiquiri to acquire more. In fact, the colonel led some of these foraging expeditions in person. One Rough Rider in particular, however, was so resourceful that Roosevelt made it a point to call on him when additional food was needed. In spite of a lack of transporta­ tion, Chaplain Brown never failed to find a loose horse, a wagon, 47 or a mule, and return to camp with a load of provisions. Brown used the money given to him by the officers to buy canned tom atoes, 454647

45. Henry W. Nash Testimony, Dodge Report, VIII, 417.

46. McClintock's Radio Address, December 31, 1930. There was much criticism of the rations issued. In their letters home, as printed in the territorial newspapers, and in their statements to Hagedorn, the Rough Riders criticised the food. The Dodge Commis­ sion gathered much evidence in its investigation of the rations and concluded that the meat had not been chemically treated and that it was good beef. The Commission suggested that the tropical climate affected the taste after the cans were opened and before the contents could be properly cooked. See Dodge Report, I, 162-66.

47. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 125-26 188 beans, and sugar to supplement the normal rations of bacon, hardtack, and coffee. The chaplain took great pride in his uncommon ability to "rustle11 supplies and later related how he rode sixteen miles on three successive days to secure additional food. ^ The Volunteers continued to suffer from the lack of rati one, however, until July 23 when Lieutenant Rynning returned from Santiago with a load of fresh 49 b e e f.

In spite of the efforts of the Rough Riders to maintain their battle effectiveness, conditions in their camp grew steadily worse.

Few cases of yellow fever appeared, but m alaria, dengue fever, and

dysentery affected practially every member of the command at one time or another. The constant tramp of many feet combined with the

daily rain to convert the streets into quagmires of black, foul-smelling

mud, which forced the men to lace their canvas leggings with care.

Shelter tents, which were carefully and repeatedly ditched, afforded

little respite from the rain because they were too short to cover a

prostrate occupant. Shoes and other leather goods as well as the

canvas trousers, kept in a state of perpetual dam pness, began to 4849

48. Phoenix Arizona Republican, August 30, 1898.

49. Rynning, Gun Notches, 184. Roosevelt confirms the delivery of fresh beef, but does not indicate it was Rynning who located it. See his Rough Riders, 137. 189 deteriorate. As no replacements were to be had, the Volunteers assumed a ragged and unkept appearance.

Waiting in their steaming pup tents for orders, the Rough Riders came out only to perform the necessary routine camp functions.

Because the slightest physical exertion brought an attack of fever, the men vigorously protested all assignments to work details. On these occasions the disgruntled members of B Troop gained new respect for First Sergeant Davidson, who employed his own brand of diplomacy to secure work parties. To the profane objections which greeted his duty assignments, Davidson invariably listened with a tolerant, half-amused smile. When the troopers finished, he ended all further discussion with the candid observation: "Cuss, that's one privilege a private has got--but, obey me you m ust." And they 51 usually did.

Many rum ors circulated through the Rough Rider encampment.

Some depressed the troopers while others cheered them up. Every soldier who returned from Santiago or the coast brought a new m essage. Some led the men to believe that they would participate 5051

50. Prentice, "Rough Riders," New Mexico Historical Review, XXVII, 41-43. Prentice's account contains the only good description of the camp at El Caney. His comments ware verified to some extent by Webb, who commented on the mud and rain. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898. The sickness is confirmed by Roosevelt in his Rough Riders, 137.

51. Hughes Manuscript, APHS. 190 in the ; others predicted an overland drive on

Havana. Another rumor, and one that aroused a great deal of 52 optimism, foretold an early return to the United States.

While his men speculated about their departure from Cuba,

Roosevelt took positive action to hasten the withdrawal of his regiment.

With the tacit approval of General Shatter, the colonel secured the signatures of all general officers, except Hawkins and Young, to a

"round robin" letter addressed to Secretary of War Alger. This statement requested an immediate withdrawal of all United States forces from Cuba before an outbreak of yellow fever destroyed its effectiveness. Because it was released to the press before it reached

A lger, the letter outraged both the Secretary of W ar and President 5253

52. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, September 2, 1898.

53. Because it was made public before it reached Alger, this letter caused trouble. Roosevelt claimed this controversial request was written because of an order from Secretary Alger that the army was to move into the interior of Cuba, This alleged order resulted in every , except Hawkins and Young who were absent sick, agreeing that a protest should be made. See Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 143-45, for hie explanation and the full content of the letter. Secretary Alger, however, had been concerned about fever for some time and had several times suggested that Shatter move his corps to Long Island. Shatter had replied that there was no cause for alarm. Nevertheless, Alger ordered construction of a camp on Long Island to commence on July 26 and, on August 1, ordered W heeler's division to move north. In view of this Alger concluded; "It would be impossible to exaggerate the mischievous and wicked effects of the 'Round Robin.See A lg e r, Spanish-American War, 255-73. 191 54 McKinley. The day before he received this letter Alger already had decided to evacuate the army; therefore, he considered the letter am unwarranted indictment of his administration.

In contrast to criticism from the War Department over the

"round robin,11 Roosevelt received the gratitude of his fever-stricken troopers for this action. At the time, however, some of the more perceptive individuals were aware of the political implications of the letter. For example, on August 4, with a sagacity beyond his age, young Tuttle interpreted Roosevelt's motives in a letter to his brother:

"Rosy is trying to get us back so he can run for Governor of New

Y o r k ." 5455

Indications that the long-awaited orders would soon arrive came on the morning of August 2, when the first sergeants fell their

54. Emerson claimed that "the round robin," with Roosevelt's criticism of the conduct of the war in general, caused Alger to deny Wood's recommendation that Roosevelt receive a medal of honor. Emerson, Who Got There First? Denny Papers. Roosevelt tried hard to get a medal of honor. On January 4, 1899, he wrote Maxwell Keyes, the first lieutenant of F Troop who replaced Hall as adjutant, requesting that Keyes write a "certificate" to the Adjutant General testifying that Roosevelt "distinguished himself" by leading "two charges, one on horse­ back, on my [Roosevelt's] own initiative, & going through the regulars and ordering the charge. " Roosevelt to Maxwell Keyes, January 4, 1899, Maxwell Keyes Papers. At the present time, the Keyes Papers are in the possession of General Geoffry Keyes (Ret.), Tucson, Arizona. This small collection contains several interesting letters from Roosevelt.

55. Tuttle to his brother, August 4, 1898, Tuttle Papers. 192 respective troops out to draw new clothing. "We drew new uniforms the other day, and what in the name of the m aster of ceremonies in the infernal region we are going to do with them I do not know," complained Webb, who added: "When fully 'ragged out1 a Rough

Rider trooper now looks about like R. Allyn Lewis, Arizona's brave 56 Adjutant General, in full dress, and a drum-major rolled into one."

The clothing issue included badly needed boots, underwear, and 57 cotton socks, as well as colorful jackets and trousers of khaki. In addition to shiny brass buttons, yellow cloth decorated the pocket flaps, shoulder straps, and cuffs of the belted, pleated jacket.

Accustomed to their drab, but practical uniforms, the Arizonans

received the new issue with resentment. They felt that the government had used its limited transportation facilities to ship "monkey suits" 58 only suitable for parade ground drill.

After they donned their new clothing the Rough Riders burned

their ragged, faded combat uniforms. That afternoon the puzzled

Volunteers received snappy salutes from several Regular cavalrymen

who passed through the camp. Confused and dazzled by the inordinate

56. Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, August 19, 1898.

57. Memorandum of Clothing Issue at Camp Hamilton, Santiago de Cuba, August 2, 1898, in "Rough Riders--A bstract of Expenditures,11 Me Clint ock Papers, Phoenix Public Library.

58. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. 193 display of brass and yellow-cloth finery, the Regulars had mistaken each Volunteer for a commissioned officer. Upon returning to their own units, these angry cavalrymen protested that every 11 damn one of

59 those damn Rough Riders has been made a second lieutenant. " At first amused by this unwarranted promotion, several troopers later capitalized on it in Santiago when they found that the m ilitary police, under the same erroneous impression, allowed Rough Riders the 60 freedom of movement commensurate with the rank of officers.

Late in the afternoon of August 6 the shrill notes of officers' call summoned the commanders to Colonel Roosevelt's tent. For some unexplainable reason the troopers had a strong premonition and gathered in little groups near the tent. When the meeting broke up, one officer strolled over to a group of soldiers and calmly remarked:

"The orders have come; we are going home tomorrow noon. The responding thunder of cheers, soon echoed by the cavalry regiments bivouacked nearby, surpassed any such ovation heard since the victory

at Guasimas and reflected the universal desire to leave the fever-

ridden island. Any lingering skepticism vanished the following day

59. Hamner Manuscript, Hamner Papers. Webb related a sim ilar incident in his letter published on September 2, 1898, in the Solomonville Arizona Bulletin.

60. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

61. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Hagedorn Notes, V. 194 when the Volunteers received orders to strike camp. In contrast to the procedure followed on previous moves, wagons arrived to trans­

port personal baggage and troop equipment. Surprised by this

unexpected consideration, the Arizonans had only their weapons to

shoulder as they marched away without striking their shelter tents.

After a difficult two mile march characterized by considerable

straggling, the long column reached a railroad siding where a line of

dilapidated cars hitched to an old wood-burning locomotive waited to

take them to Santiago. ^

At Santiago the Rough Riders boarded a steel-decked transport,

the Miami, for the voyage home. Since the ship did not sail until the

next day, some of the men drew a month’s pay and received perm is­

sion to visit the city. ^ Unimpressed by the dark-eyed senoritas,

who waved and smiled from barred windows, because they appeared

to be dirty on close inspection, the troopers sought relaxation in the 64 numerous cantinas. Several of the Arizonans, resplendent in their

new uniforms, met a group of Spanish officers who mistook them for

commissioned officers. With true Latin courtesy the Spaniards

invited the Volunteers to be their guests in a cantina. Now that the

62. Hamner Manuscript, Hamner Papers; and Hughes M anuscript, APHS.

63. Prentice, "Rough R iders," New Mexico Historical Review, XXVH, 44; and Fitch Diary, August 7, 1898.

64. Hamner Manuscript, Hamner Papers. fighting had ended, this social contact revealed a Spanish character­ istic not perceived on the battlefield. As Tuttle later recalled:

"They were real gentlemen. Late that afternoon, upon returning to the Miami, the Rough Riders brought tobacco, candy, fruit, and liquor to supplement their diet on the return voyage. A few also sported the unmistakable signs of a brawl they had started with a group of United States sailors.

Early on the morning of August 7 the Miami, carrying General

W heeler, a squadron of the Third Cavalry, and the Rough Riders, cast 67 off and steamed out of Santiago Harbor. With troops lining the rails, the ship passed between the im pressive walls of Morro Castle and the

silent guns in the fortifications at Scoapa across the bay. The men

cheered upon seeing Hobson’s ill-fated M errimac and silently noted

the exposed decks of the Reina M ercedes, a gunboat scuttled by the 68 Spaniards in an abortive attempt to seal the harbor. Further on,

65. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

66. Prentice, "Rough Riders," New Mexico Historical Review, X X V II, 4 4.

67. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 147.

68. About midnight on July 4 the Reina M ercedes, a cruiser, appeared at the entrance of Santiago Harbor. Two of Sampson's battle­ ships, the Texas and the M assachusetts, caught the cruiser in their searchlights and opened a heavy fire. The Reina Mercedes sank opposite Estrella Cove, leaving the channel unobstructed. The Spaniards had planned to block the channel, but had been thwarted by the American fire, which destroyed the steering mechanism. Alger, Spanish- American War, 230-31. 196 as the ship entered the open sea, the troopers saw a riddled and beached derelict of Admiral Cervera1 s fleet, which had vainly striven to break Sampson1 s blockade. Objects identified as human bodies still floated in the wreckage. ^ Turning east the Miami passed by Siboney and Daiquiri, where the Volunteers had landed forty-seven days before. Late that evening the Rough Riders took their last look at Cuba. "Farewell to the land where we have fought and suffered, " 70 wrote an elated Roger Fitch in his diary.

The Rough Riders had been looking forward to going home for a

long time. They had gone to Cuba to fight--and not to sweat through the m alaria season that followed the surrender. Conditions had been bad enough during the fighting, but they had become worse after the

fall of Santiago. Tropical storms had converted the primitive roads

into quagmires and this, in turn, had made delivery of supplies and

rations impossible. The hot, humid climate had reduced the troopers*

natural resistance to tropical fevers. Even more disheartening had

been the apathy of the Cuban people, who had not rallied to support

the campaign. As one trooper told McClintock: "We have seen many

a worse place that Arizona in our travels.

69. Prentice, "Rough Riders," New Mexico Historical Review, X X V II, 45.

70. Fitch Diary, August 7, 1898.

71. Tucson Arizona Weekly Star, July 28, 1898. CHAPTER VH1

RETURN TO ARIZONA

In early August at Montauk Point on Long Island, the Rough

Riders neared the end of their army service. The Tampa detach­ ment reached the camp first and were soon preparing the grounds for the veterans then enroute from Cuba. They were still at work when the Miami docked. The problems of camp organization were compounded by the difficulties encountered in preparing the

Volunteers for discharge. The officers set to work securing copies of lost property records, conducting equipment inventories, and drafting papers for the men on convalescent leave. Moreover, because they were the most widely publicized group at the camp, the

Rough Riders had to contend with well-meaning civilians who visited their bivouac. In spite of these difficulties, by mid-September the regiment stood ready for its final formation.

After deciding to withdraw the Fifth Corps from Cuba,

Secretary of War Alger designated a site on Long Island as a

recuperation camp. Selected because of the mild climate and named

Camp Wikoff, in honor of Colonel Charles A. Wikoff who was killed

at San Juan, it was located at the eastern end of the island near

197 198

Montauk Point, one hundred and fifty miles from New York City. *

The camp had to be built from scratch. General Young, commander of the Second Cavalry Brigade and who had returned from Cuba early because of illness, started construction on August 5. In addition to the bivouac area. Young also was ordered to build a yellow fever quarantine station near the wharf where debarkation would take place.

Although the civilian employees worked hard, they did not have the camp completed when the first units arrived. Part of the difficulty stemmed from a lack of transportation. A single track trailroad provided the only means of bringing in tents, lumber, and other m aterials. In early August, when it became apparent that the camp could not be completed with the existing labor force, the Tampa

detachments of the cavalry division were sent north to help with

construction. ^

On August 12 the Arizona contingent from Tampa, less a

detachment of A Troop under Lieutenant Hal Sayre, which was forced

to lay over two days at Jersey City, reached Montauk Point by 123

1. Alger, Spanish-American W ar, 424-25.

2. New York Times, August 5, 1898. A native of Pennsylvania who had seen much service as a Union officer in the Civil War, Colonel Charles Augustus Wikoff was killed July 1 at the head of the Second Infantry Brigade. Heitman, Historical Register, I, 1034.

3. Alger, Spanish-American War, 261. 199

A train. The camp bustled with activity, for the Tampa group had only a few days to prepare it for their comrades bound from Cuba. Four men shelter tents had to be floored, and lumber and nails had been issued--but no carpenter tools. Alexander, who was hailed as a

"rustling-son-of-a-gun" and capable of locating food and water in the middle of the Sahara desert by his men, immediately presented his case to the camp commander. Young supplied him with eight saws and hatchets. With this equipment the Arizonans were able to floor their tents ahead of the other troops, but they had not completed their quarters when the Miami arrived. All work stopped as most of the troopers gathered at the pier to greet the veterans of Santiago. ^

The home-bound Rough Riders enjoyed the six day voyage from

Santiago to Long Island. The salt air and fresh breezes were a welcome relief from Cuba, and the men spent as much time on deck as possible. Larger and less crowded than the Yucatan, the transport that had taken them to Cuba, the Miami afforded ample room for the men to stroll about and study the sm all keys of the Bahama islands 45

4. New York Times, August 12, 1898. There was much confusion surrounding the arrival of the Tampa detachment. The group came north in eight sections, with Lieutenant Sayre in charge of the last one. Young needed the railroad to transport supplies and ordered Sayre to stay in the Fourth Regiment's armory in Jersey City until August 15.

5. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, V. zoo they passed. The officers, meanwhile, unaware that peace negotia­ tions were in progress, continued their plans to instigate a vigorous training program on Long Island, so as to prepare the regiment to operate as mounted cavalry in the expected assault on Havana. On

August 14, however, when the Miami arrived off Long Island, it was learned that an arm istice had been declared. This welcome message was delivered by the officer of a gunboat, who met the transport as g it dropped anchor late in the evening. Word was received that on

July 26 Spain formally had declared a willingness to give up Cuba, and that on August 12, at Washington, Spain agreed to relinguish all o claim to Cuba and to cede Puerto Rico to the United States. With this cheering news, the Rough Riders knew that they had not campaigned in vain; they would do no m ore fighting in C uba--or anywhere else. ^ 678910

6. Fitch Diary, August 9, 1898.

7. On the day his regiment sailed from Cuba, Roosevelt received a telegram from a "M r. Laffan" of the New York Sun containing the single word "peace,11 but nobody knew exactly what it meant. See Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 44, 149-50. 8. Ibid., 150.

9. Leopold, Growth of American Foreign Policy, 183-86.

10. The only unusual occurrence on the voyage from Cuba was the death of Private George Walsh of A Troop. On August 11 Walsh, a forty-three year old resident of San Francisco, died of chronic dysentery. Morning Report Book, August 12, 1898, A Troop, AGO. Two of W alsh's comrades, Tuttle and Corporal John D. Honeyman of San Antonio, sewed the body in a canvas shroud with four grate bars for ballast. He was buried at sea the next morning. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963. 201

On August 15 the Rough Riders came ashore at Montauk Point.

A large crowd had gathered to greet them. On the ship the veterans formed by troops beneath their tattered guidons, and the Third

Cavalry band struck up "Rally Round the Flag" to play the men ashore.

General W heeler, Ms staff, and Colonel Roosevelt came down the

gangway first, followed by the Third Cavalry, and then the Volunteers.

At first the crowd cheered and applauded, but it fell suddenly silent

as the wretched condition of the cavalrymen became obvious. Gaunt

and haggard in uniforms that hung from their emaciated bodies, the

troopers came ashore with downcast eyes and the measured tread of

sick men. All the troops clearly reflected the ravages of the

campaign, but Frantz's A Troop appeared to have suffered the most.

Barely thirty men had the strength to march off the sMp. "My God,"

exclaimed one startled soldier from A Troop's Tampa detachment,

"there are not half the men there that left.

The haunting specter of yellow fever as a Mdden and unwelcome

passenger had caused the medical corps to establish a quarantine

station two miles from the debarkation site. After a short rest on the

beach, the cavalrymen in early afternoon began moving for the station.

Wagons transported those too ill to march, but several determined

Volunteers declined this convenience and tried to stay with their 11

11. New York Tim es, August 16, 1898. 202 regiment. Two of them, identified as George M cCarter and William

Whalen of A Troop, collapsed alongside the road. While they waited for the wagons, three New York women saw their plight and brought them a large basket of fresh fruit. ^ Upon reaching the quarantine station, the officers posted guard, some of whom came from the

Arizona troops, to patrol the camp and preclude any contact with civilian or m ilitary personnel who had not gone to Cuba.

Four days later, on August 19, the Rough Riders under the command of Brodie, now a lieutenant colonel, moved from the qua ran- 14 tine station to permanent quarters at Camp Wikoff. Nestled between rolling sand hills on the east side of Long Island, the camp lay directly in the path of cool breezes which swept unhindered from the ocean. This, in addition to the absence of mosquitoes, had been

12. Ibid. According to the Muster Out Rolls there was no William Whalen in any troop in the regiment. This may have been Private Thomas Way land, a member of A Troop from W illiams, or Private William F. Wallace of Flagstaff.

13. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1898.

14. After being evacuated from Cuba because of his wound, Brodie was confined in a hospital at Fort Wadsworth, New York, for a brief period; then he went on convalescent leave. On August 11, with his wounded arm still in a black sling, Brodie report to Camp Wikoff and accepted a promotion to lieutenant colonel. As the ranking officer he took command of the Rough Riders. Roosevelt was still commanding the Second Cavalry Brigade. New York Times, August 7, 1898; and Myers, "A Rough Riding Governor," Arizona Days and Ways, May 6, 1956, 11. 203 factors considered by General Young when he selected the campground.

A thick carpet of grass, with interlocking tangles of bayberry bushes, 15 covered the hills in all directions. The men from the barren mountains and deserts of Arizona were im pressed with their surround­ ings. They realized that the Volunteer organizations would soon disband and this camp, therefore, which they considered to be their finest -- also would be their last. Educated and perceptive Tom Grindell of C

Troop, in a letter dated August 29 to the editor of the Phoenix Arizona

Republican, predicted that most of the boys would return to "good old

Arizona" by October 1. ^

Colonel Brodie, commanding the regiment in the absence of

Roosevelt, delayed mounted drill to give the horses and men an 17 opportunity to recuperate from their journey to Long Island. This gave the men time to complete the camp arrangem ents, while the officers and clerks prepared the long-neglected paper work. The

Rough Riders never had given much consideration to such routine functions, and the regiment had acquired the reputation of maintaining 18 the most incomplete records of sty unit in the Fifth Corps. When

15. New York Times, August 6, 1898.

16. Phoenix Arizona Republican, September 5, 1898.

17. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 156.

18. Unidentified newspaper clipping, Tuttle Papers. In testifying before the Dodge Commission, Roosevelt admitted: "The 204

Brodio finally ordered the officers to commence mounted drill in the sand hills and along the beaches, the Arizona troops had so many men scattered in hospitals throughout the East, on leave, or detached

on special duty that scarcely a platoon from each troop could be formed. On August 31, for example, a typical day in these twilight hours of the regiment, the three Arizona troops, which had a

combined strength of nine officers and two hundred and seventy-four

enlisted men, could m uster only seven officers and one hundred and 19 fifty men for duty.

No group of fighting men received more publicity than did

"Roosevelt's Cowboys. " Many New Yorkers came to get a first-hand

look at the popular campaigners. Unlike these who had visited the

Rough Riders at San Antonio, the townspeople, influenced by the 20 widespread stories of neglect, brought parcels of food and delicacies.

paper work of my own regiment was not as high as it should have been. " Dodge Report, V, 2269.

19. Morning Report Book, August 31, 1898, A, B, and C Troops, AGO. Of the one hundred and twenty-six officers and men who were absent, two officers and ninety-six men were sick. The remainder were on leave or detached service.

20. The newspapers were filled with stories about disease and neglect at Montauk Point. Roosevelt claimed these stories were fictitious and that his regiment was "admirably treated" at Camp Wikoff. See his testimony in Dodge Report, V, 2269. See also the chapter entitled "Camps and Disease" in Alger, Spanish-American War, 411-54. 205

So much food arrived in this fashion that the Rough Riders gave much

2 1 of it away to other cavalry regiments. In addition to the curiosity seekers, many were distinguished visitors, such as President

McKinley. While in the camp of the Arizona squadron, McKinley came across a group under the direction of "Happy Jack" Hodgdon of

A Troop engaged in the time-honored pastime of craps. When the

President's party approached, Hodgdon, totally unawed by the presence of his commander-in-chief, invited McKinley to take a turn. From his vantage point on a cracker box above the gamblers,

Hodgdon inspected the President's roll, picked up the fifty centy piece

McKinley had wagered, and solemnly announced: "The President

craps--who is the next lucky guy?" Everyone, including McKinley,

22 enjoyed a hearty laugh.

The people of New York opened their hearts and homes to the

Rough Riders. The reason has not been explained, but it was in

accordance with the spirit of nationalism aroused by the epic circula­

tion struggle between the Morning Journal and the World over the

Cuban question. Also there was a need for identification with a

m ilitary unit of distinction. The service of the two New York infantry

regim ents, the Seventy-first and Sixty-ninth, had not been very

21. Major Henry B. Hersey Testimony, Dodge Report, III, 116.

22. Ledgwidge Statement, Hagedorn Notes, V. 206

23 exciting. The ill-fated Seventy-first had returned from Cuba under a cloud of cowardice--it reportedly had failed to advance under fire 24 at San Juan. The Sixty-ninth had never seen action. As a substitute, the people looked to the First Volunteer Cavalry which, although raised largely in the West, contained the sons of many promtnant 25 New York families. Some claim to the regiment also could be made because Roosevelt, already mentioned as a gubernatorial candidate, as well as Brodie, had been born in the Empire State.

The Volunteers enjoyed the warm receptions given them. "The best the m arket affords is none too good for the 'Rough R iders,1 so think the people of New Y ork," wrote Tom Grindell, who added: "An

ovation is tendered the boys, trooper and officer alike, wherever

met out of camp; and thousands come to see those 'awfully rough, but 26 awfully brave Rough R iders.'" Many troopers took advantage of

23. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 236. Although M arshall mentions only two regiments by name, there must have been more. According to Alger, New York furnished 15,924 Volunteers for the war. See his Spanish-American W ar, 20.

24. According to General J. Ford Kent's Battle Report, as printed in on August 4, 1898, the Seventy-first had panicked when raked by Spanish fire as it emerged from the cane- breake along the banks of the San Juan River. The Thirteenth Regular Infantry had to be pushed on ahead of it.

25. M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 236.

26. Phoenix Arizona Republican, September 5, 1898. 207

Roosevelt's liberal policy of leave established while still on the 27 Miami. Several Arizonans, accompanied by friends, visited relatives in the East; others secured weekend passes and toured the neighboring cities. Everywhere they went the townspeople did every­ thing possible to make the men welcome. Some of the wealthier citizens even went so far as to provide for sick troopers in their own 28 fashionable homes.

Arthur Tuttle, however, expressed misgivings about his fun- loving comrades in a letter to his mother; "There is R. R. scattered all over the town [New York! and they are being treated fine and if 29 they don't abuse it we will go out of here with a fine reputation."

Fortunately, Tuttle's fears failed to m aterialize. The reputation of the regiment did not suffer from the antics of the Arizonans, who found that even the police made allowances for them. One exuberant group, while crossing the Brooklyn bridge on their way to Coney

Island, fired their revolvers into the air. Police officials hurried

27. Fitch Diary, August 11, 1898.

28. Interview with Charles O. Hopping, June 24, 1963. A member of F Troop, Hopping stayed with ten others at the home of Fred C. Cocheau while recovering from fever. Roosevelt reported that a Bayard Cutting, a Mrs. Ridisch, and a Mrs. Armitage took forty or fifty sick Rough Riders and placed them in private homes. Roosevelt Testimony, Dodge Report, V, 2269.

29. Tuttle to his mother, n. d ., Tuttle Papers. 208 to the scene, but made no arrests when they recognized the distinctive, yellow-trimmed uniforms of the Volunteers. ^ In addition to those who went to town for excitement or sight seeing, some went for a definite purpose. One Arizonan, who had an unusual aptitude for poker,

Frank Van Siclin of Safford, went to the bowery and played with the professional gamblers. "He gave the cardsharks of the bowery a lesson in poker, " recalled his close friend Arthur Tuttle sixty-four years later. **

Early in September, as the chill mornings warned of imp end- 32 ing autumn, the officers prepared to disband the Volunteers. All government equipment had to be accounted for, cleaned, and repaired.

Troops A and B had a more difficult task than C Troop in this respect, for both had lost their property records in Cuba. Duplicates had to 33 be secured from the quartermaster department. In addition much of their equipment had been left in Tampa and transported to Long

Island under the supervision of officers from another unit who had no liability connections. Consequently, much of their equipment had not been well cared for.

30. Phoenix Arizona Republican, September 15, 1898.

31. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

32. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 156.

33. Remarks section, Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A and B Troops, AGO. 209

The determination of liability for equipment lost in B Troop posed a knotty problem for Captain McClintock, who was still in the hospital at Fort Wadsworth, New York. In his absence the acting commander, lieutenant Wilcox, believed he could disband the troop without financial loss to Me Clintock. In a reassuring letter he wrote to the captain: "I shall clear you by affidavits if paper holds out. Many revolvers are missing from saddle bags, but 'lost in 34 action and transit' covers a great deal of ground. " Some items, however, could not be cleared by affidavit. A survey board was convened by Colonel Brodie to investigate the loss of nineteen carbines, fourteen revolvers, forty haversacks, and most of the mess kits and shelter tents. The board cleared McClintock of all

35 responsibility. Wilcox also found it easy to account for the

3,000 rounds of carbine and pistol ammunition the troop had drawn.

Although his troop had left all pistols at Tampa, Wilcox wrote off 36 all ammunition as "expended at Las Guasimas and San Juan. "

34. Wilcox to McClintock, September 6, 1898, McClintock Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation.

35. Proceddings of a Board of Survey convened pursuant to General Order No. _____ , Hq. 1st U. S. Vol. Cavalry, Camp Wikoff, September 5, 1898, in "Rough Riders--A bstract of Expenditures, " McClintock Papers, Phoenix Public Library.

36. Abstract of Expenditures, Quarterly Return of Ordnance, in ib id . 210

Another problem Wilcox was concerned with involved his second lieutenant, Tom Rynning, who later would be an honored Arizona

Ranger. It is not clear when these two officers first had difficulties, but ill-feeling came to a head when McClintock requested that his personal belongings be sent to him. In early September, when Wilcox returned from a visit with relatives in Michigan, he found that the captain's request had not been complied with. Wilcox immediately made the necessary arrangements. McClintock's pistol, however, had been loot in Cuba by Sergeant Jerry Lee from Globe, and his saber could not be located. Wilcox then wrote McClintock an angry letter, expressing complete dissatisfaction with Rynning:

I received your letter the day I left [on leave] and asked Rynning to answer and look after your things. I thought until I received your letter today that he had done so, but find he neglected to do so. In fact he has been of less use to me through the whole campaign than a good corporal would b e. . . [today] Rynning is absent sick, I don't m iss him. 37

While their harassed officers struggled to bring order out of the confused mass of reports, invoices, and records, the Volunteers enjoyed themselves until they ran out of money. Each private only drew $15,60 a month, and it did not last long. Because the regiment

37. Wilcox to Me Clintock, September 6, 1898, McClintock Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation. There is no further informa­ tion available on the difficulty between Wilcox and Rynning. In his own book. Gun Notches, Rynning does not indicate that there was any trouble between the two officers. 211 neared discharge, even the "professional twenty-five percenters," as Corporal French of C Troop called the money lenders, refused to advance more capital. As a result, the dice and poker games 38 ceased to operate, and the soldiers turned to other amusements.

One afternoon some of the bored Volunteers observed a cavalry mount in a nearby field throw its rider, a member of the Third Cavalry.

The Rough Riders responded with cat-calls and stinging comments, which prompted the Regulars to challenge the Volunteers to produce a trooper who could ride the horse. Slender Tom Darnell of H Troop and little Billy McGinty of K, regarded as the two best riders in the regiment, threw dice to determine which of them would accept the challenge. The next morning Darnell, who had won the roll, rode 39 the outlaw to the immense disgust of the Regulars. Even Colonel

Roosevelt loudly cheered the rider. Almost daily thereafter the unit 40 held some kind of bucking horse contest.

Such activities eased monotony during the day, but the troopers

turned to other pastim es in the evenings when they stayed in camp.

38. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, V. On August 7, Fitch was paid $31,20 for June and July. Fitch Diary, August 7, 1898.

39. Phoenix Arizona Republican, September 8, 1898. There is some question as to how Darnell was selected. In an interview on November 23, 1963, Chris Emmett stated that the Rough Riders always maintained that Darnell and McGinty rolled dice for the honor.

40. Roosevelt, Rough Riders, 155. 212

It became their custom to gather in the troop streets after roll call to talk and reminisce. One evening, when a group from C Troop had gathered, Wilbur French urged William As ay, an ex-school teacher from Graham County and one of the few men who had become friendly with Sergeant John "Boots11 Me Andrew, to call on McAndrew for a speech. McAndrew was a tall, thirty-three year old lawyer who had run for attorney-general in Colorado on either the socialist or populist platform before his enlistment. The taciturn McAndrew had kept his own counsel and had made few friends, but he had demonstrated on previous occasions his oratorical ability. As ay approached the sergeant, seated comfortably on the ground with his long arm s entwined about his knees, and requested that he address the group on the "Brotherhood of Man. " From all those versatile members of C Troop, French could not have selected a more suitable

41 o r a to r .

McAndrew arose, smoothed the gray ringlets on the sides of his elongated head, thrust one arm forward, and broke forth a display

41. There is some controversy over McAndrew. According to French, McAndrew was about forty years of age and had run for attorney general in Colorado on the socialist platform. French statement, Hagedorn Notes, V. Roosevelt, who did not name the orator, stated simply that one of his men, "a former Populist candidate for attorney-general in Colorado delivered a fervent oration in favor of free silver, " as part of the celebration held the evening before discharge. See his Rough Riders, 156. According to 213 of oratory which reverberated through the camp for three-quarters of an hour. Many off duty soldiers were attracted to C Troop's area.

Even Colonel Roosevelt joined Captain Alexander to listen. Me Andrew's eloquence, nurtured on the campaign platform and in the courtroom, emerged full blown that evening to make a great im pression on his audience. Not only did he have the ability to arrange words, but he also had the voice necessary to deliver them. French later wrote:

He had the most far-reaching, bellowing voice I ever heard. He had Bryan beat before the start, and that's traveling in pretty fast company .... I have been privileged to hear many of the gold and silver tongued orators, from Wendell Phillips and Bob Ingersoll on down to Bill Bryan and Hiram Johnson, not omitting Will Rogers, but 1 never heard the like of that speech that flowed from his vocal organs without a break for forty-five minutes. ^

On Tuesday, September 13, the Arizona troops joined their

comrades at Roosevelt's tent. They planned to present a final

tribute to their flamboyant commander. Colonel Brodie formed the

regiment in a hollow square, then escorted Roosevelt to the center.

Trooper W illiam Murphy of M Troop waited at a blanket-draped

table to make the presentation. A donation had been solicited from

the officers and men to purchase a bronze replica of Frederick

the Muster Rolls, McAndrew was thirty-three years old, was born in Pennsylvania, and living at Congress Junction, Arizona, when he enlisted on April 30. He was a lawyer by profession. Muster Rolls, May 17, 1898, C Troop, AGO.

42. French Statement, Hagedorn Notes, V. Remington's famous painting, "The Broncho Buster. " When Murphy- uncovered the statue at the conclusion of his speech, the troopers howled their appreciation as Roosevelt examined the gift closely.

No symbol could have caught the spirit of this regiment more

effectively than the vibrant excitement of horse and rider as

immortalized in this gleaming statue. After the cheers had subsided

Roosevelt made a speech of acceptance in which he paid tribute to the

troopers from the West: "The cow-puncher was the foundation of this 43 regiment, and we have got him here in bronze.11 When the ceremony

ended, Roosevelt had the officers march their troops past in single

file so he could shake hands with each man. As each Volunteer

uncovered and stepped up to the table, Roosevelt grasped his hand

and called him by name. This made a deep impression on every man

. 44 p r e s e n t.

In addition to the gift for Colonel Roosevelt, the Arizonans

made presentations to their own favorites. The forty-six members

of Robert Patterson's platoon of C Troop purchased and presented

to their popular young officer a regulation cavalry saber. It had

43. New York Times, September 15, 1898.

44. For a more complete version of the ceremony with the complete text of Roosevelt's farewell address, see M arshall, Story of the Rough Riders, 247-54. each man’s name engraved on the polished steel blade and made a 45 beautiful keepsake which Patterson cherished the rest of his life.

Two days later, on September 15, the three Arizona troops formed for the last time. Their equipment had been turned in and their final pay drawn. Many of the absent troopers heard of the forthcoming discharge and hurried to Montauk Point in time to participate. Arthur Tuttle and six others, convalescing in the Mount

Sinai Hospital in New York, learned of the ceremony and demanded their release. The doctors refused, but with the clandestine sympathy of the head nurse, who showed them where their uniforms had been stored, the eager Volunteers manged to slip away. They rode a train to the end of the line, and then walked the remaining two miles to the bivouac. They arrived just in time to stand the last formation.

The Arizona squadron had a large percentage absent at the final formation. Only six officers and one hundred and sixty-three men out of nine officers and two hundred and fifty-two men assigned stood in the wind-swept street to watch Sergeant W right take down the

regimental flag--their Arizona flag--for the last time. ^ Of th is

45. This saber is now in the possession of Patterson's son, Robert L. Patterson, of Los Angeles, California.

46. Tuttle Interview, February 23, 1963.

47. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A, B, and C Troops, AGO. There was some fear that Roosevelt would take the Arizona flag as a war momento. But, on September 13, Brodie wired that the flag would return to Arizona. Phoenix Arizona 216

number, only one hundred and fifty-three were physically present out

of the original two hundred who had left Prescott four months before.^® On this day, September 15, 1898, the Arizona contingent

of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, popularly and

indelibly known as "Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, " ceased to exist.

The Arizona Rough Riders had ended an exciting period of

m ilitary service. Just four months and thirteen days before, these

two hundred eager Volunteers had marched out of Prescott on a

chill May evening. As the first recruits for the regiment to

rendezvous at San Antonio, they soon had been joined by eight hundred

others. During the next six weeks they were trained, organized,

and moved across the nation to the sandy beaches of Florida. From

there one hundred and twenty-two had been sent to the sweltering

jungles of Cuba. Fighting in two bloody engagements, nine of them

had been killed and twenty more were wounded. After the fighting for

another month they remained in Cuba and watched their ranks further

Republican, September 14, 1898. After being returned to Arizona, the flag was sealed in a glass case and placed in the governor's office, McClintock's Radio Address, January 7, 1931. At the present time the flag is in the museum of the State Capitol in Phoenix.

48. Muster Out Rolls, September 15, 1898, A, B, and C Troops, AGO. Of the original two hundred who had left Prescott with Major Brodie on May 4, two had deserted, seven had been discharged because of disease or injury, two had transferred, three had died of disease, and nine had been killed in action. The remaining absentees were still in hospitals recovering from wounds or illness. decimated by tropical disease. At long last they had rejoined their

comrades at Long Island. Those who had not died or been placed in a government hospital to recuperate from their m ilitary adventure

now started home. They had looked forward to going home for a long

time. Lieutenant Wilcox ably expressed this feeling in a letter to

Captain McGlintock: "I hope you will be soon well enough to return

4 9 to the only country on earth--A rizona.11

49. Wilcox to McGlintock, September1898, 6, McGlintock Papers, Arizona Historical Foundation. REFERENCES

Prim ary Sources

M a n u s c rip t

Personal Collections

Alexander O. Brodie Papers. Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, Arizona.

Alexander O. Brodie Papers. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Arizona Volunteer Papers. Arizona State Department of Library and Archives, Phoenix, Arizona.

Arthur H. Stockbridge Papers. Phoenix, Arizona.

Arthur L. Tuttle Papers. Salinas, California.

Buckey O'Neill Scrapbook. Sharlott Hall Museum, Prescott, A riz o n a .

David L. Hughes Papers. Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society, Tucson, Arizona.

Edwin Emerson Jr. Papers. Now in the possession of Mrs. Gwendolyn Penniman, Saratoga, California.

George B. Wilcox Papers. Now in the possession of M rs. Georgia Muir, Bisbee, Arizona.

George E. Truman Papers. Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society, Tucson, Arizona.

George P. Hamner Papers. Hollywood, Florida.

218 219

Hermann Hagedorn Papers. Notes on the Rough Riders [5 vols. j . Harvard University Library. Microfilm copies are in the University of Arizona Library.

James H. McClintock Papers. Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, Arizona.

James H. McClintock Papers. Phoenix Public Library, Phoenix, A riz o n a .

James H. McClintock Radio Addresses. Copies in Special Collections, University of Arizona Library.

Maxwell Keyes Papers. Now in the possession of Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes (Ret.), Tucson, Arizona.

Miguel A. Otero Papers. New Mexico State Archives, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Robert S. Patterson Papers, Author's files.

Robert W. Denny Papers. New Mexico State Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Roger S. Fitch Papers. City Museum, Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Library of Congress

Leonard Wood Papers.

National Archives

Adjutant General Records, Record Group 94.

Record and Pension Office Records, Record Group 94 220

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Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain. Senate Doc. 221 [8 vols. j , 56 Cong., 1 Sess., Serial 3859. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899.

Report of the Secretary of War, November 29, 1898. [Z v o l s .j , Serial 3744. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899.

United States Statutes at Large, March, 1897 to March, 1899. 55 Cong., XXX, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1900.

N e w s p a p e rs

Globe Arizona Silver Belt, 1898.

New York Sun, 1898.

New York Tim es, 1898.

Prescott Weekly Journal M iner, 1898.

Phoenix Arizona Republican, 1898, 1929, 1934.

San Antonio Daily Express, 1898.

San Antonio Daily Light, 1898.

Solomonville Arizona Bulletin, 1898.

Tampa Morning Tribune, 1898.

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B ooks

Alger, Russel A. The Spanish-American War. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1901.

Curry, George. George Curry, 1861-1947: An Autobiography. Edited by H. B. Honing. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1958,

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Emerson, Edwin Jr. Who Got There First? Regulars or Rough Riders on San Juan Hill? Questions Raised during the 50th Anniversary of the Santiago Campaign of 1898, answered by Edwin Emerson, Troop K, 1st U. S. Volunteer Cavalry of 1898. W hittier, California: Roosevelt's Rough Riders Association, c. 1948.

Hall, Tom. The Fun and Fighting of the Rough Riders. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1899.

M arshall, Edward. The Story of the Rough Riders, 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry: The Regiment in Camp and on the Battlefield. New York: G. W. Dillingham Co., 1899.

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Roosevelt, Theodore. The Rough Riders. New York: Scribner's and Sons, 1899.

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A r tic le s

Bonzal, Stephan. "The Fight for Santiago," McClure's Magazine, XI (October, 1898), 499-518.

Chamberlain, Joseph Edgar. "How the Spaniards Fought at El Caney," Scribner's Magazine, XXIV (September, 1898), 2 7 8 -8 2 .

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. "The Landing in Cuba," The Outlook, 11X (July 16, 1898), 669-72.

______. "Advance on Santiago," The Outlook, LIX (July 23, 1898), 720-22. *

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M arshall, Edward. "A Wounded Correspondent's Recollections of Las Guasim as," Scribner's Magazine, XXIV (September, 1898) 2 7 3 -7 6 .

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Personal Interviews

Arthur H. Stockbridge, formerly a private in F Troop, December 8, 1962, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Arthur L. Tuttle, formerly a private in A Troop, February 20-23, 1963, in Tucson, Arizona. Tuttle lives in Salinas, California.

Charles O. Hopping, formerly a private in F Troop, June 24, 1963, in Las Vegas. New Mexico. Hopping lives in Long Beach, California. 224

Frank C. Brito, formerly a private in I Troop, June 24, 1963, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Brito resides in Las Cruces, New M ex ico ,

Jesse D. Langdon, formerly a private in K Troop, June 24, 1963, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Langdon lives in New York.

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Millie, W alter. The M artial Spirit; A Study of Our War with Spain. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin C o., 1931.

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A r tic le s

Keen, Effie R. "Arizona's Governors," Arizona Historical Review (October, 1930), 15-16.

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Personal Interviews

Chris Emmett, Official Historian for the Rough Rider Association, November 23, 1962, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Geoffrey Keyes (lieutenant General, R et.), brother of Lieutenant Maxwell Keyes of the regim ental staff, February 22, 1963, in Tucson, Arizona. 227

Georgia Muir (M rs.), daughter of Lieutenant George B. Wilcox of B Troop, October 22, 1962, in Bisbee, Arizona.

Gwendolyn Penniman (M rs.), daughter of Private Edwin Emerson of K Troop, December 29, 1963, in Saratoga, California.

Hermann Hagedorn, author of The Rough Riders and Leonard Wood: A Biography, December 30, 1963, in Santa Barbara, California,

Robert L. Patterson, son of Lieutenant Robert S. Patterson of C Troop, December 21, 1962, in Los Angeles, California.

Tim McCoy (Colonel, R et.), an acquaintance of Leonard Wood, March 30, 1963, in Nogales, Arizona.

Will C. Nash, cousin of Sergeant Henry W. Nash of A Troop, November 2, 1962, in Phoenix, Arizona.