The Rough Riders

The advent of war with Spain was a glorious opportunity for forceful leadership not to be missed by the hotheaded young Theodore Roosevelt. He resigned his post as Assistant-Secretary of the Navy in April, 1898 and, despite the strong disapproval of family and friends, he joined the Army as Lt. Colonel of a regiment to be raised in the territories of Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. He ordered a uniform from Brooks Brothers, a dozen pairs of steel spectacles, 'a couple of good, stout, quiet horses, ' and he was off to train his volunteers at San Antonio.