8 Biographical Sketch 



was prepared for the struggle, and how well he suc- 

 ceeded the officers of Dewey's and Sampson's fleets 

 and the Bureau Chiefs in the Navy Department are 

 always abundantly able and willing to testify to. 

 As war drew near he began to make his plans for 

 his own part in it. He at first endeavored to ob- 

 tain a commission in one of the National Guard regi- 

 ments in New York which he felt sure would volun- 

 teer for the war, but this for various reasons being 

 not practicable, he determined to raise a regiment 

 of volunteer cavalry in the West. His friends in 

 Washington did everything to dissuade him from 

 this project : his wife was ill, his little children were 

 dependent on him, and it was urged that he could 

 render far more valuable service in the Navy De- 

 partment than in the field. But his purpose was in- 

 flexible. On account of his lack of experience in 

 technical military details he asked his friend, Dr. 

 Leonard Wood, an army surgeon who had had 

 much experience in Indian fighting in Arizona, to 

 take the position of Colonel, he taking that of Lieu- 

 tenant-Colonel. He persuaded the President to au- 

 thorize the raising of the ist U. S. Volunteer Cav- 

 alry on this basis. In about thirty days from the 

 issuing of this authority the regiment was recruited, 

 uniformed, drilled, armed, equipped, and transported 

 to Tampa, Florida, ready for duty. The story of 

 the Rough Riders is a household word from Maine 

 to Arizona and from Oregon to Florida. As told 

 by Roosevelt himself, it has been read by millions 

 of readers. It is the most picturesque story in our 



