Note 274 — Chapter XXVIII · THE NATIONAL DEFENCE

Theodore Roosevelt was serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy when the war with Spain began in 1898. He offered to raise a volunteer cavalry regiment of cowboys from the cattle country and his offer was accepted by the government. Resigning his position in the Navy Department he organized this regiment of Rough Riders and became its lieutenant-colonel. The Rough Riders went to Cuba, where they gave a good account of themselves.