The Rough Riders

Theodore Roosevelt wrote this firsthand account of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, the regiment he helped raise and lead during the Spanish-American War of 1898. He describes recruiting an unlikely mix of Western cowboys, lawmen, ranch hands, and Ivy League athletes, then training and shipping them to Cuba. Much of the book covers the fighting around Santiago, including the uphill assault on the San Juan Heights that turned Roosevelt into a national figure. Written with the energy that marked his public life, it blends battlefield reporting with candid praise for the ordinary soldiers he served beside. Readers get both a war narrative and a close look at the man who would soon become president. Free to download as a PDF and EPUB.