Editing Rough Riders (section)

=== Disbandment ===
On the morning of September 15, 1898, the regimental property including all equipment, firearms and horses were turned back over to the United States government. The soldiers said one last good-bye to each other and the United States First Volunteer Cavalry, Roosevelt's Rough Riders, was disbanded. Before they returned to their homes across the country, Colonel Roosevelt gave them a short speech commending their efforts, expressing his profound pride, and reminding them that although heroes, they would have to integrate back into normal society and work as hard as everyone else. Many of the men were unable to regain the jobs they had before leaving to join the war. Some, due to illness or injury, were unable to work. A number of wealthier supporters donated money to help the needy veterans, though many were too proud to accept.<ref name=TR />{{rp|134–138}}

[[File:Rough Riders-3c.jpg|thumb|220px|US Postage Stamp, 1948 issue, commemorating 50th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders.]]
A first reunion of the Rough Riders was held in the [[Plaza Hotel (Las Vegas, New Mexico)|Plaza Hotel]] in [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]], in 1899.<ref>{{cite web|ref={{harvid|New Mexico History / Plaza Hotel}}|url=http://tripsintohistory.com/2012/07/23/new-mexico-history-plaza-hotel/ |title=New Mexico History / Plaza Hotel|date=2012-07-23|work=Trips into History|access-date=2014-07-31}}</ref> Roosevelt, then [[Governor of New York]], attended this event.<ref name=Harris2006 /> Of the contributions of the New Mexicans and Southwesterners to the Rough Riders, Roosevelt said; {{Blockquote|
text=The majority of you Rough Riders came from the Southwest. I shall ever keep in mind the valor you showed as you charged up the slope of San Juan Hill. I owe you men... . If New Mexico wants to be a state, I will go down to Washington to speak for her and do anything I can.<ref name=NM />}}
Roosevelt would go on to be a strong proponent for Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona's statehood during his time in the [[Oval Office]], even making it a plank of the [[1900 United States presidential election|1900 Republican party]] platform.<ref name="BRAE">{{cite journal |last1=Braeman |first1=John |title=Albert J. Beveridge and Statehood for the Southwest 1902–1912 |journal=Arizona and the West |date=1968 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=313–342 |jstor=40167336 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40167336 |access-date=6 March 2021 |issn=0004-1408}}</ref>

In 1948, 50 years after the Rough Riders disbandment, the U.S. Post office issued a commemorative stamp in their honor and memory. The stamp depicts [[Buckey O'Neill|Captain William Owen "Bucky" O'Neill]], who was killed in action while leading troop A at the [[Battle of San Juan Hill]], July 1, 1898.<ref name=Roughriders>[[#riders|Smithsonian National Postal Museum: Rough Riders Issue]]</ref> The Rough Riders continued to have annual reunions in Las Vegas until 1967, when the sole veteran to attend was Jesse Langdon. He died in 1975.<ref name=Harris2006>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Richard K.|title=New Mexico|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-T9BaLT118C&pg=PA163|access-date=2014-07-31|date=2006-11-01|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-0-7627-4205-9}}{{dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>