Editing Theodore Roosevelt (section)

===War in Cuba===
{{Further|Rough Riders}}
[[File:Theodore Rooseveltnewtry.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Colonel Roosevelt in 1898]]
With the beginning of the [[Spanish–American War]] in 1898, Roosevelt resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Along with Army Colonel [[Leonard Wood]], he formed the [[Rough Riders|First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment]].<ref name="LOC">{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/roughriders.html | title=The World of 1989: The Spanish–American War; Rough Riders | publisher=Library of Congress | access-date=February 7, 2015 | archive-date=February 7, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207100632/http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/roughriders.html | url-status=live }}</ref> His wife and many friends begged Roosevelt to remain in Washington, but Roosevelt was determined to see battle. When the newspapers reported the formation of the new regiment, Roosevelt and Wood were flooded with applications.{{Sfn|Miller|1992|pp=272–274}} Referred to by the press as the "Rough Riders", it was one of many temporary units active only during the war.{{Sfn|Samuels|1997|p=148}}

The regiment trained for several weeks in [[San Antonio, Texas]]; in his autobiography, Roosevelt wrote that his experience with the [[New York National Guard]] enabled him to immediately begin teaching basic soldiering skills.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roosevelt |first=Theodore |date=2014 |title=Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwHCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 |publisher=The Floating Press |page=244 |isbn=978-1-77653-337-4 |access-date=February 9, 2015 |archive-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119023721/https://books.google.com/books?id=TwHCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 |url-status=live }}</ref> Diversity characterized the regiment, which included [[Ivy League]]rs, athletes, frontiersmen, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], hunters, miners, former soldiers, tradesmen, and sheriffs. The Rough Riders were part of the cavalry division commanded by former Confederate general [[Joseph Wheeler]]. Roosevelt and his men landed in [[Daiquirí]], Cuba, on June 23, 1898, and marched to [[Siboney, Cuba|Siboney]]. Wheeler sent the Rough Riders on a parallel road northwest running along a ridge up from the beach. Roosevelt took command of the regiment; he had his first experience in combat when the Rough Riders met Spanish troops in a skirmish known as the [[Battle of Las Guasimas]]. They fought their way through Spanish resistance and, together with the Regulars, forced the Spaniards to abandon their positions.<ref name="The Rough Riders">{{Cite book | last = Roosevelt | first = Theodore | author-link = Theodore Roosevelt | year = 1898 | chapter-url = http://www.bartleby.com/51/ | title = The Rough Riders | chapter = III | page = 2 | publisher = Bartleby | access-date = August 8, 2008 | archive-date = July 23, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080723190331/http://bartleby.com/51/ | url-status = live }}</ref>[[File:TR San Juan Hill 1898.jpg|thumb|Colonel Roosevelt and the [[Rough Riders]] along with members of the 3rd Volunteers and the [[10th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|10th Cavalry Regiment]] after capturing [[Kettle Hill]] in [[Cuba]] during the [[Spanish-American War]] in July 1898]] On July 1, in a combined assault with the Regulars, under Roosevelt's leadership, the Rough Riders became famous for charges up [[Kettle Hill]] and San Juan Hill. Roosevelt was the only soldier on horseback, as he rode back and forth between rifle pits at the forefront of the advance up Kettle Hill, an advance that he urged despite the absence of orders. He was forced to walk up the last part of Kettle Hill because his horse had been entangled in [[barbed wire]]. The assaults would become known as the Battle of San Juan Heights. The victories came at a cost of 200 killed and 1,000 wounded.{{Sfn|Brands|1997|p=356}}

In August, Roosevelt and other officers demanded the soldiers be returned home. Roosevelt recalled San Juan Heights as "the great day of my life". After returning to civilian life, Roosevelt preferred to be known as "Colonel Roosevelt" or "The Colonel"; "Teddy" remained much more popular with the public, though Roosevelt openly despised that moniker.<ref name= HandyBook>{{cite book| last= Matuz| first = Roger | title = The Handy Presidents Answer Book | url= https://archive.org/details/handypresidentsa0000matu| url-access= registration| year = 2004 | publisher=Visible Ink Press| isbn = 978-0-7808-0773-0 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}}