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504 Cannon House Office Building · Washington, DC 20515
For Immediate Release Teddy
Roosevelt’s Charge for Freedom “Then
I am the ranking officer here and I give the order to charge!”
said Colonel Teddy Roosevelt on a cloudless and hot July morning at
the base of a now-famous hill outside Santiago, Cuba.
The Battle of San Juan Hill had begun, but the Rough Riders
had not yet been given the order to advance.
Kettle Hill lay in front of them, and the jungle behind.
Spanish soldiers fired away from the haciendas atop the hill,
sending “sheets of lead” down on Roosevelt’s men. The
future president had had enough.
The only way to take the hill was to charge, and he gave the
order. Colonel
Roosevelt mounted his horse—it was easier to command from
horseback, though it made him an easier target.
Since their horses had been left behind in Florida, his men
charged on foot. The
Rough Riders had already suffered nearly half their casualties of
the day. The
First and Ninth regiments of regulars—positioned next to the Rough
Riders—were reluctant to follow Roosevelt’s command.
A captain of the Ninth protested, saying his orders were to
keep his men lying where they were and to await the order to
advance. “Then let my men through, sir,” was Roosevelt’s
reply. Up
the hill they went, followed very soon by the Ninth and parts of the
First regiments. Braving
a hail of bullets, and suffering many casualties, they took the
hill. Contrary to the common misunderstanding, it was this charge
up Kettle Hill that propelled Roosevelt to fame.
The Rough Riders, recruited by Roosevelt, was a diverse band
of volunteers made up of rich Eastern college boys, cowboys from the
West, Indians from Oklahoma, and Mexican-Americans from New Mexico.
The Ninth Cavalry, which fought alongside the Rough Riders, was a
black regiment (led by white officers). The
Battle of San Juan Hill forced the hand of the Spanish, whose last
hope was their fleet harbored at Santiago. The American Navy was
blockading it, and the Army advance out of the hills forced the
Spanish to mount a futile breakout attempt.
The war was all but over. The
Spanish American War was fought to free Cuba from the abuses of
Spanish rule. Though
America gained possession of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines,
the war was fought in defense of freedom.
Cuba, which was immediately made independent, is the only one
of the four territories that is not today governed democratically. Three
American generals recommended Roosevelt for the Medal of
Honor—America’s highest military award—for his conspicuous
bravery at the Battle of San Juan Hill.
An odd political offense, however, prevented it.
Large numbers of American soldiers contracted typhoid and
yellow fever during the war, many of them dying.
Roosevelt and many other officers believed the American
troops should be withdrawn immediately, but the War
Department—today’s Department of Defense—left them in Cuba
until 1902 in part because they feared they would import an epidemic
to the mainland. Roosevelt
took the lead in protesting this decision, and it cost him the
medal. His
wife reported that he regretted the loss of the medal to the day he
died. Roosevelt won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for negotiating an end to the
Russo-Japanese War, but apparently found that to be small
consolation. Rep.
Rick Lazio of New York has led a congressional effort to award the
Medal of Honor to Teddy Roosevelt posthumously.
Roosevelt’s bravery at the battle was clear to everyone who
served with him and has become legendary.
The Rough Riders suffered the highest casualty rate of the
war, 20 percent, and Roosevelt himself was wounded by shrapnel
during the battle. Congress
passed legislation two years ago authorizing the award, and the
President signed it. Roosevelt’s
great-grandson Tweed Roosevelt has lobbied hard in Washington, and
the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Defense have both
recommended that the award be made.
The formal recommendation to present the posthumous award has
been sitting for months, now, on the President’s desk awaiting his
signature. President
Clinton should waste no more time and make the award. He should give
his predecessor the honor he is due. Rep.
Pitts is currently guest-curating an exhibit of presentation albums
of American stamp proofs at the National Postal Museum in
Washington. The rare
albums were compiled during President Roosevelt’s administration
as gifts to his friends. More
information is available at http://www.si.edu/postal.
Additional information on the campaign to posthumously award
President Roosevelt the Medal of Honor is available at http://www.house.gov/lazio. |
