The 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment "Rough Riders", Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed for the purpose of creating a perpetuating and living memorial to the unique accomplishments of President Theodore Roosevelt and the members of his famous volunteer cavalry regiment, known as the Rough Riders. The Rough Riders played an instrumental role in the Spanish-American War when they sailed with Colonel Roosevelt from Tampa, to liberate Cuba from Spain.
It is the intent of the members of the Rough Riders to keep the Rough Riders great moments in history alive. We do this by providing activities that educate people about history and keeping our Spanish-American War Monuments intact. The Tampa Bay Rough Riders also take pride in their never-ending work for local charities and children's groups.
One of the most noted Rough Rider charitable efforts would be our famous Teddy Bear Runs. The Teddy Bear was named in honor of President Roosevelt.
The Rough Riders also provide time and financial assistance to many through college scholarships, academic achievement awards, home restorations, improvements in surroundings for those in our community who are physically challenged, and the restoration work on many Rough Rider related monuments including those located on Egmont Key.
The Rough Riders also take part in cemetery re-dedications for fallen soldiers.
Friday June 22nd, 2018 - 9:24 am
June 22, 1898 - U.S. Major General William Rufus Shafter's Fifth Army Corps begins landing at the Cuban village of Daiquirí, 16 miles (26 km) east of Santiago de Cuba. About 6,000 men land in a chaotic operation on the first day. Among the 16,888 troops are 15 regiments of regulars and three regiments of volunteers. Spanish Army Lieutenant General Arsenio Linares y Pombo has 12,000 soldiers in the surrounding hills, but does not oppose the landings. The cruiser USS Saint Paul, commanded by Captain Charles D. Sigsbee (former commander of the USS Maine), disables the Spanish Navy destroyer Terror while blockading San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Rough Riders disembark from U.S. Navy vessels onto a beach near Santiago de Cuba. Upon arrival on Cuban shores the men promptly unloaded themselves and the small amount of equipment they carried with them. Camp was set up nearby and the men were to remain there until further orders had been given to advance. Further supplies were unloaded from the ships over the next day including the very few horses that were allowed on the journey. "The great shortcoming throughout the campaign was the utterly inadequate transportation. If they had been allowed to take our mule-train, they could have kept the whole cavalry division supplied." Each man was only able to carry a few days worth of food which had to last them longer and fuel their bodies for rigorous tasks. Even after only seventy-five percent of the total number of cavalry men was allowed to embark into Cuba they were still without most of the horses they had so heavily been trained and accustomed to using. They were not trained as infantry and were not conditioned to doing heavy marching, especially long distance in hot, humid, and dense jungle conditions. This ultimately served as a severe disadvantage to the men who had yet to see combat.
Thursday June 21st, 2018 - 7:11 am
June 21, 1898 - Capture of Guam: The American protected cruiser USS Charleston arrives at the Pacific Ocean island of Guam on June 20 and fires a few warning shots in the air, which are misinterpreted by the small Spanish garrison as a salute. (The undersea telegraph was not working, and the garrison did not know war had been declared.) The Spanish garrison formally surrenders the island without a fight on June 21.
Wednesday June 20th, 2018 - 7:31 am
June 20, 1898 - U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Cuban rebels meet for the Aserraderos Conference in the small town of Aserraderos (near Santiago de Cuba). They jointly plan strategy, troop movements, and battle plans.
Tuesday June 19th, 2018 - 7:11 am
Another great and successful tournament. Top compliments and congratulations to the fishing committee. Photos by Rough Riders photographers Michael Baker and Mike Lawson
Tuesday June 19th, 2018 - 7:08 am
June, 1898 - Daiquiri, Cuba
This small village, 14 miles east of Santiago de Cuba, became a focal point of the U.S. invasion of Cuba. Spanish General Arsenio Linares y Pomba ordered the area from Daiquirí to Siboney fortified in anticipation of U.S. disembarckments there. On June 20, 1898, Admiral William T. Sampson, General William Rufus Shafter and General Calixto García planned an invasion whereby the naval would shell Daiquirí, García's Cuban troops would attack the Spaniards, and, in the meantime, U.S. ships would transport some Cuban troops to Cabañas to cut off communications and supply.
Monday June 11th, 2018 - 8:55 pm
Another great and successful tournament. Top compliments and congratulations to the fishing committee. Photos by Rough Riders photographers Michael Baker and Mike Lawson
Monday June 11th, 2018 - 8:00 am
June 10, 1898 - Invasion of Guantánamo Bay: 647 U.S. Marines land at Guantánamo Bay, beginning the invasion of Cuba.
With the decision to establish a base at Guantánamo Bay, the First Battalion of Marines, consisting of six companies of around 650 men (four infantry and one artillery company), was ordered to proceed in the converted transport USS Panther, and join the fleet off Santiago.
The First Battalion, under the command of Lt. Col. Robert W. Huntington USMC, had been undergoing battalion exercises while awaiting orders at Key West. The Panther reached Santiago on 9 June 1898.
That same day, in advance of the battalion landing, Navy Commander Bowman H. McCalla of the USS Marblehead, the officer in command of the landings, approved a camp site selected for the Marines by Lt. Col. Huntington. The site selected was a flat ridge on top of a hill, above the village on Fisherman's Point, and designated Camp McCalla.
In addition to an artillery company equipped with a battery of four 3-inch rapid-firing artillery pieces and a Model 1895 Colt–Browning machine gun, each marine was equipped with the Navy's new rapid-firing magazine rifle, the Model 1895 Lee Navy. Both the Colt machine gun and the Lee rifles used a new high-velocity smokeless powder cartridge, the 6 mm Lee Navy.
Sunday June 10th, 2018 - 4:11 pm
Another great and successful tournament. Top compliments and congratulations to the fishing committee. Photos by Rough Riders photographers Michael Baker and Mike Lawson
Thursday June 7th, 2018 - 2:58 pm
June 7, 1898 - U.S. Marines from the SS St. Louis cut the submarine telegraph cable at Guantánamo Bay, severing communication between the city of Guantánamo and the rest of Cuba.
Sunday June 3rd, 2018 - 9:40 am
June 3, 1898 - Commodore Schley's U.S. Flying Squadron, supported by Rear Admiral Sampson's U.S. North Atlantic Squadron (which arrived on June 1), attempts to block the entrance to the harbor at Santiago de Cuba by sinking the collier USS Merrimac in the main channel. Small Spanish gunboats and mines prevent the ship's proper positioning, and the harbor remains open. Assistant Naval Constructor Richmond P. Hobson and his crew of seven are captured.
The school at Gtmo is : William T Sampson , I attend it for one year :1961-1962 .
Saturday June 2nd, 2018 - 10:11 am
May 31, 1898 - The U.S. Navy's Flying Squadron exchanges fire with the Spanish Navy's Atlantic Squadron cruiser Cristobal Colon and shore batteries at Santiago de Cuba.
Tuesday May 29th, 2018 - 7:28 am
May 29, 1898 - The U.S. Navy Flying Squadron, commanded by Commodore Winfield Scott Schley, arrives off Santiago de Cuba. Schley received orders to blockade Santiago de Cuba on May 24, but futilely awaited the Spanish Atlantic Squadron off Cienfuegos first. The Flying Squadron consists of the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn; the battleships USS Iowa, USS Massachusetts, and USS Texas; and the protected cruiser USS Marblehead. The 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry — better known as the "Rough Riders" because most of the men are cowboys, frontiersmen, railroad workers, Native Americans, and similar "rough" people from the American West — depart their training camp in San Antonio, Texas. They are under the command of Colonel Leonard Wood; Theodore Roosevelt, who largely organized the unit, declines command of it. Pleading inexperience, Roosevelt accepts a commission as lieutenant colonel of volunteers and serves as Wood's subordinate.
Friday May 25th, 2018 - 12:45 pm
May 25, 1898 - The First Philippine Expedition, consisting of members of the U.S. Army's Eighth Army Corps, departs San Francisco, California, for Manila. The same day, U.S. President McKinley calls for an additional 75,000 volunteer soldiers.
Tuesday May 22nd, 2018 - 3:51 pm
May 23, 1898 - Emilio Aguinaldo declares that he has dictatorial powers over those areas of the Philippines held by Filipino rebels.
Monday May 21st, 2018 - 7:41 pm
Fishing Tournament Online Auction Part 2 is ending Tomorrow at 7PM. Take a look! There's a really nice custom humidor.
Online Auction Part 2 Ends Tuesday 7PM
tamparoughriders.org
The Online Auction Part 2 for the Fishing Tournament Committee is now LIVE! There are 17 items. This auction is ending Tue, 5/22/18 7:00 pm. Winners can pickup at the Rough Rider Clubhouse (call Carol...Saturday May 19th, 2018 - 5:16 am
May 19, 1898 - Desperately low on fuel, Admiral Cervera's Spanish Atlantic Squadron sails unopposed into the harbor at Santiago de Cuba.
Friday May 18th, 2018 - 10:46 am
A night of great food and friendship.
Monday May 14th, 2018 - 8:49 pm
The Rough Riders are proud to continue the tradition of giving back to the community and honoring our own. Ken Roop (3rd from left) accepts a donation for Special Olympics. Major Orlando Torres (2nd from left) presented newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant's Ramone Hill, Joel Galarzo and Jason Krupinski who received Rough Riders scholarships. A hardy congratulations to the Golf Committee and to past president Colonel Bonnie Tobin Stofer for Women's division "Closest to the Pin".
Saturday May 12th, 2018 - 2:54 pm
May 11, 1898 - Battle of Cárdenas: Spanish shore guns repulse a U.S. Navy effort to seize the harbor at Cárdenas, Cuba. Ensign Worth Bagley is killed; he is the only U.S. Navy officer killed in combat during the entire war. The same day, the USS Nashville and USS Marblehead send 52 United States Marines ashore at Cienfuegos, Cuba, to cut the transatlantic telegraph cables with Spain. Two of the three cables are cut, and the Marines suffer heavy casualties.
May 12, 1898 - Bombardment of San Juan: The U.S. North Atlantic Squadron sails into the harbor at San Juan, Puerto Rico, where it is believed that the Spanish Atlantic Squadron has anchored. The Spanish are not there, but Rear Admiral William T. Sampson orders the city bombed anyway. Numerous civilians die. Major General Wesley Merritt is appointed commander of the American force which will invade the Philippines. Merritt is eventually given more than 20,000 regular army and volunteer troops and told to occupy the entire Philippines.
Monday May 7th, 2018 - 9:57 pm
A great day for Golf and our scholarship fund. Photos by Rough Riders photographer Dale Roderick
Great pictures and an awesome event. Great job Rough Riders Golf golf 🏌️ ⛳️ Committee. Bully Bully!!
