Rough Riders Encampment ~
June 1898
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, this area, a sand flat without a tree, but surrounded by an extensive forest, was the camp site of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, the most unusual regiment in the history of the U. S. Army.
The Rough Riders (1st U. S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment), 1200 strong - included cowboys, Indians, polo players, ranchers, hunters, socialites, lawmen, trappers, et al. This hodge podge group left Tampa to fight in the hills of Cuba for their belief that "All Men Should Be Free." Teddy and his horsemen became a legend in their own time.
Marker is on North Howard Avenue north of West Gray Street, on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
