Rough Riders
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 at last. Before they all returned to their respective homes across the country, Colonel Roosevelt gave them a short speech that commended their efforts in the war, expressed his profound pride and reminded 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 gain their jobs back from when they lost them before leaving for war. Some, due to illness or injury, were unable to work for a long time. Money was donated by a number of wealthier supporters of the regiment and used to supplement the well being of the needy veterans, many of whom were too proud to accept the help.
A first reunion of the Rough Riders was held in the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1899. Roosevelt, then Governor of New York, attended this event. In 1948, fifty years after the Rough Riders disbandment, the U.S. Post office issued a commemorative stamp in their honor and memory. The stamp depicts 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. 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.
Rough Riders Memorial
Those attending included all Cabinet officers; Lieutenant General Adna Chaffee, the incumbent Army Chief of Staff; Secretary of the Navy Victor H. Metcalf; Major General George F. Elliott, Commandant of the Marine Corps; Rear Admiral William S. Cowles; Presidential secretary Loeb; Brigadier General J. Franklin Bell; Assistant Secretary of War Robert Shaw Oliver; Assistant Secretary of the Navy Truman Newberry; the Commissioners of the District of Columbia; and the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard. Many former Rough Riders were also present, as well as representatives of the Spanish War Veterans, Army and Navy Union, Grand Army of the Republic, Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia, United Confederate Veterans, Daughters of the American Revolution, George Washington Memorial Association, Sons of the Revolution, Union Veteran Legion, Loyal Legion, and Washington National Monument Society. Foreign dignitaries present included Jean Jules Jusserand, French ambassador to the United States; Baron Rosen, Imperial Russian ambassador to the United States; ambassadors from Brazil, Denmark, Japan, Norway, Panama, Thailand, and the United Kingdom; and the military attachés from the Embassy of Germany and Embassy of Japan.
The Rough Riders Memorial is constructed of a grey granite block tall and quarried near Barre, Vermont. In design, it is very similar to the Rough Rider monument erected at Las Guasimas in Cuba. The obelisk-like memorial is rough-hewn everywhere, except for the panels on the north, south, and east faces where the names of the dead are carved.