Rough Riders Memorial The Rough Riders Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County , Virginia , in the United States that commemorates those members of the " Rough Riders " who died in the Spanish – American War in 1898 . The grey granite shaft was erected by surviving members of the Rough Riders and their friends and supporters . Although Arlington National Cemetery , a number of secondary sources , and even the bronze plaque on the memorial claim the monument was dedicated in 1906 ( and one source even says 1905 ) , contemporary newspaper accounts clearly show the memorial was dedicated on April 12 , 1907 . The Rough Riders . The Spanish - American War was a ten - week conflict that occurred in the spring and summer of 1898 . Cuba had been waging a war of independence against Spain since 1895 , an effort largely supported by the United States ( which had extensive economic interests on the island ) . To ensure the safety of American citizens and property in Cuba , the United States sent the battleship to Havana in late January 1898 . The " Maine " exploded and was destroyed with large loss of life on February 15 , and war was mutually declared on April 25 . With only 25 , 000 men in the United States Army but more than 100 , 000 needed to prosecute the war , Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt convinced Secretary of War Russell A . Alger that he could raise an all - volunteer force of 1 , 000 men and form a cavalry regiment . Alger offered Roosevelt a commission in the Army as a full colonel in command of a regular regiment , but Roosevelt declined . Alger agreed to Roosevelt ' s volunteer scheme , and Roosevelt resigned his post on May 6 , 1898 . Roosevelt was commissioned a lieutenant colonel of volunteers , and declined command of the regiment ( due to his military inexperience ) in favor of his friend , Colonel Leonard Wood . Although formally named the " 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry " , the press nicknamed the regiment the " Rough Riders " because most of the men were cowboy s , frontiersmen , railroad workers , Native Americans , and similar " rough " people from the West . The 1 , 060 Rough Riders departed their training camp in San Antonio , Texas , on May 29 , and arrived in Santiago de Cuba , Cuba , on June 19 . They participated in the Battle of Las Guasimas on June 24 , during which they successfully turned the right flank of a retreating Spanish Army force with superior weapons and more men . On July 1 , the regiment participated in the Battle of San Juan Hill , during which it successfully charged Kettle Hill ( the famous " charge up San Juan Hill " ) and dislodged another Spanish force with superior firepower . The first Rough Rider memorials . Two memorials to the Rough Riders , both of which would have importance for the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery , were erected in Cuba shortly after the Spanish - American War ended . One , erected by now - Brigadier General Wood out of general funds provided for Cuba ' s military occupation , was erected next to the Spanish Army blockhouse atop San Juan Hill . This memorial stood on a square concrete base , on the four corners of which were placed artillery shells . A square plinth with sunk , blank panels on all four sides stood on the base . On the plinth rose a tapered square column with a flat top . Sunk into the face of this column was a bronze plaque , which read : A second memorial , specific to the Rough Riders , was erected at Las Guasimas . The provenance of this memorial is not clear . It was , in shape , much like the one at San Juan Hill although the building materials were much different . This monument was set on a flagstone base . Rough - hewn pieces of dark grey granite were cemented together to form a rectangular plinth ( square in cross - section ) atop the flagstones . A tapered square column , made of the same rough - hewn , cemented granite , rose to a flat top . An artillery shell was placed atop the column , and a bronze plaque affixed to its face . The plaque read : The Rough Riders Association held annual reunions . The last of these was in 1905 , and no more reunions occurred until 1948 ( the 50th anniversary of the war ) . Creating the Rough Rider Memorial . It is not clear who first proposed a Rough Rider Memorial , or when the idea was first raised . However , a Rough Riders National Monument Society was organized on June 15 , 1906 . Lillian Capron , wife of Captain Allyn K . Capron , Jr . ( an Army artillery officer who died of typhoid fever in September 1898 ) , was elected president and treasurer . Eldridge E . Jordan , a prominent businessman , was elected vice president . The other members of the board of directors included Charles E . Hunter , an Oklahoma Republican politician and clerk of the Oklahoma Federal District Court ; William Henry Harrison Llewellyn , a New Mexico Territory Republican politician and United States Attorney ; Captain James R . Church , M . D . , U . S . Army ; and the Reverend Henry A . Brown , U . S . Army . All the men were former Rough Riders ( with Rev . Brown serving as the regimental chaplain . ) The society also established a memorial committee . Its members included Capron , Jordan , and the rest of the society ' s board of directors . There may have been additional members as well . The " Washington Post " reported on March 28 , 1907 , that the additional members included Maude Wildrey Towne , wife of former Representative Charles A . Towne , and John Doyle Carmody , a prominent D . C . attorney . It is unclear exactly when approval to erect the Rough Rider Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery was given . The U . S . Army Quartermaster Corps had control of Arlington National Cemetery at the time . The erection of a monument would have required the permission of either Brigadier General Charles F . Humphrey , Sr . , the Quartermaster General , or Secretary of War William Howard Taft . But no record of such permission exists . Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States on September 14 , 1901 , after the death of President William McKinley . Taft was one of Roosevelt ' s closest friends . Approval was very unlikely to be denied , and was probably given some time in May or early June 1906 . The first fundraiser for the memorial was announced June 10 , 1906 — five days before the society was formally organized . The Rough Rider Memorial was designed by Mrs . Capron , who decided to model the monument on the Rough Riders shaft erected by General Wood in Cuba . The bronze tablet on the memorial ' s face was designed by Major J . T . Knight and Major S . L . Fairson , Army officers assigned to the Quartermaster General ' s office in Washington , D . C . A fundraising campaign was undertaken to pay for the memorial . One of the first public records of the memorial campaign is from June 10 , 1906 . The " Washington Post " reported that Mrs . Capron , had organized a party to raise money for a monument . During the event , a saber was raffle d off , various donated items sold , and the United States Marine Band gave a two - hour concert . President Theodore Roosevelt donated a large number of American Beauty roses cut in the White House Rose Garden . Another fund - raiser occurred on February 8 , 1907 , when members of the 13th Cavalry and the 4th Battery , U . S . Light Field Artillery , put on a display of horsemanship at Fort Myer , adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery . President Roosevelt and most of Washington society were expected to turn out for the event . The event drew a large crowd , and raised a significant amount of money . Construction . The Rough Riders Memorial was created from grey granite quarried in Barre , Vermont . There is no information about which quarry provided the granite , or which firm did the sculpting . The monument arrived at Arlington National Cemetery by February 6 , 1907 . The block of granite was high , and the bronze tablet was also being cast . The " Washington Post " reported that the tablet included the Rough Riders insignia at the top , and that the plaque ' s tentative language read : " In memory of the deceased members of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry , Spanish - American War . Erected by the members and friends of the regiment . " The foundation for the memorial was laid on March 27 , 1907 . Present for this event were Mrs . Capron , Mrs . Towne , and Mr . Carmody . A time capsule in the form of a bronze box was placed beneath the monument . Included in the capsule were copies of each daily newspaper in Washington , D . C . ; an American flag ; and one of each American silver coin in circulation . The most prominent item in the box , however , was a copy of Theodore Roosevelt ' s book , " The Rough Riders in Cuba " . The book was autographed by President Roosevelt ; the Reverend Doctor Denis J . Stafford , rector of St . Patrick ' s Catholic Church of Washington , D . C . ; Presidential Secretary William Loeb , Jr . ; and members of the memorial committee . Dedication . The unveiling and dedication ceremony for the Rough Riders Memorial was at 4 : 30 P . M . on April 12 , 1907 . The Rough Riders Monument Society formed a committee to plan the event , and Major General George H . Harries assisted with the planning and acted as master of ceremonies . In attendance were three batteries from the U . S . Light Field Artillery , a squad of mounted soldiers from the 13th Cavalry , three companies of the District of Columbia Army National Guard , and part of a company of the D . C . Naval National Guard . Music was provided by the 13th Cavalry Band ; the Engineers ' Band from the Washington Navy Yard ; and the Brigade Band of the District of Columbia National Guard . At the time , seven Rough Riders were buried in the far western edge of what is now Section 22 ( along McPherson Avenue ) . These graves were strewn with yellow and white flowers ( the colors of the regiment ) . The dedication ceremony was a simple one . A 21 - gun salute by the artillery welcomed President Roosevelt , who was accompanied by Lieutenant General S . B . M . Young ( the recently - retired Chief of Staff of the United States Army ) and Major General Frank McCoy ( his military aide ) . Each band played a musical selection , and then Rev . Henry A . Brown provided the invocation . The crowd sang " Nearer , My God , to Thee " and then Mrs . Capron unveiled the memorial as the bands played " The Star Spangled Banner " . President Roosevelt spoke at length about patriotism and duty , and then the Rev . Dr . Stafford provided an oration on virtue . After several more musical pieces by the bands , Rev . Brown gave the benediction . " Taps " was played by a bugler , and another 21 - gun salute closed the ceremony . A wide array of dignitaries attended the dedication ceremony . These 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 attaché s from the Embassy of Germany and Embassy of Japan . About the memorial . 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 . Near the top of the front ( western face ) of the memorial is a smooth bar of granite , on which the words " ROUGH RIDERS ' " is carved in bas - relief . Below this is a rectangular dark bronze plaque whose edges are ornamented with laurel leaves ( a symbol of victory ) . At the top of the plaque is a bar which bears the name of the regiment ( " 1st . U . S . Vol . Cav . " ) . Below that are outspread wings , over which two sabre s are crossed . Appearing to hang from the sabres is the regimental insignia . An " RR " ( for Rough Riders " ) is inscribed on the insignia , and the name of the three major battles the unit fought in ( Las Guasimas , San Juan Hill , Santiago ) ring the emblem . The text on tablet reads : The memorial is formally dedicated to the memory of those Rough Riders who died in combat during the Spanish - American War . At the time of its unveiling , the names of more than 100 men had been cut into it . The total cost of the Rough Riders Memorial was $ 2 , 500 ( $ in 2018 dollars ) . The Rough Rider Monument Society planned to have the names of members of the regiment inscribed on the monument as they died , and established a self - sustaining fund to pay for this . The raising of money for the inscription fund continued long after the memorial ' s dedication . The monument society owed more than $ 1 , 000 ( $ in 2018 dollars ) for construction of the memorial . Another display of military horsemanship by the 13th Cavalry and 4th Field Artillery Battery occurred in December 1907 . President Roosevelt donated $ 100 ( $ in 2018 dollars ) at the event to help dissipate the debt . Another memorial fund - raiser , also attended by President Roosevelt , was held in April 1908 . At the funeral of General Leonard Wood in August 1927 , the approximately 400 living Rough Riders gathered for an informal reunion at Arlington National Cemetery . For many , it was the first time they had seen the Rough Riders Memorial . The memorial ' s bronze tablet and inscriptions were cleaned and conserved in the early 2000s by Gordon Ponsford , a restorer who also worked on the cemetery ' s McClellan Gate and Confederate Memorial . Dedication date . Incorrect information about the date of the Rough Rider Memorial ' s dedication is common . This may be because the bronze plaque on the front of the memorial says 1906 . Arlington National Cemetery and a number of secondary sources ( largely written by historians of the cemetery ) claim the monument was dedicated in 1906 . One source even claims it was erected in 1905 . However , contemporary newspaper accounts are clear that the memorial was dedicated on April 12 , 1907 . President Roosevelt ' s own published collection of major speeches notes that the date of dedication was April 12 , 1907 . Other historians note that the Rough Rider Memorial in Prescott , Arizona , was dedicated the same year ( 1907 ) as the Rough Riders Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery . Interestingly , the " Washington Post " reported on March 28 , 1907 , that the memorial ' s bronze tablet said " 1906 " ( even though by then three months of 1907 had nearly passed ) .