 Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and The Rough Riders ~ 1898 I didn't learn about Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders while impatiently tapping my toes under a cold metal desk in a pea soup painted NYC Junior High classroom. Nope... I was busy practicing IMAGINATION , driven to distraction by the droning tempo of an eternally nasal infected History Teacher whose only passion was to DRILL RUSTY SPIKES of DATA into HARD WOOD HEADS.  Battleship Maine plot in Key West, Florida ~ Photo By Marc Averette 2008 The Spanish American War of 1898 was therefore a memorized ~ meaningless tidbit of tortured knowledge until I lived in an old Conch House across the street from the sepulchers of souls that perished when The Battleship Maine suddenly and mysteriously ! ! ! EXPLODED ! ! ! She QUICKLY SANK ... on a February nite ... taking with her the lives of 266 Naval Soldiers ... WITHOUT WARNING ! In the quiet of the tropical nights, when the palms slowly swayed in the breeze and the air held a sweet odor of frangipani, jasmine and ions, I would sit on my porch steps watching the dry lightening; feeling the solemnity of this resting place as if it had only recently happened. IF YOU'D LIKE TO VIEW AN AUTHENTIC TWO MINUTE VIDEO of the BURIAL PROCESSION of 1898, PLEASE CLICK HERE !  Battleship USS Maine destroyed in Havana Harbor ~ 1898 The Maine had been peacefully sitting in Cuba's Havana Harbor as a symbol of American intervention in The Cuban War of Independence from Spain. Despite investigations into the catastrophe, it remained unclear exactly why or how this tragedy occurred. The Ship was an armored cruiser powered by an archaic steam engine, considered outdated many years prior to going into service. She very well could have succumbed due to a fire in one of her coal bunkers. Nevertheless, Newspaper Magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer continuously published YELLOW PRESS with inflammatory articles that blatantly pointed the finger at SPAIN, capitalizing on the public's anger and pain, with full understanding that the public wanted to blame SOMEONE. Because of these articles, REMEMBER THE MAINE ! TO HELL WITH SPAIN ! became an unfortunate and common cry amongst the people. So began a series of events that led to SPAIN declaring WAR on April 23 rd., 1898.  Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in Full Rough Rider Uniform ~ 1898 President
William McKinley called for volunteers which led to the creation of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. "RECRUITS MUST BE A GOOD SHOT... ABLE TO RIDE ANYTHING IN THE LINE OF HORSEFLESH... A ROUGH AND READY FIGHTER, AND ABOVE ALL MUST HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD FEAR." Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR PART TWO Please know that your comments are welcome !!! You need NOT supply your e-mail address NOR your full name when doing so !
4 Comments
LacieLassie
1/11/2014 01:38:44 am
intresting, will be back to see what your gettng at with this.key west cemetry is very special always felt something there 1/11/2014 03:30:26 am
Thanks LacieLassie. Part two is ready for posting on Sunday evening. The years I spent in Key West had lasting affects on my life. Maybe I'll write a long story about it someday.
Jake
8/7/2017 01:56:21 pm
Interesting I never knew Hearst and Pulitzer were responsible for creating war with their fake news.Similar things are happening today. That's just evil. 8/7/2017 09:20:35 pm
Apparently it was called Yellow Press because people were figuratively being urinated on. It happens so much today that most faith has vanished and no one knows what to believe as truth anymore. If it continues it will lead into something bad. Hopefully not another war. Leave a Reply. |
 Undine DeFilippo
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