Medal of Honor · Spanish–American War
Theodore Roosevelt
Colonel, U.S. Army
- Date of Action
- July 1, 1898
- Location
- San Juan Heights, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
- Medal Presented
- January 16, 2001
- Status
- Awarded posthumously
Values Embodied
- Courage
- Patriotism
- Citizenship
Official Citation
This citation is paraphrased from public-domain histories and is pending verbatim verification against the Congressional Medal of Honor Society archive.
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt distinguished himself by acts of bravery on 1 July 1898, near Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, while leading a daring charge up San Juan Hill. Colonel Roosevelt, in total disregard for his personal safety, and accompanied by only four or five men, led a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, encouraging his troops to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside.
Facing the enemy's heavy fire, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge, and was the first to reach the enemy trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemy with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault. His leadership and valor turned the tide in the Battle of San Juan Hill.
Biography
Before the War
Theodore Roosevelt was born October 27, 1858, on East 20th Street in Manhattan — a sickly, asthmatic child who willed himself into strength through boxing, boxing lessons, and a ferocious daily program of physical exertion. By 1898 he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy and a driving force behind American readiness for war with Spain. When war was declared, he resigned his post, sought a commission, and helped raise the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry — cowboys, Ivy League athletes, frontier lawmen, and Native American volunteers who came to be known as the Rough Riders.
The Action
On July 1, 1898, the Rough Riders — dismounted, since their horses had been left in Tampa — formed up at the base of the Heights east of Santiago. Roosevelt, now a lieutenant colonel, was mounted on his horse Little Texas. He led the attack first against Kettle Hill and then across a saddle of open ground against Spanish blockhouses on San Juan Hill itself, visible to every man in both lines as he rode forward through the fire. Colonel Leonard Wood had been promoted to brigade command, leaving Roosevelt in command of the regiment.
Roosevelt was the first to the Spanish trenches on Kettle Hill, then pressed the charge onto the neighboring heights. The Spanish positions were taken; Santiago fell soon after.
After the War
Roosevelt returned from Cuba a national figure. He was elected Governor of New York that fall, Vice President in 1900, and succeeded to the Presidency in September 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. He died January 6, 1919, at Sagamore Hill on Long Island. The Medal of Honor for his actions on San Juan Heights was nominated in his lifetime, denied, and not awarded until 2001 — making him the only President to have received the Medal of Honor, and the only father and son (with Theodore Jr., for Normandy) each to have received it.