The Rough Riders was the name bestowed by the American Press on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish American War.
The 1st United States (RoughRiders) Cavalry, as is its correct name, was one of three Volunteer Cavalry regiments raised for the Spanish American War and the only one of the three to see action in 1898. The original nickname for the regiment was "Wood's Weary Walkers" after its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood and an acknowledgment of the fact that despite being a cavalry unit they ended up fighting on foot as infantry. When Colonel Wood became commander of the cavalry brigade (1st U.S. Cavalry, 10th U.S. Cavalry, and 1st U.S.V. Cavalry) the Rough Riders then became "Roosevelt's Rough Riders". That term was familiar in 1898, from Buffalo Bill who called his famous western show "Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World".
