Historical Marker dedicated to the Rough Riders
- Description: This historical marker reads: "The Rough Riders Passed By Here. On June 3, 1898, when Tampa was a cluster of old weather beaten houses floating on an ocean of sand, Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders disembarked from their seven train convoy in Ybor City, five miles from Tampa City Hall. They commandeered some wagons, and moved men, material and animals, through this intersection to their encampment on the Tampa Bay Hotel Road, about one mile west of the river. The Rough Riders who "could whip Caeser's Tenth Legion," brought enduring fame to Tampa." (Erected by the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment-Rough Riders, INC., Historical Committee, Dr. Jas W. Covington, Tony Pizzo, and Hampton Dunn). The embarkation site in Tampa was most likely chosen due to Tampa developer Henry Plant's connections within the war department. During this period in which many soldiers were stationed in Tampa, the local economy flourished. While leaving Tampa, many of the troops and their horses had to be left behind because there was not enough room to transport them. Because they were forced to leave their horses in Tampa, they landed in Daiquiri. Cuba and fought on foot. In the Battle of Las Guasimas, the Rough Riders forced the Spanish to retreat. The Rough Riders have been made infamous through Wild West shows and legends.
- Keywords: Rough Riders, downtown, Tampa, Florida, historical marker
- TIFF File: A high resolution TIFF of Historical Marker dedicated to the Rough Riders (21.7 Mb) is available for download. This is a very large file suitable for printing. For most on-screen purposes, you should use the image displayed on this page instead of this TIFF.
- Source: Florida Center for Instructional Technology, Exploring Florida: Social Studies Resources
for Students and Teachers (Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, 2009)
- County: Hillsborough
- Location:
- Date of Photo: 1/7/2006
- Photographer: Roy Winkelman
