Category: Soldiering

Man Describes Surviving an Indian Battle in 1868 – Wild West – Interview in 1930

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 23, 2022
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How Forward Observers Operate in the Military to Coordinate Artillery

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 22, 2022
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All About Guns Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad Leadership of the highest kind Manly Stuff Soldiering This great Nation & Its People

AYOOB FILES: CONSUMMATE MARINE CHESTY PULLER, .45 IN HAND! WRITTEN BY MASSAD AYOOB

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 22, 2022
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Situation: Famous as a leader in combat, Chesty Puller was a skillful pistol fighter as well.

Lesson: Training, skill and the best equipment are enormously helpful. Perhaps most important, though, is the fighting spirit that made General Puller a legend. And … a pre-war start in guns and hunting can shape a more survivable combatant.

Lewis “Chesty” Puller. In his time, his name was a household word, and if asked “Who was the most famous U.S. Marine?” — many people today would answer, “Chesty Puller.” He first made his mark in “police actions” in places like Haiti, rose to fame in the South Pacific campaign during World War II, and became solidified in legend by leading the Breakout in the Korean conflict.

There are many books about Puller. Most focus on his leadership and courage. One book is even devoted to his famous quotes. But most give short shrift to the general’s formidable pistol fighting skills.

Burke Davis (1913-2006) was the author of many historical non-fiction books, specializing in war and warriors. One of his trademarks was a personal touch, with deep insights into the heroes about whom he wrote. One of Davis’ classics is Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller, subtitled The Only Marine in History to Win Five Navy Crosses.

It is to Burke Davis we are primarily indebted for the following accounts of General Puller’s pistol fights, his training and background with guns and his general attitude toward related matters.

Puller In Combat

Puller’s first deployments were in Haiti and Nicaragua, supporting friendly governments who were fighting anti-American insurgents. In the latter country in 1929, he found himself traveling with a Thompson submachine gun, cased with ample spare ammunition.

Two years later, he found himself fighting for his life with his .45 pistol in Nicaragua. Davis tells us, “They were more than a hundred miles from Jinotega, Company M marching over open country on high ground beside the swift Cua River. Puller and (Col. William) Lee were not far apart when they saw, almost at the same instant, a native dugout canoe speed around a bend to their rear, bearing two men. One of these men fired, wildly. There was also a burst of rifle fire from across the river — another attempt at ambush.

“Puller reacted as usual. He ran at top speed toward the riverbank, straight for the canoe, pulling his pistol as he went. He fired in motion, and one of the canoeists fell across the gunwale. The patrol killed the other Indian, and when men splashed across the river, they found the band had fled.

“Lee thought Puller’s action a climax of the fighting in Nicaragua: ‘It was the greatest field shot I ever saw. He shot that bird from 15 to 25 yards away from that canoe, going at full speed, and the canoe moving, too. He drilled him right in the ear, so perfectly that we looked over the body for several minutes before finding the wound. He had shot him precisely in the opening of the ear. I don’t think such shooting was accidental.’” (1)

Some of the accounts of Puller’s personal engagement in combat are sketchy and short on details. Here is one, from when he was a Colonel on Guadalcanal: “A grenade fell near the Old Man — no more than eight yards away, Captain Zach Cox estimated, but Puller turned when he saw A Company scatter and yelled: ‘Oh, that damned thing ain’t going off.’ It helped steady the men. The grenade was a dud. Cockrell’s B Company was being cut up in the woods by snipers in trees with light machine guns, and fire from Puller’s front became spotty. The fight was now at close quarters: The Colonel had killed three men with his .45 — one of them a Japanese major.” (2)

There were many men in combat along with Puller who were glad they, too, were carrying pistols. One was Captain Regan Fuller, who spoke of an experience he had on Guadalcanal. “It was rough country, up and down everywhere, with plenty of cover. I sent one of my boys, Corporal Turner, up a grassy hill to our right, where we were trying to persuade the Old Man to stop for the night. I walked behind Turner — and we almost stepped on two Japs who were eating rice by a hidden fire at the base of a big tree. They were as astonished as we were, and we all scrambled. I fired three clips from my .45 and killed one of them, but the other ran down the trail toward our main body. Turner’s squad had deployed into line behind us. There was a little shooting, and then quiet …” (3)

The Guns Of Chesty Puller

Most of the time when an enemy was killed by Puller’s own hand, it appears to have been with his service pistol.

While there exists a photo of Puller shooting offhand with a very long barreled, non-issue DA revolver, virtually all the photos of him in the South Pacific and Korea depict him wearing a standard .45 auto. Burke Davis’ anecdotes all refer to him using a .45. I’ve been unable to find if or where Puller’s sidearm still exists today. Most photos of him wearing it are taken from the front, so we can’t see whether it wore a flat (1911) or arched (1911A1) mainspring housing.

There actually exists a chest holster named the Chesty Puller, but it appears to be a modern play on the great Marine’s nickname. In every photo I’ve seen of him in combat theaters, his .45 is in a standard issue flap holster on his right hip, backed up with a web double magazine pouch at the left front of his web belt. While many military officers did carry their .45s in the tanker-style chest holster during WWII, I’ve seen no indication Puller was one of them. He became a Marine early enough he was presumably issued a 1911, since the A1 dates to relatively late in the 1920s. Of course, if he preferred the 1911A1’s features (slightly better sights, longer grip tang to minimize hand bite, shorter trigger, arched housing), he had the “pull” to requisition one once they became available.

In any case, whenever Puller personally fought with a pistol in hand, it was the government-issue pistol known colloquially in his time as simply “the .45 automatic.”

Puller had specific opinions on other small arms. Pictures of him in the field almost invariably show him wearing a pistol and two spare magazines, and he expected fighting men to be constantly armed when in danger zones. Davis writes of one day when Col. Puller was selecting staff members: “When he was choosing his intelligence officers, his exec pointed out a major sent in for the purpose by headquarters. Puller scoffed loudly, ‘Hell, that man hasn’t even got on a weapon. Find me another one.’” (4)

Only The Best For His Men

He also worked hard to make sure his troops had ample ammunition. Again, from Burke Davis: “As the time for a new campaign drew near, Puller drove his staff to complete the last detail in preparation. He warned the regimental supply officer, an Army Quartermaster general, was to check their requisitions. ‘Notify me at once when he arrives,’ Puller said. ‘I want to explain things in person.’

“The Army general arrived when Puller was out, and the lieutenant took the inspector to the supply dump. Puller found them there and overheard their conversation:

“‘Lieutenant, your requisitions are excessive.’

“‘I’m sure Colonel Puller would never have signed for more than we need, sir.’

“‘But he’s asked for 10,000 brass buckshot shells. What the devil does he want with those?’

“‘To kill Japs with, sir.’

“‘Doesn’t Colonel Puller know buckshot is prohibited by the Geneva Convention?’

“‘Sir, Colonel Puller doesn’t give a damn about the Geneva Convention — any more than the Japs did at Pearl Harbor.’” (5)

It should be noted short barrel pump shotguns were indeed used in the Pacific Theater. My late mentor, Bill Jordan, a veteran of that campaign, told me he used a Winchester slide-action trench gun and an S&W 1917 .45 revolver when clearing enemy pillboxes in the island campaign. The brass buckshot shells had been requisitioned because paper shells swelled up in the heat and humidity there, getting stuck in the magazines and chambers.
Puller’s demands for the best equipment for his Marines weren’t limited to guns and ammo. Wrote Davis, “(Puller) spoke to War Production Board officials in Washington: ‘I want to ask you why American troops shouldn’t have the world’s best fighting equipment. On Guadalcanal we saw our trenching shovels break at the first use. All of our men now have Jap shovels because they’re better and more dependable. Jap field glasses are better, too. I have good ones myself, German glasses I’ve carried for 20 years. Why should American glasses be so poor? Not worth a damn in the tropics. They fog up because they are improperly sealed, and once they get damp, they’re done for. I’ve seen hundreds of pairs tossed away in the jungle or the sea, because men know they can see as well with the naked eye. What kind of American ingenuity — or patriotism — produced those?’”
Yet, curiously, Puller wasn’t a fan of the M-1 Garand that George S. Patton had called “the best battle implement ever devised.” Davis reports the following:

“There was a squabble between A Company and some of the 164th Army men, for Regan Fuller’s men had bartered for, or stolen, some new M-1 rifles during the big night’s fighting, and Army officers wanted them returned. The Colonel was amused by the affair. For himself, he favored the old rifle they brought to Guadalcanal: ‘For sheer accuracy, if you want to kill men in battle, there has never been a rifle to equal the Springfield 1903. Others may give us more firepower, but in ability to hit a target, nothing touches the old ’03. In my opinion, nothing ever will. A perfect weapon, if ever there was one.’” (6)

The following seems contradictory to the above, but Davis noted, “… Puller was asked by Marine Corps Headquarters for a full report on his experiences with the Thompson submachine gun under field conditions and sent in an enthusiastic report on the weapon’s value on patrol.” (7)

Puller’s Training & Quals

While based in Hawaii, having shot Expert Rifleman five years running, Puller was affronted when a grizzled sergeant offered to teach him to shoot. When the sarge promised to bring his rifle score up 20 points in two weeks, Puller accepted the challenge. Davis reported, “Puller became the sergeant’s pupil, shooting when targets became vacant during the training, and shot an average of two bandoleers daily. He improved rapidly, and brought his record score from 306 to 326, of a possible 350. During all these years he qualified as expert with both rifle and pistol, and when a rifle team was sent from Pearl Harbor to a competition in San Diego in 1928, Puller was a member.” (8)

Davis adds, “… in the first report period, Puller posted an average score in bayonet drill; a fellow Marine, Lieutenant Gerald Thomas, finished 10 places ahead of him. But in marksmanship, with the automatic pistol, he ranked as expert, with a score of 91.13 out of 100 points. As a rifleman, he fired 335 of a possible 350, and stood 16th in the class of officers. He also ranked as expert with the machine gun, in which he stood high in the top third of the class, with a score of 340.” (9)

The quality of marksmanship training in the United States Marine Corps is, of course, legendary. That said, Puller famously credited his survival and many of his accomplishments in battle to having been a young armed citizen before he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Born in Virginia, he learned guns and hunting early. He was about 10 years old when cancer took his father, and he supplemented the larder by shooting small game and wild turkeys. He became a trapper, selling muskrat pelts to pay for his ammunition. “Lewis learned both accuracy and frugality, for he bought his own ammunition,” biographer Davis wrote. (10)

Another writer, Michael Martin, wrote, “After his military fighting career was over many years later, Chesty noted he learned more about the art of war by hunting and trapping than he learned from any school. He insisted the skills he learned as a kid, living off the land, saved his life many times in combat.” (11)

Lessons

The constant presence of his sidearm saved Chesty Puller’s life more than once. It is no surprise you see his holstered .45 in almost every photograph taken of him in a combat environment, from his early days in the banana republics to the Pacific Theater to Korea. Note he insisted all his men be within reach of their guns in combat environments, at all times. It saved his life multiple times over … and, doubtless, the lives of many of his troops, including Captain Regan Fuller, as noted above.

Puller was a contemporary and friend of Herman Hanneken in his early combat days. Hanneken was the man who had killed the revolutionary leader Charlemagne Peralte in Haiti in 1919, with a single .45 slug to the heart from Hanneken’s USMC-issue Colt 1911. Puller had doubtless incorporated this knowledge into his trust in the same weapon, which he learned to keep constantly close.

His critics felt too many USMC casualties had accrued from Puller’s aggressive tactics, while his defenders argued those aggressive tactics were what won his major victories. Both sides need to remember Puller was a casualty himself, blown up on Guadalcanal with shrapnel savaging his legs, yet he returned to lead from the front sooner than his doctors wanted. Many who served under him were heard to say they’d follow him into Hell … and that he actually led them there and did his damnedest to get them back out after they’d won.

It is vital to remember this legendary Marine gave credit to his survival and victories to the hunting and shooting skills he learned in boyhood and adolescence. This sort of “pre-service preparation” has served American fighting men since the beginning of our nation. Woods-wise citizen soldiers with their own rifles and muskets won the Revolutionary War. The National Rifle Association was founded in 1871 by Yankee officers who had noted the superior fighting ability of individual Confederate soldiers who had grown up hunting and shooting. Sergeant Alvin York in WWI, WWII’s most decorated soldier Audie Murphy, Carlos Hathcock in Vietnam and Chris Kyle in the most recent conflict all fit the same mold: super-soldiers whose skill at arms had been developed before they joined up. This heritage is one reason why we at the Second Amendment Foundation where I currently serve as interim president have brought lawsuits to allow young Americans ages 18 to 20 to buy their own AR15s and prepare for a career defending their nation with firearms similar to the faster-shooting true assault rifles they’ll be issued when asked to die for their country.

There is much, much more to the history and legacy of Lewis “Chesty” Puller than can be presented in this short space. We conclude with thanks to the late biographer Burke Davis, who gave us so many valuable details from this particular side of the Puller legend. He is the one to thank for what you’ve just read; hell, I merely “wrote the book report.”

For more info: SAF.org. References: 1) Davis, Burke, Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller, P. 56. 2) Ibid., P. 118. 3) Ibid., P. 118. 4) Ibid., P. 181. 5) Ibid., Pp. 169–170. 6) Ibid., P. 148. 7) Ibid., P. 61. 8) Ibid., P. 46. 9) Ibid., P. 61. 10) Ibid., P. 9. 11) Martin, Michael. “Chesty” Puller and the Southern Military Tradition, Abbeville Institute Press, 2018.

Soldiering

A Combat Badge Does Not a Soldier Make BY ANGRY STAFF OFFICER

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 13, 2022
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Today’s guest post comes from Tim Shea (@trshea88), a former U.S. Army Captain hailing from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s now defunct 4^th Stryker Brigade. In 2014, Tim traded the green pastures of Army life for the exhilarating, cutthroat world of economic development consulting. He maintains his sanity by writing here.

To all the badge, tab, etc. lovers out there, let me start with this: I’m one of you. I graduated top of my Field Artillery officer basic course class in March 2010, earned my Ranger tab on July 16^th of the same year, and pinned on jump wings a month after that. My CAB came two years later with a blindingly fast and utterly inconsequential gunfight outside a Kuchi camp in Afghanistan’s Panjwai district. It’s a moment I’ll carry with me until the day I die.

Two years removed from the Army, I’m still proud of my CAB; I carry the battered and faded original with me everywhere on a key chain. But those intervening years have also taught me that a $7 scrap of metal did not make me a better soldier. In fact, combat badges (whatever your preferred variety) don’t make anyone a better soldier, and it’s a minor tragedy that we imply otherwise. Here’s why:

The Enemy Always Has a Say

When I returned from my deployment, I was plagued by a vague sense of guilt about my still-badgeless buddies. All around me were fellow officers who were my equals—if not my superiors—in every facet of the art of war, deprived of the same honor I carried proudly on my chest. These officers had done nothing wrong. They’d performed their jobs well, risked their lives on multiple combat patrols, and even volunteered for several dangerous assignments. In every instance, though, they came up short. Why? Because the enemy didn’t want to play.

It’s an undeniable truth that more than any other promotion, school, or military achievement, combat experience is a matter of chance. You can do everything in your power to pick a fight with the enemy. Short of deliberately triggering a pressure plate, though, you can’t make them engage you. That’s not a sign of incompetence or cowardice. In a perverse twist of fate, it’s often the exact opposite. I’ll never forget when we got credible intelligence as to why a subset of our AO was so quiet. It was because the local tactical operations center (TOC) was so proficient at coordinating airstrikes via intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) that Taliban fighters were terrified to move through the area under arms. Many of the soldiers manning that TOC never got their badges. Are they somehow worthy of contempt?

The Award System is Rife with Bureaucracy

June of 2013 saw my platoon escorting elements of our Battalion liaison team so they could, well, liaise with the Afghan National Army. As we rolled into the Afghan COP, we started taking sporadic but fairly accurate fire from some yahoo in the brush. We posted our Strykers on the run ups, the ANA lobbed some mortars his way, and that was pretty much that. Later I was filling out the requisite paper work for the day’s combat badges when one of the liaison team—an objectively worthless turd of an infantry Lieutenant—walked into my office and actually asked me if we had taken fire that day. That’s right, he had slept through his first (and only) brush with combat but was awarded a CIB anyway because regs are regs and it wasn’t my place to say otherwise.

As frustrating as that was, there was a second incident of even greater injustice. Coming back from the district shura, my patrol got involved in a brief but intense TIC in support of the local police. Manning one of my Stryker’s hatches was a medic assigned to our Civil Affairs team. He bravely exposed himself to incoming rounds, scanned his sector, and otherwise performed admirably under fire. Upon returning to base I submitted him for a CMB which was promptly kicked back because he hadn’t treated a casualty. Fair enough. I then submitted him for a CAB which was also kicked back because his command didn’t want him earning both a CAB and CMB in the same deployment. Like some kind of Kafkaesque nightmare, this kid was denied his due recognition because, well, I’m honestly still not sure.

Badges aren’t Forword Looking

One of my biggest frustrations as a fresh Lieutenant was an NCO who thought his previous combat experience was everything. Don’t get me wrong, he’d done his job in some pretty hellacious circumstances and I respected the hell out of him for that. What I had no respect for was the fact he thought that experience gave him a free pass. After numerous counselings for substandard performance, I kicked his ass out of the Army.

There’s a powerful lesson in there for soldiers both old and young. At the end of the day, badges (and tabs, and medals) are all about what you did. Yes, those actions are a source of pride, and experience, combat related or otherwise, can be invaluable. But the military is a forward looking organization. It doesn’t care if you displayed Audie Murphy levels of heroism on your last deployment. If you don’t come back willing to use that experience to train new soldiers and build your team for the next war, then you have no business staying in the military. If you can’t recognize that many yet unproven soldiers will perform just fine when they face the enemy, then you have no business staying in the military. If you treat people like crap because the stars didn’t align for them the same way they did for you, then you’re just not a decent person. It’s that simple.

Allies Soldiering

British Army Uniform Evolution from 1770 to Current | 230 Years of British History

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 9, 2022
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I myself could not even imagine fighting in many of these outfits or being in oh say India with such gear. But I guess that I am a wimp at heart. Grumpy

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The Garheads showing off!

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Post date July 9, 2022
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All About Guns Soldiering

120mm Heavy Mortars in Action! Swedish Mortar Team Conduct Live Fire Exercise

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Post date July 6, 2022
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A Victory! Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad I am so grateful!! Soldiering Stand & Deliver The Green Machine War

Where the Show started – An April Morning – Conflict on Lexington Green

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Post date July 4, 2022
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Combat is never what you expect it to be! Grumpy

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEDAL OF HONOR by Alex Hollings

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 3, 2022
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The Medal of Honor is the highest award for military valor bestowed by the United States of America, and has earned a rightful place in the popular culture of our nation. In a country where there is often a significant gap between the military community and civilian populace, the Medal of Honor reaches beyond the cultural gatekeeping of military service to the nation as a whole: Whether you have an affiliation with the United States military or not, we all recognize the award as representative of some of America’s most important ideals: bravery, courage, sacrifice, and integrity.

But beyond the basic premise of the award, many may not know much about the history of America’s greatest military honor.

It was invented by an Iowa Senator

James Grimes, a Whig and then Republican Senator our of Iowa, held office during America’s Civil War and beyond, working first to prevent the war and then as a part of reconstruction thereafter. In December of 1861, with the Civil War raging, Grimes submitted a bill authorizing the issuance of “medals of honor” to be presented to enlisted Seamen and Marines who “distinguish themselves by gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities” during the conflict.

Today’s Medals of Honor have seen significant changes since Senator Grimes first proposed them, both aesthetic and legislative, but the intent behind the award remains unchanged. Since the very inception of this nation, service members have fought to defend their nation’s populace, and the freedom they hold so dear. This service warrants recognition in itself, but among these warriors are those who go even further, who risk greatly on behalf of others, who make sacrifices for their brothers and sisters in uniform, for their nation, and for us all. These pivotal characters deserve a higher distinction than more pervasive awards for valor. These heroes deserve the Medal of Honor.

The first battle that earned a Medal of Honor happened before the medal existed

On February 13, 1861, Bernard J. D. Irwin (later, Brigadier General Irwin) was the first person to earn a Medal of Honor in battle, though the award itself would not be proposed for nearly another year.

Irwin and 14 of his men pursued a group of Native Americans who had taken American troops hostage. Irwin and his men caught up with the group, and rather than immediately engaging, he quickly and quietly distributed his troops around the area, allowing him to act as though he had a far larger force with him than it seemed.

The ruse worked, and the Native Americans fled, leaving Irwin and his team to recover most of the hostages. They then pursued the captors until successfully recovering a kidnapped boy, the last hostage. Irwin wouldn’t be presented with the Medal of Honor for his heroism until more than three decades later.

Officers were not eligible

With Medals of Honor established for the Navy and Marines, and another for the Army by 1863, it wasn’t until March of that year that Army officers became eligible for the award. Officers in the Navy and Marine Corps wouldn’t become eligible for nearly fifty more years.

There are actually three different Medals of Honor

The first Medals of Honor, as proposed by Senator Grimes, were specifically for enlisted Sailors and Marines in 1861. The Army followed suit, establishing their own Medal of Honor in 1862. The U.S. Air Force would not have a Medal fo Honor for nearly another century, first introduced in 1965.

Today, there is one Medal of Honor for the Army, one for the Air Force, and one for the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.

What does it take to earn a Medal of Honor?

The short answer is, performing above and beyond the call of duty in the face of danger tends to be the sort of action that leads to receiving a Medal of Honor. The formal language established by Congress in 1963 says it can be awarded for heroism:

While engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States
While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force
While serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party

The U.S. Army took back 911 Medals of Honor

New designs and regulations pertaining to the Medal of Honor continued to find their way into the books, prompting the U.S. Army to revisit each of the Medals of Honor they had awarded in the past. An Army board was convened, tasked with pouring over the reports and associated documents relating to each Medal of Honor awarded to Soldiers in their branch.

By 1917, the audit was complete, and the U.S. Army had removed 911 Medals of Honor from Soldier’s service records, saying that they had been “erroneously bestowed.”

It comes with a paycheck

There are a number of military and civilian benefits associated with being awarded the Medal of Honor, and at least two come in the form of cold hard cash.

Living Medal of Honor recipients received a monthly pension of $1,406.73, as well as a supplemental clothing allowance of $841.36 once a year. Medal of Honor recipients also see a 10% increase in their retirement pay.

In 2013, timeliness became a factor

Rules and regulations pertaining to the Medal of Honor continued to mature over the decades. By 2013, Congress voted on new rules for how and when the award can be bestowed.

Today, a Medal of Honor recipient must be recommended for the award within just three years of the combat action prompting the recommendation, and the award must be presented within five. It’s important to note, however, that exceptions can be made through legislation, as may soon be the case with former U.S. Army Soldier Alwyn Cashe.

Alex Hollings

Alex Hollings is a writer, dad, and Marine veteran who specializes in foreign policy and defense technology analysis. He holds a master’s degree in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.

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Allies Darwin would of approved of this! Dear Grumpy Advice on Teaching in Today's Classroom Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad Leadership of the highest kind Soldiering This great Nation & Its People

Now here was a Man! One of my Icons TR

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 1, 2022
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A picture of President Theodore Roosevelt — Portrait of U.S. President Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Patricia Daniels

Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States, ascending to the office following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901.
At 42, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest president in the nation’s history and was subsequently elected to a second term. Dynamic in personality and filled with enthusiasm and vigor, Roosevelt was more than a successful politician. He was also an accomplished writer, a fearless soldier and war hero, and a dedicated naturalist.

Considered by many historians to be one of our greatest presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is one of the four whose faces are depicted on Mount Rushmore. Theodore Roosevelt was also the uncle of Eleanor Roosevelt and the fifth cousin of the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Dates: October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919
Presidential Term: 1901-1909
Also Known As: “Teddy,” TR, “The Rough Rider, “The Old Lion,” “Trust Buster”
Famous Quote: “Speak softly and carry a big stick—you will go far.”

Childhood

Theodore Roosevelt was born the second of four children to Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt on October 27, 1858 in New York City. Descended from 17th-century Dutch immigrants who made their fortune in real estate, the elder Roosevelt also owned a prosperous glass-importing business.
Theodore, known as “Teedie” to his family, was an especially sickly child who suffered from severe asthma and digestive problems his entire childhood.

As he grew older, Theodore gradually had fewer and fewer bouts of asthma. Encouraged by his father, he worked to become physically stronger through a regimen of hiking, boxing, and weightlifting.

Young Theodore developed a passion for natural science at an early age and collected specimens of various animals.

He referred to his collection as “The Roosevelt Museum of Natural History.”

Life at Harvard

In 1876, at the age of 18, Roosevelt entered Harvard University, where he quickly earned a reputation as an eccentric young man with a toothy grin and a tendency to chatter constantly. Roosevelt would interrupt professors’ lectures, injecting his opinion in a voice that has been described as a high-pitched stammer.
Roosevelt lived off campus in a room that his older sister Bamie had chosen and furnished for him. There, he continued his study of animals, sharing quarters with live snakes, lizards, and even a large tortoise. Roosevelt also began work on his first book, The Naval War of 1812.
During the Christmas holiday of 1877, Theodore Sr. became seriously ill. Later diagnosed with stomach cancer, he died on February 9, 1878. Young Theodore was devastated at the loss of the man he had so admired.

Marriage to Alice Lee

In the fall of 1879, while visiting the home of one of his college friends, Roosevelt met Alice Lee, a beautiful young woman from a wealthy Boston family. He was immediately smitten. They courted for a year and became engaged in January 1880.
Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in June 1880.

He entered Columbia Law School in New York City in the fall, reasoning that a married man should have a respectable career.

On October 27, 1880, Alice and Theodore were married. It was Roosevelt’s 22nd birthday; Alice was 19 years old. They moved in with Roosevelt’s mother in Manhattan, as Alice’s parents had insisted they do.
Roosevelt soon tired of his law studies. He found a calling that interested him far more than the law—politics.

Elected to the New York State Assembly

Roosevelt began to attend local meetings of the Republican Party while still in school. When approached by party leaders—who believed his famous name might help him win—Roosevelt agreed to run for the New York State Assembly in 1881. Twenty-three-year-old Roosevelt won his first political race, becoming the youngest man ever elected to the New York State Assembly.
Brimming with confidence, Roosevelt burst upon the scene at the state capitol in Albany. Many of the more seasoned assemblymen derided him for his dandified apparel and upper class accent. They ridiculed Roosevelt, referring to him as the “young squirt,” “his Lordship,” or simply “that fool.”
Roosevelt quickly made a reputation as a reformer, supporting bills that would improve working conditions in factories. Re-elected the following year, Roosevelt was appointed by Governor Grover Cleveland to head a new commission on civil service reform.
In 1882, Roosevelt’s book, The Naval War of 1812, was published, receiving high praise for its scholarship. (Roosevelt would go on to publish 45 books in his lifetime, including several biographies, historical books, and an autobiography. He was also a proponent of “simplified spelling,” a movement in support of phonetic spelling.)

Double Tragedy

In the summer of 1883, Roosevelt and his wife purchased land at Oyster Bay, Long Island in New York and made plans to build a new home. They also discovered that Alice was pregnant with their first child.
On February 12, 1884, Roosevelt, working in Albany, received word that his wife had delivered a healthy baby girl in New York City. He was thrilled by the news, but learned the following day that Alice was ill. He quickly boarded a train.
Roosevelt was greeted at the door by his brother Elliott, who informed him that not only was his wife dying, his mother was as well. Roosevelt was stunned beyond words.

His mother, suffering from typhoid fever, died early on the morning of February 14. Alice, stricken with Bright’s disease, a kidney ailment, died later that same day. The baby was named Alice Lee Roosevelt, in honor of her mother.

Consumed with grief, Roosevelt coped the only way he knew how—by burying himself in his work. When his term in the assembly was completed, he left New York for the Dakota Territory, determined to make a life as a cattle rancher.
Little Alice was left in the care of Roosevelt’s sister Bamie.

Roosevelt in the Wild West

Sporting pince-nez glasses and an upper class East-Coast accent, Roosevelt didn’t seem to belong in so rugged a place as the Dakota Territory. But those who doubted him would soon learn that Theodore Roosevelt could hold his own.
Famous stories of his time in the Dakotas reveal Roosevelt’s true character. In one instance, a barroom bully—drunk and brandishing a loaded pistol in each hand—called Roosevelt “four eyes.” To the surprise of bystanders, Roosevelt—the former boxer—slugged the man in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.
Another story involves the theft of a small boat owned by Roosevelt. The boat wasn’t worth a lot, but Roosevelt insisted that the thieves be brought to justice. Although it was the dead of winter, Roosevelt and his cohorts tracked the two men into Indian Territory and brought them back to face trial.
Roosevelt stayed out West for about two years, but after two harsh winters, he lost most of his cattle, along with his investment.

He returned to New York for good in the summer of 1886. While Roosevelt had been away, his sister Bamie had overseen the construction of his new home.

Marriage to Edith Carow

During Roosevelt’s time out West, he had taken occasional trips back East to visit family. During one of those visits, he began seeing his childhood friend, Edith Kermit Carow. They became engaged in November 1885.
Edith Carow and Theodore Roosevelt were married on December 2, 1886. He was 28 years old, and Edith was 25. They moved into their newly-built home in Oyster Bay, which Roosevelt had christened “Sagamore Hill.” Little Alice came to live with her father and his new wife.
In September 1887, Edith gave birth to Theodore, Jr., the first of the couple’s five children. He was followed by Kermit in 1889, Ethel in 1891, Archie in 1894, and Quentin in 1897.

Commissioner Roosevelt

Following the 1888 election of Republican President Benjamin Harrison, Roosevelt was appointed Civil Service commissioner. He moved to Washington D.C. in May 1889. Roosevelt held the position for six years, earning a reputation as a man of integrity.
Roosevelt returned to New York City in 1895, when he was appointed city police commissioner. There, he declared war on corruption in the police department, firing the corrupt chief of police, among others. Roosevelt also took the unusual step of patrolling the streets at night to see for himself if his patrolmen were doing their jobs.
He often brought a member of the press with him to document his excursions. (This marked the beginning of a healthy relationship with the press that Roosevelt maintained—some would say exploited—throughout his public life.)

Assistant Secretary of the Navy

In 1896, newly-elected Republican President William McKinley appointed Roosevelt assistant secretary of the Navy. The two men differed in their views toward foreign affairs. Roosevelt, in contrast to McKinley, favored an aggressive foreign policy. He quickly took up the cause of expanding and strengthening the U.S. Navy.
In 1898, the island nation of Cuba, a Spanish possession, was the scene of a native rebellion against Spanish rule. Reports described rioting by rebels in Havana, a scenario which was seen as a threat to American citizens and businesses in Cuba.
Urged on by Roosevelt, President McKinley sent the battleship Maine to Havana in January 1898 as protection for American interests there. Following a suspicious explosion on board the ship a month later, in which 250 American sailors were killed, McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war in April 1898.

The Spanish-American War and TR’s Rough Riders

Roosevelt, who, at the age of 39 had waited his entire life to engage in actual battle, immediately resigned his position as assistant secretary of the Navy. He secured for himself a commission as a lieutenant colonel in a volunteer army, dubbed by the press “The Rough Riders.”
The men landed in Cuba in June 1898, and soon suffered some losses as they battled Spanish forces. Traveling both by foot and on horseback, the Rough Riders helped to capture Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill. Both charges succeeded at running off the Spanish, and the U.S. Navy finished the job by destroying the Spanish fleet at Santiago in southern Cuba in July.

From Governor of NY to Vice President

The Spanish-American War had not only established the United States as a world power; it had also made Roosevelt a national hero. When he returned to New York, he was chosen as the Republican nominee for governor of New York. Roosevelt won the gubernatorial election in 1899 at the age of 40.
As governor, Roosevelt set his sights on reforming business practices, enacting tougher civil service laws, and the protection of state forests.
Although he was popular with voters, some politicians were anxious to get the reform-minded Roosevelt out of the governor’s mansion. Republican Senator Thomas Platt came up with a plan for getting rid of Governor Roosevelt.
He convinced President McKinley, who was running for re-election (and whose vice president had died in office) to select Roosevelt as his running mate in the 1900 election. After some hesitation—fearing he would have no real work to do as vice president—Roosevelt accepted.
The McKinley-Roosevelt ticket sailed to an easy victory in 1900.

Assassination of McKinley; Roosevelt Becomes President

Roosevelt had only been in office six months when President McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz on September 5, 1901 in Buffalo, New York. McKinley succumbed to his wounds on September 14. Roosevelt was summoned to Buffalo, where he took the oath of office that same day. At 42 years old, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest president in America’s history.
Mindful of the need for stability, Roosevelt kept the same cabinet members McKinley had appointed. Nonetheless, Theodore Roosevelt was about to put his own stamp upon the presidency.
He insisted the public must be protected from unfair business practices. Roosevelt was especially opposed to “trusts,” businesses that allowed no competition, which were therefore able to charge whatever they chose.
Despite the passage of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890, previous presidents had not made it a priority to enforce the act. Roosevelt did enforce it, by suing the Northern Securities Company—which was run by J.P. Morgan and controlled three major railroads—for violating the Sherman Act.
The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that the company had indeed violated the law, and the monopoly was dissolved.
Roosevelt then took on the coal industry in May 1902 when Pennsylvania coal miners went on strike. The strike dragged on for several months, with mine owners refusing to negotiate.
As the nation faced the prospect of a cold winter without coal to keep people warm, Roosevelt intervened. He threatened to bring in federal troops to work the coal mines if a settlement was not reached. Faced with such a threat, mine owners agreed to negotiate.
In order to regulate businesses and help prevent further abuses of power by large corporations, Roosevelt created the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903.
Theodore Roosevelt is also responsible for changing the name of the “executive mansion” to “the White House” by signing an executive order in 1902 that officially changed the iconic building’s name.

The Square Deal and Conservationism

During his re-election campaign, Theodore Roosevelt expressed his commitment to a platform he called “The Square Deal.”
This group of progressive policies aimed to improve the lives of all Americans in three ways: limiting the power of large corporations, protecting consumers from unsafe products, and promoting the conservation of natural resources.
Roosevelt succeeded in each of these areas, from his trust-busting and safe food legislation to his involvement in protecting the environment.
In an era when natural resources were consumed without regard to conservation, Roosevelt sounded the alarm. In 1905, he created the U.S. Forest Service, which would employ rangers to oversee the nation’s forests.
Roosevelt also created five national parks, 51 wildlife refuges, and 18 national monuments. He played a role in the formation of the National Conservation Commission, which documented all of the nation’s natural resources.
Although he loved wildlife, Roosevelt was an avid hunter. In one instance, he was unsuccessful during a bear hunt. To appease him, his aides caught an old bear and tied it to a tree for him to shoot.
Roosevelt refused, saying he couldn’t shoot an animal in such a way. Once the story went to press, a toy manufacturer began producing stuffed bears, named “teddy bears” after the president.
In part because of Roosevelt’s commitment to conservation, his is one of four presidents’ faces carved on Mount Rushmore.

The Panama Canal

In 1903, Roosevelt took on a project that many others had failed to accomplish—the creation of a canal through Central America that would link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Roosevelt’s main obstacle was the problem of obtaining land rights from Colombia, which held control of Panama.
For decades, Panamanians had been trying to break free from Colombia and become an independent nation. In November 1903, Panamanians staged a rebellion, backed by President Roosevelt. He sent the USS Nashville and other cruisers to the coast of Panama to stand by during the revolution.
Within days, the revolution was over, and Panama had gained its independence. Roosevelt could now make a deal with the newly-liberated nation. The Panama Canal, a marvel of engineering, was completed in 1914.
The events leading up to the construction of the canal exemplified Roosevelt’s foreign policy motto: “Speak softly and carry a big stick—you will go far.” When his attempts to negotiate a deal with the Colombians failed, Roosevelt resorted to force, by sending military assistance to the Panamanians.

Roosevelt’s Second Term

Roosevelt was easily re-elected to a second term in 1904 but vowed he would not seek re-election after he completed his term. He continued to push for reform, advocating for the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, both enacted in 1906.
In the summer of 1905, Roosevelt hosted diplomats from Russia and Japan at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in an effort to negotiate a peace treaty between the two nations, who had been at war since February 1904.
Thanks to Roosevelt’s efforts in brokering an agreement, Russia and Japan finally signed the Treaty of Portsmouth in September 1905, ending the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his role in the negotiations.
The Russo-Japanese War had also resulted in a mass exodus of unwelcome Japanese citizens to San Francisco. The San Francisco school board issued an order that would force Japanese children to attend separate schools.
Roosevelt intervened, convincing the school board to rescind its order, and the Japanese to limit the number of laborers they allowed to immigrate to San Francisco. The 1907 compromise was known as the “Gentlemen’s Agreement.”
Roosevelt came under harsh criticism by the black community for his actions following an incident in Brownsville, Texas in August 1906.
A regiment of black soldiers stationed nearby was blamed for a series of shootings in the town. Although there was no proof of the soldiers’ involvement and none of them was ever tried in a court of law, Roosevelt saw to it that all 167 soldiers were given dishonorable discharges. Men who had been soldiers for decades lost all of their benefits and pensions.
In a show of American might before he left office, Roosevelt sent all 16 of America’s battleships on a worldwide tour in December 1907.Although the move was a controversial one, the “Great White Fleet” was well-received by most nations.
In 1908, Roosevelt, a man of his word, declined to run for re-election. Republican William Howard Taft, his hand-picked successor, won the election. With great reluctance, Roosevelt left the White House in March 1909. He was 50 years old.

Another Run for President

Following Taft’s inauguration, Roosevelt went on a 12-month African safari, and later toured Europe with his wife. Upon his return to the U.S. in June 1910, Roosevelt found that he disapproved of many of Taft’s policies. He regretted not having run for re-election in 1908.
By January 1912, Roosevelt had decided he would run again for president, and began his campaign for the Republican nomination. When Taft was re-nominated by the Republican Party, however, a disappointed Roosevelt refused to give up.
He formed the Progressive Party, also known as “The Bull Moose Party,” so named after Roosevelt’s exclamation during a speech that he was “feeling like a bull moose.” Theodore Roosevelt ran as the party’s candidate against Taft and Democratic challenger Woodrow Wilson.
During one campaign speech, Roosevelt was shot in the chest, sustaining a minor wound. He insisted on finishing his hour-long speech before seeking medical attention.
Neither Taft nor Roosevelt would prevail in the end. Because the Republican vote was split between them, Wilson emerged as the victor.

Final Years

Ever the adventurer, Roosevelt embarked upon an expedition to South America with his son Kermit and a group of explorers in 1913. The perilous voyage down Brazil’s River of Doubt nearly cost Roosevelt his life.
Where He contracted yellow fever and suffered a severe leg injury; as a result, he needed to be carried through the jungle for much of the journey. Roosevelt returned home a changed man, much frailer and thinner than before. He never again enjoyed his former robust state of health.
Back home, Roosevelt criticized President Wilson for his policies of neutrality during the First World War. When Wilson finally declared war on Germany in April 1917, all four of Roosevelt’s sons volunteered to serve. (Roosevelt also offered to serve, but his offer was politely declined.)
In July 1918, his youngest son Quentin was killed when his plane was shot down by the Germans. The tremendous loss appeared to age Roosevelt even more than his disastrous trip to Brazil.
In his final years, Roosevelt contemplated running again for president in 1920, having gained a good deal of support from progressive Republicans. But he never had the chance to run. Roosevelt died in his sleep of a coronary embolism on January 6, 1919 at the age of 60.