Wood, Leonard, 1860-1927

President Roosevelt asks if the former Rough Rider who William H. H. Llewellyn saw working as a bartender was Thomas H. Rynning. If so, he jokingly points out that he was promoted before Roosevelt was in command of the regiment. Roosevelt is glad that Llewellyn prosecuted Frank Brito, another former Rough Rider, because they “cannot afford to let it be thought that we either shield bad men because they are Rough Riders, or press second rate men forward for the same reason.” Many former Rough Riders have been asking Roosevelt for government positions. Roosevelt is chagrined that the annual reunion of Rough Riders was rescheduled on his account, and thinks that they should stop annual reunions altogether, as he does not want them to be commercialized. He was uncomfortable with Rough Riders speaking for him in uniform in the recent election because of the spectacle, and thinks that in the future reunions should only take place every four years, and should be “simply and solely a quiet meeting of the regiment without any outside show of a spectacular type.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-07-13

Theodore Roosevelt tells Mrs. Luther R. James that he remembers her father and will reach out to Chief of Staff Leonard Wood about the transfer, though he admits it may be against regulation, and it may be impossible.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-02-03

Assistant Adjutant General Hickey conveys Military Governor of Cuba Leonard Wood’s order. Wood appreciates the valuable work Eugene Frederick Ladd has done as Treasurer for the military government and people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-03-23

This exhaustively illustrated account of the Spanish-American war seeks to present the official history of the war according to the United States War Records Office. It encompasses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, as well as its resolution and aftermath. While it mentions the various engagements taking place during the war, most of the focus is on Cuba and the action of the United States Navy and Army in fighting Spanish forces there in support of Cuban rebels. It additionally includes general information on the theaters of war, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Collection

Smithsonian

Creation Date

1900

The Congressional bill appropriating funding for the Army has some provisions regarding the makeup of the General Staff attached to it that have unclear authorship, and would be detrimental to the Army.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-14

Michelle A. Krowl of the Library of Congress presents twenty items from the library’s Theodore Roosevelt Collection. The material, consisting of twelve letters, four other documents, three political cartoons, and a campaign poster, encompass the years 1884 to 1934. Twelve of the documents were penned by Roosevelt, and Krowl provides context and background for each item while including quotes from the document in her description. The twenty items are preceded by a short introductory essay by Krowl which includes two photographs of the Library of Congress.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2021

The front cover of this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal features a photograph of President George Bush and his wife Barbara Bush, winners of the 1998 Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal. The back cover has a photograph of some of the officers of the Rough Riders assembled to eat in San Antonio, Texas in 1898.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1999

Richard (Rick) Marschall finds much to admire in J. Lee Thompson’s Never Call Retreat: Theodore Roosevelt and the Great War, especially the book’s fairness in dealing with Germany and its allies and in pointing out the shortcomings and extremity of some of Theodore Roosevelt’s wartime positions. Marschall finds it refreshing that Thompson does not shy away from criticizing Woodrow Wilson and validating some of Roosevelt’s assertions against his opponent, and he notes that Wilson is often given preferential treatment by historians. Marschall places Thompson’s work in the context of other treatments of this time period of Roosevelt’s life, and he admonishes Thompson for failing to adequately summarize his findings and for flawed writing.

The book’s cover and three political cartoons from Marschall’s collection supplement the text.

Stacy A. Cordery explores the visit of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt to Tampa, Florida, in June 1898 to spend time with her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, before his regiment departed for battle in Cuba. Cordery provides background for the visit, including the poor health of Edith and her son Theodore Roosevelt in the months leading up to the Spanish-American War. Cordery describes the Tampa Bay Hotel where the Roosevelts stayed, and she notes Edith’s interactions with members of the Rough Riders and the press, in particular, reporter Richard Harding Davis. Cordery asserts that the visit was important to the Roosevelts, assuring Roosevelt that his wife was well enough to care for their family in his absence.  

Six photographs accompany the text, including a portrait of the Roosevelt family, Roosevelt’s favorite picture of Edith, three scenes from Tampa, Florida, and a photograph of Cordery.

Biography dominates the “Reviews” section of this issue: five biographies are considered, including those of four Roosevelts and one of Gifford Pinchot. Charles W. Snyder finds H. Paul Jeffers’s examination of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt’s life to be less than complete, and he notes that the work focuses on Roosevelt’s military career, especially his service during World War II. John A. Gable revisits the work of husband and wife biographers Edmund Morris and Sylvia Jukes Morris in his essays on their biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Gable compares The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt with Theodore Rex, and he asserts that the endnotes in both works are worth reading. He notes that paperback editions of both of the Morris biographies have been issued to coincide with the release of Theodore Rex. 

Gable reviews Char Miller’s Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, and he describes the split in the environmental movement between the followers of Pinchot and John Muir. Gable highlights Pinchot’s career after his service in the Roosevelt administration, and he notes that Miller’s work has won two book awards for biography. “In Medal of Honor Revisited,” Gregory A. Wynn examines the arguments of two acclaimed military historians who take opposing views on Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor award. Wynn summarizes the arguments of  Edward M. Coffman and Allan Reed Millett, and he finds more merit in Coffman’s assertions based on eyewitness accounts of Roosevelt’s actions in battle. 

John A. Gable critiques a book and an article that have been cited to undermine the case for awarding Theodore Roosevelt the Medal of Honor. Gable considers Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan: The Making of a President by Harold Samuels and Peggy Samuels and an article by military historian Mitchell A. Yockelson. Gable argues that the panel considering the merits of Roosevelt’s case should consider these works so that they can see the weakness of the argument against awarding Roosevelt the medal. Gable highlights some of the deficiencies in each of these works and refers to the Samuels’s book as “a blatant hatchet job.” 

A photograph of Gable with Tweed Roosevelt and two photographs of the Roosevelt Rough Rider equestrian statue in Portland, Oregon, supplement the letter. 

Report on the successful effort to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Theodore Roosevelt for his actions during the Battle of San Juan on July 1, 1898. The report details the history of the efforts to secure the medal for Roosevelt dating back to the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, and it closely examines the renewed efforts since 1996, highlighting the work of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and numerous members of Congress. The report also covers the White House ceremonies of January 16, 2001 presided over by President Bill Clinton, and it includes coverage of the heroics of Andrew Jackson Smith who was also posthumously awarded the medal for his actions during the Civil War. A history of the Rough Rider regiment, Clinton’s remarks at the ceremony, and the citation accompanying Roosevelt’s medal are included in the report. 

Five photographs from the medal ceremony and two of Roosevelt appear in the article.

Congressional Charter for the then Roosevelt Memorial Association established in May 1920 that lists the original incorporators and includes some of the key provisions guiding the organization. These include stipulations that the association will be governed by a board of trustees; that its income will go only to further its educational goals; and that it will work to establish memorials to Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. and Oyster Bay, New York. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

Two page listing of the Rough Riders that is divided into two categories: a listing of their occupations, such as farmer, cook, or cowboy, and a listing of where they were from divided into states, territories, and foreign countries. The lists are alphabetized and totals are given for each entry. A photograph of the assembled Rough Riders on horseback in San Antonio, Texas, accompanies the lists.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1998

Report on some of the ceremonies and academic conferences held in 1998 to mark the centennial of the Spanish-American War. The report highlights three academic conferences held at the University of New Orleans, Southern Methodist University, and Siena College, and it provides an update on efforts to secure the Medal of Honor for Theodore Roosevelt. An illustration of the Battle of Las Guasimas by Howard Christy Chandler and a photograph of Roosevelt speaking to Leonard Wood supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1998

Joe F. Decker studies Theodore Roosevelt’s use of language and focuses on some of his most colorful expressions and opinions, which was most often found in his correspondence. Decker says that Roosevelt tended to be more cautious with his language when speaking in public. He dwells on the object of much of Roosevelt’s invective, President Woodrow Wilson, but he cites numerous letters to various figures such as Amos Pinchot and Henry Cabot Lodge to give examples of Roosevelt’s use of language. Decker notes that Roosevelt was also willing to use animated language to poke fun at himself.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1986

Excerpts from the diaries of First Lady Edith Kermit Roosevelt edited by A. Richard Boera. The excerpts are taken from eight different years and most of the entries are short. Some of the most common topics include the various health issues of the Roosevelt family, lists of guests for lunch and dinner at the White House, and the riding excursions of Edith and Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt’s assuming the presidency after President William McKinley’s assassination, the final days of Roosevelt’s presidency, and the tour of Europe after Roosevelt’s African safari in 1910 are also covered. 

A photograph of Edith Roosevelt in 1901, a drawing of her by John Singer Sargent in 1921, and a family portrait of Edith and Theodore Roosevelt with all of their children at Sagamore Hill in 1903 supplement the text. A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive committee appears on the second page of the excerpts.  

History of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). The article highlights twenty-one of the winners, lists the thirteen different fields of endeavor for which individuals are honored, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser.  It also discusses the various venues at which the Medal has been awarded. An illustration of both sides of the medal accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1985

Gary M. Lavergne provides an introduction to a document written by John Millicent Parker of Louisiana who lobbied President Woodrow Wilson to allow General Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt to form a division for service in World War I. Lavergne edited Parker’s recollection and John A. Gable provides an introduction to the article. Parker discusses his relationships with Wilson and Roosevelt and details his May 1917 White House meeting with Wilson. Parker notes the points he raised with Wilson arguing for a command for both Wood and Roosevelt, and he also details Wilson’s rebuttal and his refusal to allow the formation of a division by the two most famous veterans of the Spanish-American War.

A photograph of Parker and Roosevelt onboard a boat in 1915 accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Joe F. Decker provides a comprehensive bibliography of the various accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s attempt to form a volunteer division during World War I. Decker begins with Roosevelt’s own first account in 1917 and concludes with John Milton Cooper’s version in The Warrior and the Priest of 1983. Decker examines books, book chapters, and articles on the subject, and finds that the story still has not been “dealt with satisfactorily.” Decker points out the biases and the shortcomings of some of the authors, and notes that many of the accounts strongly favor either Roosevelt or his antagonist President Woodrow Wilson.

A full page-photograph of Roosevelt and General Leonard Wood accompanies the article. A photograph of Harrison Engle and Sidney D. Kirkpatrick who directed documentary films on Roosevelt is featured, along with three photographs of Roosevelt from newsreel footage used in the film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association as well as the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on page two of the article.