Teddy Roosevelt Nearly Died in a Cavalry Charge Against German Machine Guns in WW1

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

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Summary

Teddy Roosevelt faced many challenges at the end of his life. Racked by rheumatism, a ticking embolism, pathogens in his blood, a bad leg from an accident, and a bullet in his chest from an assassination attempt. But none of that stopped Roosevelt from attempting to reassemble the Rough Riders for a final charge against the Germans in World War One, pushing them into a likely suicide mission of a cavalry attack against 50 caliber machine guns.

Suffering from grief and guilt, marginalized by world events, the great glow that had been his life was now but a dimming lantern. But TR’s final years were productive ones as well: he churned out several “instant” books that promoted U.S. entry into the Great War, and he was making plans for another run at the Presidency in 1920 at the time of his death. Indeed, his political influence was so great that his opposition to the policies of Woodrow Wilson helped the Republican Party take back the Congress in 1918. To look at Roosevelt’s final years is today’s guest Bill Hazelgrove, author of “The Last Charge of the Rough Rider.” It was Roosevelt’s quest for the “vigorous life” that, ironically, may have led to his early demise at the age of sixty. "The Old Lion is dead,” TR’s son Archie cabled his brother on January 6, 1919, and so, too, ended a historic era in American life and politics.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's going to hear with another episode of the History and Plug podcast.
0:08.1	Teddy Roosevelt had many heroic accomplishments in his life that he performed before and
0:13.0	after he was president.
0:14.0	In his 20s, he was a rancher in the Dakota territories, gotten fist fights with Cowboys, personally
0:19.1	arrested thieves and brought them to justice.
0:21.1	He led the Rough Riders of volunteer cavalry regiment in the Battle of San Juan Heights in
0:25.4	the Spanish-American War of 1898, was the first president to fly in an airplane aboard
0:29.9	a submarine, after his presidency, explored the Amazon river basin, but what few people
0:34.1	know is that the end of his life, and the 19 teens just after the United States entered
0:38.5	World War I against the Central Powers, tried to get the Rough Riders back together and form
0:42.6	a regiment against the Germans, though it would mean riding out on horseback against
0:46.8	Ft. Calibur machine guns, and would very likely mean a suicide mission, or at least for
0:51.1	anyone else but Roosevelt who was used to facing impossible odds.
0:55.1	Today's episode will be going to look at the final years of Roosevelt's life, with
0:58.4	guest Bill Hazelgrove, author of the new book The Last Charge of the Rough Riders.
1:02.0	We look at his plans for another run of the presidency in 1920, the new worst books
1:06.0	he wrote, but the challenges he faced at this time, particularly terrible health since
1:09.8	he has racked with rheumatism and embolism and pathogens in his blood, and although he
1:13.8	wasn't able to raise up a volunteer cavalry regiment, what would have happened if he
1:18.0	would have fought in World War I?
1:20.1	This is an exploration of another chapter in the epic life of Teddy Roosevelt, and I hope
1:24.1	you enjoyed this discussion with Bill Hazelgrove.
	...

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