When Theodore Roosevelt ran for Governor of New York in 1898 he enlisted the help of some of his comrades-in-arms from the Spanish-American War. These men were all-too-eager to sing the praises of the Hero of San Juan Hill.

Success on the battlefield does not necessarily translate into political adroitness on the campaign trail. Consider the introduction Roosevelt received in the autumn of 1898 from Sergeant Buck Taylor, who enthusiastically attested to his old commander’s trustworthiness:

“He told us we might meet wounds and death and we done it, but he was there in the midst of us, and when it came to the great day he led us up San Juan Hill like sheep to the slaughter, and so he will lead you!”

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