Black Soldiers Were the Real Heroes at San Juan Hill. And They Got No Credit.

Author Jerry Tuccille on Teddy Roosevelt, 'buffalo soldiers,' and the legacy of racism in the military.

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Black Soldiers Were the Real Heroes at San Juan Hill. And They Got No Credit.

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President Theodore Roosevelt and his 'rough riders' are remembered as heroes of the Spanish-American war—a "total fabrication" according to Jerry Tuccille, author of the recent book, The Roughest Riders: The Untold Story of the Black Soldiers in the Spanish-American War. 

Tuccille says that black troops, also known as 'buffalo soldiers', did the heavy fighting at the infamous Battle of San Juan Hill, but racism and Roosevelt's giant ego led them to be left out of the official story.

"America loved [black troops] when they were war fodder," but later "white people [feared] and resented them," says Tuccille, who has also written books about the libertarianism, and published the very first biography of Donald Trump.

Tuccille sat down with Reason TV's Nick Gillespie to discuss the "buffalo soldiers," Roosevelt's big cover up, and the legacy of racism in the military. 

About 13 minutes.

Camera by Todd Krainin and Joshua Swain. Edited by Amanda Winkler.

Scroll down for downloadable versions, and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive immediate updates when new material goes live.

Comments

[Undercover Libertarian]

As a history grad student with a MA I hate these amateur pop-historian books on history. They always use terms like "Unknown story" and such things on topics where there are literally dozens of books, some over 30 years old on. I
mean every single class on military history in the last 40 years had taught this about the Rough Riders. There are at least half-a-dozen books in my colleges library on the black troops of San Juan Hill alone and every book on American Military History going back to Russel Wiegley's classic from the 1970's has mentioned this.
Stop re-writing old and well done topics and try taking credit for it when you did no original research just to sell books. This is why the professional world hates most of these types of people (Ian Kershaw and a few other do follow academic standards and don't try passing off well written topics as their own work as if they are breaking something new).

Shame on reason for helping promote this lack of integrity, and misleading title.

[Undercover Libertarian]

Ok I may have been a little harsh in my original post, but my main point still stands and gets on the nerves of people in the history field like myself

[MichaelL]

My great grandpa joined the military, by saying he was 16, when he was only 14 in 1898. His job on San Juan hill? Hold Teddy's horse by the reigns! I cannot find any references to this great military child, Annias Huskins! (1884-1978) As a senior medical student, I was the first person to send him to the hospital, at 93 years old!. He had heart failure that responded to treatment, which he terminated by spitting his medicine out. When I confronted him in the nursing home, he told me, "Let an old man do what an old man's gonna do!" He told my brother-in-law the story, a year before his death, when he was 92 years old! Everyone (all the other relatives) thought he was crazy, because he was too young for some and too old for the other wars! Turns out, they were not good listeners. His father was given his discharge papers, after the civil war, by Abraham Lincoln, in Lincoln, Illinois!

[Brian]

This seems like a good time to mention my new book: Ignored: The Untold Story of Black Players in the National Basketball Association..

[GILMORE?]

Kept Under Raps: The Unacknowledged Contribution of African Americans to Rap Music

[GILMORE?]

I'm thinking your title could have been something like "BlackBalled" or "Double-Crossover"

[Austrian Anarchy]

"Angela Davis and Akua Njeri: Second Amendment Sisters in Arms"

[Austrian Anarchy]

What is so harsh about pointing out something that has been in Wikipedia for six years already?
Anthony L. Powell (1998). "Black Participation in the Spanish-American War". The Spanish-American War Centennial web site. Retrieved September 11, 2009

[SIV]

Try 1899

History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish American War

Blackjack Pershing and Joe Wheeler wrote about this as well, having been on the hill at the time and all.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Sorry, What is so harsh about pointing out something that has been in Wikipedia since 1899? does not ring true.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

They always use terms like "Unknown story" and such things on topics where there are literally dozens of books, some over 30 years old on.

After that commie POS Howard Zinn died, I got in an argument with someone who claimed that he did a lot to tell the stories of previously ignored demographics. I had to point out to them that People's History and similar dreck was just synthesizing detailed studies and sources that had already been written, and thus were in fact not ignored at all.

Same thing with the New Western History from the 70s and 80s that was supposedly telling all these "new" stories of "ignored" demographics, when they typically just cribbed information from other secondary sources that had been written years or even decades before.

The one thing these hacks have never been able to answer is "If it's 'untold,' how were you able to find information on it?"

[Loki]

The one thing these hacks have never been able to answer is "If it's 'untold,' how were you able to find information on it?"

THIS

It's kind of like when you see TV shows titled "The untold story of ______" or "The Secret History of ______" etc. If it's "untold" or "secret" then how the hell is there a TV show about it?

[Notorious UGCC]

Sometimes it's untold because nobody was creative enough to make up that shit before.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Actually, I am working on what approaches to be an "untold story" about a guy/events nobody previously wrote a book about. Plenty in the numerous news articles was incorrect. Yes, he was written about, but not much fact checking was done for previous writings.

Rough Rider? Whole different deal.

[obijuan]

Yes, but on TV it's always the aliens that did it. Just for the record, I agree that Teddy exaggerated his exploits, but I'm not ready to believe the buffalo soldiers took San Juan Hill. I'm not saying it was aliens, but it probably was aliens.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Sounds like History Channel 2, so it must be double true!

[Notorious UGCC]

"This is why the professional world hates most of these types of people"

I think there's another reason - namely, that some of these popularizations sell better.

[Undercover Libertarian]

No, a lot of Professional historians sell very well, in fact a great many do. It's a standards thing

[Austrian Anarchy]

Don't interrupt. This might be Nick's Salon moment.

[AlmightyJB]

Yes no one should ever write anymore books about history.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I think he's criticizing the fact that they pretend they're coming up with some novel story, when in fact the story has been told many times before. They're basically claiming an importance for their work which does not exist.

[AlmightyJB]

He's promoting his book. I mean it's not like he called it The Greatest Story Ever Told or The Neverending Story. He may just mean that most people don't know the real strory which I'm sure is correct. How many people read college history texts? This is just another way of getting the story out. Anyone considering buying the book who already knows the story already knows it's not untold. There's no reason to go ballistic over a little promotion. Crimany.

[AlmightyJB]

If most people don't know it than it may as well be untold.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Wouldn't that make it "the unheard story" or "the seldom heard story?"

[AlmightyJB]

It would be the you probably never heard about it you rube story.

[Austrian Anarchy]

How about the you ain't heard nuttin' yet story?

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

Besides, it's 2chili's dad. That alone should merit a wee bit of slack.

[PapayaSF]

"Simpson, this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film The Neverending Story."

[lap83]

"You Won't Believe This One Weird Story the Historians Don't Want You to Know About"

[AlmightyJB]

"7 cool facts that will make you less racist"

[Hamster of Doom]

Nice.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Needs more feminism.

The Rough Rider patriarchy used Black soldiers because they were even cheaper than women. Historical fact corollary to Ma Bell hiring women operators because they were cheaper than boys. - The Protocols of the Elders of Amazon

[Napoleon Bonaparte]

That was a fine rant. But it didn't tell us anything we couldn't have deduced ourselves as soon as we saw Gillespie's byline on it.

[John C. Randolph]

A cursor glance at the author's resume indicates that he probably knows far more about this subject than you do, since he researched it specifically for this book. He's also won awards for biographies he's written, so I'm guessing his achievements trump your sheepskin.

In other words, fuck you: if you think he did a bad job, write your own book about the Spanish American war, and we'll see how it stacks up.

-jcr

[Road Warrior]

I'm a big history buff, but not on this subject, and I can say this is the first time I've heard about this. Not to say others haven't written about it or haven't learned it. Since history is taught at such a skin deep level in K-12 since there is so much to cover, I imagine lots of students don't get taught the details of Teddy's assault on Kettle Hill (aka, San Juan Hill).

[John L.]

It may have had something to do with when you went to school. In high school (2002-2006) I learned about it in my American History class and went to see a play about it in my English Literature class.

It was brought up again at the USCG academy (not on a level any deeper than my high school exposure though).

[Notorious UGCC]

OK, smart guy, but other than that, when did you ever hear this story told?

[John L.]

you mean other that twice in high school and once in college? why?

And the point of my comment was that it may not have commonly been in curriculum in the 80's and 90's, but it certainly is pretty common now (at least in the Northeast).

[Undercover Libertarian]

Yeah, the whole Spanish-American war really doesn't get covered in HS history, it waits until college despite this was the time the US started colonizing (the spanish colonies we took over) and actually built a navy for global power projection. This is the birth of modern american military and foreign policy

[Austrian Anarchy]

I await the Alex Jones version that disproves the whole story with secret documents bathed in chemtrails.

[Suthenboy]

So Teddy Roosevelt, our first progressive president, was a blowhard self-promoter and a liar. More breaking news: The sun rises and sets every day.

I remember him as the first president to openly admit disdain for the constitution.

Also this: http://mentalfloss.com/article.....ech-anyway

All I can find are the sterilized versions. The first version of that that I read was that the bullet was a 32 and was slowed by the whiskey flask he had in his coat pocket. He instructed his men to fetch his revolver and a bible. He then shot a slug through the bible. At the speech he displayed the bible and claimed that was in his pocket and had stopped the bullet.

Not only do I like my version better, it seems more plausible.

[Suthenboy]

Also, what Undercover said in the first comment.

[Isaac Bartram]

So Teddy Roosevelt, our first progressive president, was a blowhard self-promoter and a liar.

Also one of the first people anywhere** to stump for universal medical care*. One of reason's writers (iirc) many years ago observed that universal medical care was something that Republican Progressives (generally rich white capitalists - though, by no means, not advocates of laissez-faire) wanted so that they wouldn't have to worry about "catching dread diseases from the help."

*by which I mean, an entitlement whereby everyone gets to have other people pay their medical bills.

**I have often remarked that America's openness and freedom made it so that many of the world's worst ideas originated here. The other countries that finally adopted these ideas lacked the other thing that America has; those people who in Buckley's words were "standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!'"

[Isaac Bartram]

correction:

"...Republican Progressives (generally rich white capitalists - though, by no means, not advocates of laissez-faire)..."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What's so secret about the Rough Riders? They are professional football team that plays in Saskatchewan - and once upon a time we had TWO of them!

Are you Yanks trying to steal our football; our history?

Get your own!

/Canadian sitting on wall built at the border.

On a side note, I believe TDR is the one that introduced anti-trust laws after busting up Standard Oil? I notice that having read his bio over the years, despite being Republican he was pretty progressive. One might even say the first 'RINO'?

[Rayson]

He was the Donald Trump of his day.

[Zaytsev]

Conquest of the United States by Spain.

[FloridaProf]

I preder the work of professional military historians, rather than someone with an agenda. Cf http://www.history.army.mil/do.....-BSSJH.htm

[Undercover Libertarian]

Preaching to a member of the Society for Military History here

[billstewart]

Anybody calling any of the US soldiers in that war "Heroes" has an agenda.

Yes, many of them were brave, and risked their lives to help their buddies if they got in trouble during the fighting, as are most American soldiers during most wars, but it was a colonialist war we got into because of a bunch of yellow-journalist rabble-rousing by the Hearst newspapers, among other fans of war in general.

[Bill Dalasio]

That's a silly, silly, argument. Heroism isn't defined by the cause for which one is fighting. Most guys in most wars have little if any knowledge or interest in the causes they're fighting for. Rather, heroism is defined by the valor the individual shows in conducting his duties.

[contrarian]

Yeah, like those brave heroes of the Wehrmacht, who kept fighting even when the Russians were at the doors of the Reichstag!

[wolff]

I make up to $90 an hour working from my home. My story is that I quit working at Walmart to work online and with a little effort I easily bring in around $40h to $86h? Someone was good to me by sharing this link with me, so now i am hoping i could help someone else out there by sharing this link... Try it, you won't regret it!......

http://www.HomeJobs90.Com

[billstewart]

SPAMMER! Hey, Reason, please delete the above comment!

[Agammamon]

Is *that* your story? 'Cause I'm sure the cops will believe it.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Are you stealthily pimping this story?

[Alan@.4]

TR's treatment of black soldiers has struck me as reason more than simply sufficient to question whether or not he was a racist. Strikes me that he was. That being said, none of us is perfect, and so far as I know, TR never claimed ownership of perfection either. Much of what he accomplished has proven worth while, to say the very least.

[Irish ?s ESB]

TR had a lot of shit to say about Native Americans too which was not very complimentary.

I can't stand Roosevelt. He was an imperialistic war mongering progressive scumbag who people pretend we should applaud because he was kind of a bad ass while he was oppressing millions of innocent people.

What Roosevelt did to the Philippines is one of the great crimes in American history. Here's an actual quote from a Filipino rebel leader prior to the US turning his country into an occupied nation:

"I have studied attentively the Constitution of the United States, and I find in it no authority for colonies, and I have no fear."

MISTAKE

[Mickey Rat]

Why would someone believe that? At the time the constitution was adopted about half of US territory was unincorporated and since then had been steadily acquiring be territory.

[Agammamon]

Nothing.

NOTHING!

Nothing Roosevelt (either) accomplished was worthwhile.

[SIV]

Teddy was a good hunting and travel writer.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Good thing he was a Progressive, or he would have gotten into a lot of trouble for shooting a lion.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I wouldn't say that. TR's Naval War of 1812 is still considered a definitive work of history, The Winning of the West was similarly rigorous and and his fascination with zoology was commendable. If he had been a college professor rather than a politician, he'd probably go down in history as one of America's more notable academic minds.

[Austrian Anarchy]

The only reason he got a Nobel Prize before Obama was racism, maaaaan.

[Bill Dalasio]

No, I don't think Mr. Roosevelt was a racist either. Rather, he was the sort of opportunistic jerk who'd utilize others' racism to take credit for accomplishments that weren't really his own. I'll leave it to you to decide which is worse. Personally, I think the latter.

[GILMORE?]

"Ugh, so much racism in the comments, I can't even"

[AlmightyJB]

Looks like a very interesting book. Hopefully, it will inspire more people to get interested in learning about History.

[sharonphillips]

I make up to $90 an hour working from my home. My story is that I quit working at Walmart to work online and with a little effort I easily bring in around $40h to $86h? Someone was good to me by sharing this link with me, so now i am hoping i could help someone else out there by sharing this link... Try it, you won't regret it!......

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[AlmightyJB]

Hey Sharon, How YOU doin'?

[AlmightyJB]

I have $90

[GILMORE?]

For that you get the Extra Effort special

[AlmightyJB]

lol:)

[Crusty Juggler]

As a relative of a supposed rough rider I will choose to ignore this, and prefer to stick with the story that my great-great uncle galloped up a muddy hill alongside Teddy R to win a very important war.

[SIV]

He did. The professional soldiers and the Gatling batteries won the battle but the Rough Riders were there and went up the hill. It's not like they totally sucked. They did fine for non-professional volunteers. T.R. and his rich boy friends gave the army some modern machine guns to supplement their old fashioned (but very effective) Gatling guns.

[Mr Lizard]

OT: for those looking for a good disqus trolling. Plenty of takers here

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/1...../comments/

[SIV]

If there was a constitutional right to keep and bear arms the government would provide you with a gun like they do birth control and abortions.

[lap83]

says he didn't intervene because he knew police SWAT team members wouldn't know him from the shooter.

That is sensible, albeit depressing. Although I'm sure he would have defended himself and others if he was stuck in the middle of it and didn't have any other choice.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I doubt it. He sounds like an incredible pussy to me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did what he did.

[GILMORE?]

The RawStory headling spin is naturally completely dishonest

"Armed vet destroys gun nuts' argument on mass shooters by explaining why he didn't attack Oregon killer"

never mind the actual details - like HE is what they'd call a "gun nut", for carrying in a gun-free zone. The guy also volunteered to protect the people in his building/room. If the "Gun Nut" argument is that carrying weapons protects people.... well, this is proof, not a debunking.

It doesn't "destroy" any argument about the benefits of allowing concealed carry. It DOES show that "Gun Free Zones" are unenforceable, and attract killers.

They make it sound like, "MAN WITH GUN CONFESSES = WEAPON USELESS DURING MASS-KILLING"

If someone "just like him" had been in the other building, its very likely the body count would have been smaller. You have to be brain dead to draw the conclusion they're pretending to make.

[lap83]

If someone "just like him" had been in the other building, its very likely the body count would have been smaller.

One or two people dead - "OMG he didn't save all of them, Gun Nuts destroyed!"

No people dead except shooter - "OMG racist teabagger shoots innocent kid with science project!" (but I kid...)

[Austrian Anarchy]

Another testament to both the forward vision and historical knowledge of Bob Marley.

[GILMORE?]

Koch Gets Warm Around Fiorina, Wants To Donor

"Donor? I just met her!?"

[GILMORE?]

Gays Love Bi-Den Where Hillary Touches Special Spots

[GILMORE?]

Worst Peaches & Herb Reference Ever

[GILMORE?]

"BUT I FUCKING LOVE SCIENCE?": How Science Is Insufficient as Sole Basis For Policy

"'It effectively forces those involved in regulatory decisions to hide rather than reveal scientific uncertainty, and to dismiss and denigrate dissenting views. Key policy choices, disguised as science, rest with technical staff, while policymakers charged with making hard decisions avoid responsibility by claiming their hands were tied by the science."

[Bill Dalasio]

Anyone who says policy should be guided solely by science doesn't understand science and understands damned little about policy. Science isn't about what "should be". It's about what is. And there is no such thing as "scientific" values to guide policy decisions. That headline should be focused at a straw man. Unfortunately, "scientism" has rendered it a valid line of comment.

[JeremyR]

I remember reading a short story about this ages ago. There is a reunion of rough riders and a black soldier shows up.

By some semi-famous Western writer from the 1950s

[Sevo]

OK. we're coming up on that autumn day we all hate; the day when 8AM is now 7AM, and so forth.
You can easily spot the baksheesh for ethanol or solar subsidies, but WIH goes on with the time changes? Who is making money outside of the battery mfgrs?
Why do the time changes still exist?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Ummm... You're a month early

[Sevo]

"Ummm... You're a month early"
3 weeks or so; I'm giving folks a chance to answer.
Or is there a rule about schedule I've missed?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You still made me go check my clocks.

All I know about DST is that the Fed Gov changed it recently and took credit for all of the energy they said it would save.

[SIV]

"Recently" as in 8 years ago. DST promotes retail consumption. It doesn't save any energy at all. It does kill a bunch of people in morning commuter traffic every Spring.
DST is teh Debil.

[Sevo]

SIV|10.5.15 @ 12:10AM|#
"DST promotes retail consumption."
Now this is what I was looking for, but I was hoping it was more than a random assertion.
Got any evidence?

[Agammamon]

You need to come live here in AZ.

Though I must warn you that while we don't have DST, since concealed carry without a permit is the law here we do have roaming packs of gun-crazy people shooting up all the raps.

[Sevo]

Not every question deals with guns or abortions or teh gayez. But hey, if the gun grabbers are making the cut out of it, you could be on to something...

[SIV]

If you don't like standard time just get up an hour earlier. Daylight Savings Time is the evil system and I look forward to its passing, in a month. DST exists solely to promote consumption.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

ORLY?

[Sevo]

SIV, is this an evil conspiracy of Macy's, Target and Wally-world? Do I need to go to Costco for the anti-conspiracy tin-foil hat?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Costco is where you would go for a 50 pack. Only when it's dark out, though.

[SIV]

They've been open about this through the history of DST. The energy savings has been repeatedly debunked. People go to the store more when it's light out. The last change lengthening the portion of the year under DST was the same time Bush did his $300 "stimulus" as the economy began to go off the rails. You know who gets screwed by DST? Drive-in theaters. Works, don't it?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Still not sure if serious.

[SIV]

Christ, just look at the DST wikipedia entry. I only went there to confirm the last time the start and end date changed in the US. Everything else is in there but it should be common knowledge.I think I learned about the consumption stimulation from an article in American Heritage or Smithsonian years ago. Bloomberg covered it back when Bush signed the last change in 2006 going into effect in 2007.

[SIV]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time

Then go to DST in US page

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I like DST. I can go to the beach with my kids for several hours after work. If people use that extra daylight to go to Walmart, whatever.

[Sevo]

SIV|10.5.15 @ 12:44AM|#
"Christ, just look at the DST wikipedia entry."
Yes, I did, and it's a collection of bullshit and assertions. Hmmm; seems familiar...

[PapayaSF]

I don't hate the "fall back": it means an extra hour of sleep! It's the "spring forward" I hate.

[SIV]

This was in Jesse Walker's twitter feed. Nothing really new but it always amazes me how people don't get it.
We don't get to vote for or against the people who rule us. Whichever party is in power dances to their tune.

[Sevo]

Does this have anything to do with certain 'protocols', by any chance?

[SIV]

Well you could read the link. It's just the usual on why Lois Lerner collects a 6 figure retirement rather than going to federal prison and how laws are more likely to be enforced against Hillary Clinton than the DEA or Secret Service and why we'll never leave Afghanistan until there's somewhere else to set fire to $Trillion$ and get a bunch of people killed. It's no more a conspiracy than the Federal reserve's mission to finance the government and keep rich people rich by making sure that shit costs more every year when technology, efficiency and economies of scale want to push prices down.

[Sevo]

IOWs, it's like the book that lead to the article?
Oh, good; it's old news, but you find a conspiracy here?

[Corning]

"IOWs, it's like the book that lead to the article?"

Dude that is just shitty.

The guy is selling his book by calling historians and educators racists who tried to hide black's participation in a war.

SIV has a legit gripe with the article.

[SIV]

Sevo caught the brain-AIDS from Michael Hihn.

[hurts_donut]

Anyone else trying to quit smoking cigarettes? I have a good vaporizer but I still find myself going back to the real thing when its late and I'm drinking. Its a real bitch.

[SIV]

No, but I've cut way down by using snus. Camel Frost, the small ones. A can lasts me 3 days and I don't even smoke half as much.

[Sevo]

hurts_donut|10.5.15 @ 12:27AM|#
"Anyone else trying to quit smoking cigarettes?"
5 years. Don't buy em, don't have them around. If they're not there, you can't smoke 'em.
By now, as much as I enjoy the fragrance of someone else smoking, I can't smoke a one of them without gagging.

[Corning]

ME!

Just got a vaporizer like a week ago.

I still smoke cigs but much less.

Gone from 2.5 packs a day down to 1.

I hardly ever drink...but I do like smoking after I eat or am drinking coffee.

[AlmightyJB]

Cold turkey only way to go. First two-three weeks are the worst. Gets better after that. Also, don't trick yourself into thinking you can have one. Cause doing that will get you eventually. I haven't smoked for probably 10 years or more. I was a chain smoker before.

[AlmightyJB]

I did get the occasional craving for one for quite some time. That eventually went away.

[AlmightyJB]

Just get through 10 days

[Drake]

Not really a secret. Pershing wasn't called "Black Jack" just because it was catchy.

The Rough Riders did well too.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

*Ugh. I posted this way up but shoulda been here. Sorry.*

What's so secret about the Rough Riders? They are professional football team that plays in Saskatchewan - and once upon a time we had TWO of them!

Are you Yanks trying to steal our football; our history?

Get your own!

/Canadian sitting on wall built at the border.

On a side note, I believe TDR is the one that introduced anti-trust laws after busting up Standard Oil? I notice that having read his bio over the years, despite being Republican he was pretty progressive. One might even say the first 'RINO'?

[sarcasmic]

Some think of him as the first progressive.

[Lord Humungus]

You know who else is known as rough rider...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ava Devine?