"For better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

"Roosevelt thought it was just a matter of time before the foreign powers Germany, France, Japan, Russia would take over everything, including the United States," says director John Milius, a history buff and Roosevelt enthusiast. "The U.S. was an isolationistic experiment, but Roosevelt knew it was capable of a vast industrialization. He realized our country could produce far more products than we could use ourselves, which put us in direct conflict with the European powers."

Roosevelt entered the fray in Cuba as second in command of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry under Colonel Leonard Wood. "Coming straight from a bureaucratic position in Washington, Roosevelt entered the war with a certain innocence and boundless enthusiasm," says Milius. "He studied the soldiers around him and learned quickly. He was a natural leader.

Enthralled by Roosevelt's charisma, which overshadowed Wood, newspapers referred to the cavalry as "Teddy's Terrors," "Teddy's Gilded Gang" and "Roosevelt's Rangers," designations that Roosevelt did not endorse. The only appellation he approved was "Roosevelt's Rough Riders," a term he used as early as 1896 when saying he longed to lead a troop of "roughriders" into battle.

From 23,000 enthusiastic volunteers, 560 men had been selected to fight under Wood and Roosevelt. The Rough Riders were a cross-cultural mix of wealthy Eastern dandies, cowboys and outlaws. "Each had completely different training, but they were an instant cavalry because everyone could ride and shoot so well," says Milius. "The rich, Eastern boys were not fragile, as people thought. They were more like English knights who believed it was the duty of the patrician class to influence history by the sword."

Among the Rough Riders were footballers from Princeton, high-jumpers from Yale, polo players and several famous American families. "Hamilton Fish, former captain of the Columbia crew team, came from one of the wealthiest families in New York. B.F. Goodrich survived the war and built the country's tire industry. Bill Tiffany was the son of the renowned department-store family," says Milius. "These high society men mixed with the cowboys and became great friends. They continued to have reunions for many years after the war."