ROUGH RIDERS WAR MEMORIAL

The Rough Riders Memorial is constructed of a grey granite block 14 feet tall and quarried near Barre, Vermont. In design, it is very similar to the Rough Rider monument erected at Las Guasimas in Cuba. The obelisk-like memorial is rough-hewn everywhere, except for the panels on the north, south, and east faces where the names of the dead are carved.

Near the top of the front (western face) of the memorial is a smooth bar of granite, on which the words “ROUGH RIDERS'” is carved in bas-relief. Below this is a rectangular dark bronze plaque whose edges are ornamented with laurel leaves (a symbol of victory). At the top of the plaque is a bar which bears the name of the regiment (“1st. U.S. Vol. Cav.”). Below that are outspread wings, over which two sabres are crossed. Appearing to hang from the sabres is the regimental insignia. An “RR” (for Rough Riders”) is inscribed on the insignia, and the name of the three major battles the unit fought in (Las Guasimas, San Juan Hill, Santiago) ring the emblem.

The text on tablet reads:

In memory of
The deceased members
of the 1st U.S.
Volunteer Cavalry,
Spanish-American War
Erected by the members and
friends of the regiment.
1906.

The memorial is formally dedicated to the memory of those Rough Riders who died in combat during the Spanish–American War. At the time of its unveiling, the names of more than 100 men had been cut into it.