Memorial Day Roo Tale: Robert Maxey, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Spanish-American War at San Juan Hill
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The 1898 Spanish-American War was a war of empire. Victory allowed the United States empire to replace the Spanish empire in the Americas, during an age when empires ruled the world from Europe to Asia. That era gave birth to injustice, but it also gave birth to legends.
That era of empire produced the legend of Teddy Roosevelt. An Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1898, Roosevelt left office to recruit and lead a cavalry after war was declared against Spain. Roosevelt’s 1stU.S. Volunteer Cavalry (the “Rough Riders”) entered the American consciousness after the storming San Juan Hill. Those images would eventually carry Roosevelt all the way to the American Presidency.
While the bravery of Roosevelt and the Rough Riders was real, one aspect of their story was in fact merely legend. The Rough Riders didn’t scale San Juan Hill; they summitted the much smaller Kettle Hill. Because of the favorable American press surrounding San Juan Hill after the conflict, Roosevelt and the Rough Riders claimed it as their own.
But there were indeed American soldiers who fought the Spanish on San Juan Hill before reaching the summit. Companies of the 6th U.S. Infantry were the first to reach the Spanish fortifications at the top of San Juan. Company H, commanded by Captain Bernard Byrne, was among them. Byrne’s right-hand man, 1st Lieutenant Robert J. Maxey, was right by his side. Maxey was a graduate of Austin College.
Austin College, recently relocated from Huntsville to Sherman, adopted a compulsory military program for its students in the late 1880s. AC during this era looked very much like its all-male military cousin of Texas A&M. Students at Austin College were known as the “cadets.” The student newspaper was called the “Reveille.” Military training was just as much a part of student life as scholarly pursuits.
Because of his desire to become a soldier, an education at Austin College was an attractive option for Robert J. Maxey. Maxey enrolled at AC in 1888. During his time in Sherman, he established himself as a leader among his classmates. AC cadets at that time studied in Old Main (near the Admin building), drilled west of Old Main (near Baker Hall), and lived in barracks north of Old Main (near Dean Hall). At the time of his 1892 graduation, Maxey held the rank of 1st Lieutenant among AC cadets.
After Sherman, Maxey was selected for admission to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His 1898 graduation alongside 56 other cadets was expedited after America’s April 1898 declaration of war against Spain. The 1898 West Point graduation was the first to be rushed since 1861, when Union troops hurriedly mobilized after the April 1861 attack on Fort Sumter that began the Civil War.
The New York Sun reported on May 23, 1898, that Maxey had arrived alongside Teddy Roosevelt in Florida to prepare for the conflict. “Five young lieutenants fresh from West Point arrived here today to join the regiments to which they have been assigned. They were [among others] Robert Maxey, Sixth Infantry.” In June of 1898, Roosevelt, Maxey and American forces left Tampa Bay for Cuba. Their goal was the capture of Santiago, Cuba’s second largest city and the one most heavily defended by Spain.
Santiago, Cuba was guarded from the east by two hills that rose hundreds of feet above the city itself. Kettle Hill was a smaller one to the north; San Juan Hill was the much larger one to the south, rising to nearly 200 feet. On the morning of July 1st, Roosevelt and the Rough Riders received their orders to take Kettle Hill from the east. Maxey’s Company H of the 6thInfantry, positioned just south of the Rough Riders, would take San Juan Hill.
From the “History of the Sixteenth Infantry Regiment Association:”
“As the buglers sounded reveille at 3:30 a.m., 1 July, the troops of [Maxey’s 6th Infantry] began to stir. The immediate objective of [the 6th] was to assault San Juan Hill. A few hundred yards northeast of San Juan Hill was Kettle Hill, the objective of [Roosevelt’s 1st] cavalry. Defending the hills around Santiago was the Division Santiago de Cuba [of Spain].”
The Spanish defense of Kettle Hill was stiff. Roosevelt’s Rough Riders suffered losses as they made their way to the top. However, Spanish troops had prioritized the much higher San Juan Hill over Kettle. The efforts of Maxey’s Company H to reach the summit of San Juan would be a much bloodier affair.
From “History of the Sixth U.S. Infantry from 1798 to 1903:”
“Captain Byrne, commanding Company H, had been sent forward to join the companies in front. Under a hot fire, he drew up on the bank of a stream. H Company, from its advanced position, became a target for the Spanish pieces. Several volleys were fired at the company, but they were fortunately aimed high. ‘Else,’ as Captain Byrne says in his report, ‘few would have escaped.’”
“At this period the casualties were greatest and the [6thInfantry] lost a number of its bravest officers and men in killed and wounded. The fire that was poured upon the Americans by the sheltered Spaniards, at accurate range, could not be withstood. The fire constantly increased in intensity and an annoying [friendly] fire from the rear greeted the more advanced companies from their own troops.”
“It was shortly after that the memorable ‘charge on San Juan Hill’ was commenced. Just how the charge started is a matter that will never be satisfactorily determined. The movement seemed to commence almost simultaneously, as it became [clear] that the only way to get at the Spaniards was to charge them and drive them out. To those in the rear, the leaders of the charge seemed almost to shoot upward, as the impetus of their run carried them up the steep slope of the hill.”
As Maxey and Company H were closing in on the summit of San Juan Hill, Roosevelt and the Rough Riders were standing atop Kettle Hill and debating whether to assist.
“Witnessing the assault on San Juan Hill, Col. Roosevelt decided to cross the steep ravine from Kettle Hill to San Juan Hill to support the ongoing fighting. Calling for his men to follow, he ran forward and gathered a larger group of [Rough Riders]. He led them down the less steep western slope of Kettle Hill and was ready to start up the northern extension of San Juan Hill. By then the fighting was over. General Sumner intercepted Roosevelt and angrily ordered him to return to Kettle Hill immediately to prepare for the expected counterattack.”
With the capture of San Juan Hill, the Spanish-American war was effectively over. Defenseless against U.S. shelling from the hilltop, Santiago fell within a few weeks. A decisive naval battle off the coast of Santiago ended hostilities and gave way to a new American era in which the former colony had now become a colonizer in the Americas & Asia. President William McKinley’s popularity reached new heights as he ran for reelection in 1900.
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders vaulted to national celebrity after 1898. To capitalize on this popularity, McKinley handpicked Roosevelt to be his Vice-Presidential candidate in 1900. McKinley’s untimely assassination would make Roosevelt President, an office he would hold until 1909. Roosevelt remained active in public life after his White House days and became one of the country’s most revered leaders. He is often found on many “Mount Rushmore” list of favorite Presidents, primarily because, well, he’s found on Mount Rushmore.
For his actions on July 1, 1898, at San Juan Hill, Maxey was recognized by the highest ranks of the U.S. Armed Forces. From “A Sesquicentennial History,” by Dr. Light Cummins: “[R. J. Maxey] fought with Theodore Roosevelt in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, where he earned the Medal of Bravery for his valor at San Juan Hill.”
Only one in six soldiers of the 6th Infantry that scaled San Juan Hill returned to the United States from Cuba. Good fortune shined on Kangaroo Robert J. Maxey on July 1, 1898, as he was one of the few who was spared. After the Spanish-American War, Maxey began a career in the U.S. Army. This Roo’s next assignment took him abroad, on a transport ship ironically named “The Sherman.”
From the May 23, 1899, San Francisco Examiner:
“The Sixth U.S. Infantry Regiment came across the [San Francisco] bay yesterday morning. The Sixth went to Cuba with 480 men, only 83 of whom returned to the United States. Second Lieutenant R. J. Maxey was one of the heroes of San Juan. He had but graduated from West Point when he sailed for Cuba. During the battle of San Juan, he threw away his sword, and, picking up the gun of a [fallen] soldier, [continued his assault]. He is now in command of Company F.”
After his post war assignment abroad, Robert J. Maxey became an instructor for two decades at Fort Leavenworth (KS). But in 1918, his nation called again. Maxey, whose good fortune saved him at San Juan Hill, saw that luck run out at the Battle of Cantigny during World War I. After his death at Cantigny, he was buried at West Point with full military honors. The Maxey barracks at Fort Leavenworth were named in his honor; those barracks still stand today.
12 Oaks stand between Dean and Baker Halls on the campus of Austin College, memorializing the 12 Kangaroos lost during World War I. One of those 12 Oaks was planted to honor the life of Austin College Kangaroo Robert J. Maxey, who ascended San Juan Hill under heavy fire as Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders watched nearby from the summit of Kettle Hill.
Teddy Roosevelt was recommended by his superiors for the Medal of Honor for his courage on July 1, 1898. But American politics soon got in the way. For most of the 20th Century, Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor nomination languished and was left unaddressed. That ended on January 16, 2001, when President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal of Honor to Teddy Roosevelt in one of his last acts at the White House.
From President Bill Clinton:
“It is a tradition in the Roosevelt Room that when a Democrat is in the White House, a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt hangs above the mantle, and when a Republican is here, Teddy Roosevelt occupies the hallowed spot. I chose to break with the tradition these last 8 years because I figured if we could have even half the luck and skill leading America into the 21st century that Theodore Roosevelt did in leading America into the 20th century, our Nation would do just fine.”
“We are greatly honored to be joined today by members of the Roosevelt family, including Tweed Roosevelt, here to accept the Medal of Honor on behalf of his great-grandfather. The Medal of Honor I award today is for the bravery of Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt on July 1, 1898. That was the day he led his volunteer troops, the Rough Riders, in taking San Juan Hill, which changed the course of the battle and the Spanish-American War.”
A friendly Roo message from Marc to former President Bill Clinton: Mr. President, your 2001 remarks were a wonderful sentiment that day, evoking themes of national unity, personal bravery, righting past wrongs. But we Roos do have one small objection to your White House speech. Teddy Roosevelt? He never took San Juan Hill. But guess who did? First Lieutenant Robert J. Maxey, a Kangaroo memorialized on the campus of Austin College.
A reflective Memorial Day 2024 to all of you. Go Roos.
