Portrait of an American Rifleman:Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was a sickly child, plagued by asthma and poor eyesight. However, with the encouragement of his father, the future 26^th and youngest president embarked on a vigorous lifestyle to improve his health. Born to an affluent New York family with a mother of Savannah, Georgia aristocracy, Roosevelt used his advantages to pursue fully what he coined the “strenuous life.” Taking up boxing to increase his strength and health as a boy was the beginning of a lifelong adventurous and sporting lifestyle. He engaged in athletics of all sorts, went west to become a rancher (when the west was still somewhat wild), went on Safari in Africa, and a South American expedition. While president, Roosevelt completely lost vision in his left eye boxing a young artillery captain at the White House.¹ Perhaps Roosevelt’s most famous adventure was leading the Rough Riders during the Spanish American War. In Cuba, with the Rough Riders, he attained the nickname, “The Colonel,” a moniker he retained the rest of his life. Close friends never referred to him as “Teddy.”
As Assistant Secretary of the Navy and an ardent supporter of war with Spain, Roosevelt used his connections to form the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, which became known as the Rough Riders. The regiment was formed in Texas and was composed of cowboys, Indians, Indian fighters, Ivy League College boys, lawmen, and outlaws. The conflict in Cuba inspired ten American men to fight for every one position available and brought northerners and southerners together again for a common cause.² Lt. Colonel Roosevelt deferred the actual top command of the regiment to a more experienced officer, but gained the respect of his men and national notoriety from his exploits with the Rough Riders. Roosevelt’s experience with the Rough Riders also strengthened his belief in the importance of rifle marksmanship. In his second annual message as Governor of New York he remarked “…it should be remembered that target practice proper is the alphabet of the soldier's marksmanship. In a battle the only bullets that count are those that hit.” As president, he remarked in his annual message to Congress of 1906, “if a soldier has the fighting edge, and ability to care for himself in the open, his efficiency on the line of battle is almost directly proportionate to excellence in marksmanship.”

We cannot know for sure how good a shot Roosevelt was himself but he was often called a fine shot in spite of his poor vision. When asked if he was a good marksman, according to his grandson, Tweed, Theodore Roosevelt would reply, “I don’t shoot well, but I shoot often.”³ Roosevelt is still known today for favoring Winchester repeating rifles. He is reported to have owned at least 20 of them and given more as gifts.⁴ The naturalist Alden Loring, who accompanied Roosevelt on safari in Africa reported, “…the Colonel is a good marksman…In hunting dangerous game, such as buffaloes, elephants, rhinoceroses, and lions he exhibited the courage of a veteran big-game hunter, and the quickness with which he mastered the situation when in dangerous places, and the accuracy of his shooting, showed that he never got excited.” Loring surmised that ten times the amount of game taken could have been killed if the expedition had not been fully scientific in nature.⁵

As president, Roosevelt was concerned about the marksmanship abilities of both American troops and the civilian population: “. . . it is unfortunately true that the great body of our citizens shoot less and less as time goes on. To meet this we should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services, by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving the peace of the world. Fit to hold our own against the strong nations of the earth, our voice for peace will carry to the ends of the earth. Unprepared, and therefore unfit, we must sit dumb and helpless to defend ourselves, protect others, or preserve peace. The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come is to teach our men to shoot.”⁶

As president, “The Colonel” took steps to make sure Americans had the ability to remain free through practice with the rifle and the development of marksmanship skills. In his first term as president, Roosevelt established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice. An annual national marksmanship competition was created and Roosevelt instituted the long standing presidential tradition of writing a congratulatory letter to the winner. Roosevelt also said the Congress should “encourage the formation of rifle clubs throughout all parts of the land.”⁷ The national board evolved into the federally chartered, non-profit Civilian Marksmanship Program. Today, American civilians can purchase surplus military rifles and ammunition from the Civilian Marksmanship Program through participation in marksmanship training with a rifle club. As Roosevelt once wrote, “The rifle is the free man’s weapon.”⁸ Once upon a time, free men like Theodore Roosevelt took steps to preserve liberty for future generations. Those generations must continue to defend that hard-earned liberty through rifle and marksmanship practice.

1. The Life of Theodore Roosevelt, WM Draper Lewis, 1919.

2. The Rough Riders, Theodore Roosevelt, 1899.

3. Roosevelt Hunt Honors Military and Helps Fight Cancer, 119^th Wing North Dakota Air National Guard News, Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, 2008.

4. Theodore Roosevelt Outdoorsman, R.L. Wilson, 1994.

5. Tells of Roosevelt’s Hunt, The New York Times, August 25, 1910.

6. State of the Union Message, 1908.

7. Theodore Roosevelt, American Rifleman, May, 1958.

8. Ibid.