Tampa Landmarks · N. Armenia Ave. & W. Lemon St. Rough Rider EncampmentVila Brothers Park, Tampa — where over 1,000 Rough Riders trained and prepared before departing for Cuba, June 1898 ✦ ✦ ✦This park at the corner of N. Armenia Avenue and W. Lemon Street marks the ground where the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment — Roosevelt's Rough Riders — made their Tampa encampment in the spring of 1898. From here, over 600 men departed southwest to Port Tampa on June 14, 1898, bound for Cuba and history. The Tampa Encampment, Spring 1898When the Rough Riders arrived in Tampa after their train journey from San Antonio, they established their main encampment on the "Tampa Bay Hotel Road" — the area now marked by Vila Brothers Park. Here, in the blistering Florida heat, more than 1,000 officers and troopers drilled, trained, and waited for orders to depart for Cuba. The encampment was a vivid cross-section of American life in 1898. Cowboys from Arizona and New Mexico pitched tents alongside Ivy League athletes, Native American recruits, lawmen, miners, and socialites. The regiment drew men from 42 U.S. states, 4 U.S. territories, and 13 foreign countries — an extraordinary gathering under the command of Colonel Leonard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. The Regiment at Tampa
The March to Port TampaWhen orders finally came, the regiment that could depart formed up and began the march southwest from this encampment to Port Tampa — a route illustrated on the reverse side of the monument itself, which bears an 1898 sketch map of Tampa and vicinity showing the path the Rough Riders took to the ships. The departure was bittersweet. A critical shortage of transport ships meant that only eight of the twelve companies could embark for Cuba. Those left behind felt the sting deeply — though Roosevelt later reminded them that those who stayed had "done their duty precisely as did those who went." The Monument's Reverse SideThe reverse face of the Vila Brothers Park monument bears an 1898 sketch map of Tampa, Florida and vicinity — illustrating the southwest path the Rough Riders took from this encampment to the Port of Tampa, where they boarded ships bound for Cuba on June 14, 1898. It is one of the few Tampa landmarks that visually traces the regiment's route out of the city. Monument InscriptionRough Rider Encampment at Vila Brothers ParkAt the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, this area was the campsite of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment commanded by Colonel Leonard Wood (Medal of Honor recipient) and later Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Known as the "Rough Riders," the more than 1000 officers and troopers were a diverse assortment of cowboys, ranchers, miners, lawmen, trappers, professional sportsmen, and socialites from 42 U.S. states, 4 U.S. territories and 13 foreign countries. Over 600 Rough Riders departed for Cuba via Port Tampa on June 14, 1898 to fight as dismounted cavalry, leaving the rest of the regiment in Tampa for the duration of the war due to the critical shortage of ships to transport the invading force. The Rough Riders sustained the highest casualty rate of any American unit in that war and became a living legend in their own time. Roosevelt belatedly was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery on the field of battle. Erected 2016 by 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (Rough Riders) Inc. of Tampa. LocationVila Brothers Park — N. Armenia Ave. & W. Lemon St.
Coordinates: 27° 57.032′ N, 82° 29.113′ W |
