Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: Ko Wood te taote whaiaro ki nga Perehitini Grover Cleveland me William McKinley tae noa ki te 1898. I a ia e mahi ana i te Whare Ma, i whakahoahoa a Wood ki a Theodore Roosevelt, te Kaiawhina o te Hekeretari o te Navy. I te pakarutanga o te Pakanga Paniora-Amerika, i whakahaerehia e Wood me Roosevelt te 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, e mohiotia whanuitia ana ko nga Rough Riders. I angitu a Wood ki te whakahau i te reimana i te Pipiri 24, 1898 Pakanga o Las Guasimas. I te wa i mate ai te rangatira pirihimana, a Samuel B. M. Young, i whakatairangahia a Wood ki te rangatira pirihimana o nga kaitautoko. I whakawhiwhia e ia te whakahau o te 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Fifth Army Corps (i uru atu ki nga Rough Riders) me te arahi i te brigade ki te wikitoria rongonui o te Hurae 1, 1898 i Kettle Hill me
Ko San Juan Heights.