<p>The regiment was also called 'Wood&#39;s Weary Walkers' in honor of its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. This nickname served to acknowledge that despite being a cavalry unit they ended up fighting on foot as infantry. Wood&#39;s second in command was former assistant secretary of the United States Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, a man who had pushed for American involvement in Cuban independence. When Colonel Wood became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, the Rough Riders then became 'Roosevelt&#39;s Rough Riders.' The Rough Riders is Roosevelt&#39;s account of his adventures in the Spanish-American War and it was a bestseller immediately when it was published in 1899.</p>