Preface: Information on the backgrounds and histories of men in a militia as well known as the RoughRiders was scarce to non-existent. Online searches of several men within the A Company always led back to the original source, in this case, Colonel Wood’s book about the regiment. Database searches for the cities and towns listed as home for these men turned up nothing. They did not seem to exist during the period centering on the Spanish American War.

Research into most aspects of the kingdoms 200-year history has been extremely difficult. Of course, the turmoil surrounding the 1947 Hotri invasion has long been thought to be a contributing factor. Many early records were lost during the infamous Long Night of Knives and the subsequent destruction of the capitol by the invader's fleet.

Background: In 1898, after a revolt in Cuba against the Spanish Empires government administrators and the mysterious destruction of the Majesty’s’ battleship 'Maine' in Habăna Harbor, the American king, His Royal Majesty, William Byron Washington II, declared war on the Imperio de Espăna. Sensationalistic press reports of Spanish atrocities and the opinion held by many of the Kings subject’s, that it was their "manifest destiny" to watch over and guide the rest of the peoples of the Americas.

The Kingdom of North America at the time had little in the way of combat ready units; as most were disbanded shortly after the Reunification War forty years earlier. Those that were still intact were more likely than not, stationed along the kingdoms westernmost border, protecting the Kings subjects from attacks by Incan raiding parties. Activating and training the reserve units took some time. In addition, moving the regiments already on active duty was hampered by a severe lack of transportation. The ships gathered at Port Tampa were only able to carry roughly half the units assigned to the assault on Cuba, leaving the ones that did make the trip rather understrength. The units finally selected for the assault on Cuba were mostly from volunteer regiments that had been put together by the kingdom’s westernmost baronies

The following are a series of letters written by a soldier in the Baron Vos Scottsdale’s 1st Royal Volunteer Regiment. The infamous RoughRiders cavalry unit led by Colonel Roosevelt and his second in command, Leftenant Colonel Woods. Woods later became acting commander of the abbreviated regiment after Colonel Roosevelt was promoted early in the fighting. The RoughRiders landed in Cuba in late June of 1898 with slightly less than half of the regiments men and horses. Over the next several weeks they would become famous for the rout of the Empires military at places like Las Guasimas, Santiago, Kettle Hill and the battle that put them in the history books, the Battle of San Juan Hill.