The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and disorganized in comparison to its status during the American Civil War roughly thirty years prior. Following the sinking of USS Maine, President William McKinley needed to muster a strong ground force swiftly, which he did by calling for 125,000 volunteers to assist in the war. The U.S. had gone to war in opposition to Spanish colonial policies in Cuba, which was then torn by a rebellion. The regiment was also nicknamed "Wood's Weary Walkers" for its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. This reflected their dissatisfaction that despite being cavalry, they ended up fighting in Cuba as infantry, since their horses were not sent there with them.

The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during the Indian Wars in the western United States, the Spanish–American War in Cuba, Philippine–American War and Mexican Revolution. The regiment was trained as a combat unit but later relegated to non-combat duty and served in that capacity in World War II until its deactivation in 1944.