ROUGH RIDER VETERAN LETTER & ROSTER AUTOGRAPH LETR

3 Page letter dated June 23rd, 1939. Written by former Sergeant and member of the famed Rough Riders of Spanish American War fame, Sgt. Thaddeus Higgins. This letter is addressed to a"Colonel" (R.C. Langdon) and describes the known service and muster roll entries of Thompson Baird, of troop "M." Higgins acknowledges that Baird did in fact serve with the unit in combat and, closes the letter with, "I cheerfully accept his statement" after citing the constitution of the Rough Rider veterans' organization. This letter acts as confirmation that Baird served in combat with the Rough Riders, and includes a page of hand copied Muster Roll entries describing the losses and movements of the unit during Santiago and San Juan. 3 page letter in near mint condition, each page folded three times horizontally from mailing. On 21 March 1897, Sergeant Major Thaddeus Higgins was Honorably Discharged from Troop L of the 6th US Cavalry after 10 years. On 5 May 1898, Thaddeus re-enlisted with Troop K of the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry in Washigton D.C. He was described as 29-2/12 years, 5 feet 8-3/4 inches, ruddy complexion, brown eyes, and dark brown hair. His parent/guardian was annotated as D.J. Gilmartin of 210 W 104 Street, New York. Because of his previous experience in the NCO grades of Corporal, Sergeant, and Sergeant Major; Thaddeus was appointed to First Sergeant on 6 May 1898 "per verbal order of the Col. and Lt.Col. of the Regiment"(Leonard Wood and Teddy Roosevelt). He mustered into service on 21 May at San Antonio, Texas. On 24 June, Higgins was engaged in the Battle of La Guasimas, Cuba. On 1 July, he was engaged in the siege of Santiago de Cuba (San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill). On 13 July he resigned to Duty Sergeant. From 19 to 24 July, he became sick, "contracted in the line of Duty". On 15 Aug 1898, the Rough Riders were quarantined at Camp Wykoff, Montauk Point on Long Island as a means to contain the Malaria and Yellow Fever the soldiers were exposed to. On 15 Sep 1898, Higgins mustered out of service at Camp Wykoff, Long Island Near Mint