Theodore Roosevelt as Rough Rider This Week at LiveAuctionTalk.com

Online, July 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Theodore Roosevelt accepted a commission as a lieutenant colonel in a volunteer United States Army during the Spanish-American War. He wanted the best men America had to offer to fight next to him. So he chose a collection of rough-and-tumble characters for his regiment.

Roosevelt picked cowboys, African Americans, Irishmen, Jews, Native Americans, athletes, police officers and college students. The regiment called themselves the Rough Riders.

He included his personal publicists in the regiment and put them in charge of documenting the regiment's heroic exploits. Thanks to the publicists and the press, Roosevelt's military exploits in the Spanish-American War echoed throughout America.

It took the Americans 111 days to overcome the Spanish kingdom. Spain lost all of its colonies and much of its Army and Navy surrendered.

Hailed as a hero, the publicity paved the way for Roosevelt's political climb, ultimately ending in his presidency.

On April 22, Swann Auction Galleries, New York, featured a selection of Roosevelt's items in its Autographs auction. Among the collection was a photograph of Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform.

Signed and inscribed as President, the 22 inch by 18 inch, 1904 portrait taken by the Pach Brothers shows President Roosevelt standing beside a tent in Camp Wikoff, Montauk.

The photo sold in the auction for $15,600.

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