Theodore Roosevelt Letter to Lt. Niblack Anticipating the Spanish American War, April 7th, 1898

Theodore Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy when he wrote this letter to Lt. Albert Parker Niblack, then serving as Naval Attache at the American Embassy in Rome, Italy. Apparently, it was a response to Niblack’s request for a transfer to a combat position. At the time he wrote the letter, Roosevelt was busily planning the forthcoming war against Spain. It was not a secret that he strongly supported the war. Within a month, Roosevelt resigned from office to become second in command and later commander of the “Rough Riders,” the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in Cuba and won the Battle of San Juan Hill (1 July 1898) for which he received a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor in 2001.[1]

The letter is one of a series he wrote to Niblack between 1896 and 1916. Mostly, Roosevelt wrote to congratulate and praise Niblack for his publications on naval tactics, strategy, technology, and training, for which Niblack was well known. He also argues that Niblack’s service as a naval attaché was equally important to that of any naval officer in command of a ship in battle. In doing so, he carefully conceals his own plans to abandon civilian life and plunge into active military service and combat as soon as possible.[2]

He wrote:

“If there is a war I hope that you can be in the fighting;  but no fighting officer can really be doing anything more for the government that you have done.”[3]

With the fighting successfully concluded by July, Roosevelt returned home a hero and quickly rose to political prominence. He won a place on the 1900 Republican national ticket and was elected vice president in November. He assumed the presidency in 1901, when President McKinley was assassinated.

Like Roosevelt, Lt. Niblack got his wish and went on to win significant acclaim during and after the Spanish American War. According to his naval biography:

“Vice Admiral Niblack was transferred to sea duty, and in the USS TOPEKA during the Spanish American War, he took part in the blockade on Cuban ports, and the capture of Nipe Bay on July 21, 1898. He transferred to the flagship OLYMPIA at Manila in November 1898, and joined in suppressing the Filipino insurrection. He commanded the naval landing force at the capture of llo-Ilo Straits, February 12, 1899. On board the USS OREGON he had a part in the operations in Lingayen Gulf in November 1899, and the subsequent capture of Vigan and the occupation of Subig. In the USS CASTINE of the North China Expeditionary Force, he took part in the campaign against the Boxers also.”[4]

1080.3.h.2 Theodore Roosevelt Anticipates War, 1896, Albert Parker Niblack Papers (#1080), East Carolina Manuscript Collection.

Sources:

[1] T. R. the Rough Rider: Hero of the Spanish American War. National Park Service Website. T. R. the Rough Rider: Hero of the Spanish American War – Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

[2] Theodore Roosevelt Letter to Niblack (1896 – 1916)  TLS. 6 items. 1080.3.h.1-6 Albert Parker Niblack Papers

[3] Theodore Roosevelt Letter to Lt. Niblack (7 April 1898)  TLS. 1 p. 1080.3.h.2 Albert Parker Niblack Papers

[4] Vice Admiral Albert Parker Niblack, U.S. Navy, Deceased (11 December 1949) Navy Office of Information, Internal Relations Division (01-430)  https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/bios/niblack-albert/Niblack.pdf