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IDENTIFIED “ROUGH RIDER’S” ca. 1898 TROPICAL
UNIFORM BLOUSE – SGT. GEORGE W. ARMIJO TROOP F, 1ST
US VOLUNTEER CAVALRY - AN EXCELLENT HISTORIC
UNIFORM WITH WELL DOCUMENTED PROVENANCE: This
ca.
1898 Khaki Uniform Blouse belonged to, and is identified
to, Sgt. George Washington Armijo of the 1st US
Volunteer Cavalry, otherwise known to history as “The
Rough Riders". Armijo's enlistment in the 1st USV, his
presence in Cuba, and his close relationship with
President Theodore Roosevelt are all well documented.
Discovered in a New Mexico home, this historic piece was
fortunately regarded in sufficient esteem that some
effort was made to maintain the identification of the
soldier through the years. At the time of the initial
purchase, in one of the pockets a simple piece of paper
was found with the inscription, “Sgt. Georg Armijo,
Santa Fe, 1st US Vol”.
George Washington Armijo, the son of Mariano de Jesus
Armijo (1852 - 1904) and Dolores Elizabeth "Lola" Chavez
(1863 - 1919), was born March 16, 1876 in Peralta,
Valencia County, New Mexico Territory. On May 2, 1898,
George W. Armijo enlisted as a Sergeant with Troop F, 1ST
US Volunteer Cavalry - The Rough Riders - deployed
to Cuba, and shortly after arriving Sgt Armijo was
wounded during The Battle of La Guasimas on June 24TH,
having received a gunshot wound to his wrist. He
survived his wound and returned with the regiment to be
mustered out in New York in September of 1898.
Armijo returned to New Mexico where he became a
political
figure
of considerable standing, serving in a number of
appointed and elected positions for the balance of his
life, to include:
Chief Clerk of the
State House of Representatives, vice president of the
Santa Fe City School Board, an alderman for the City of
Santa Fe, and Probate Clerk & Recorder for Santa Fe, As
New Mexico Territory prepared for statehood, Armijo was
elected as the Secretary of the Constitutional
Convention on October 3, 1910, and in 1920 he was
elected as the Sheriff of Santa Fe County.
There was a very strong relationship between Armijo and
Roosevelt that survived long after the Spanish American
War ended and the Rough Riders disbanded. I have found
personal correspondence between the two, and not only
did Armijo name his first son Theodore Roosevelt Armijo
after the president, but Roosevelt attended the boy’s
christening as a witness of record.
I have
done considerable research on Armijo, his enlistment
with the Rough Riders, his family, and some of the New
Mexico history that reflects his life. A comprehensive
biography, a detailed letter documenting the provenance
of the coat, enlistment rosters of the 1ST
USV, copies of period photos of Armijo, and a copy of a
letter sent to Armijo by Roosevelt have been assembled
in a binder which will accompany the sale of his uniform
blouse.
Approved just prior to the start of the Spanish American
War, these khaki colored, cotton blouses were adopted
with the issue of General Order No. 39 on May 9, 1898.
While the standard issue uniforms provided to the
regular army soldiers were ordered to be trimmed with
the color of the branch of service (G.O. 51, May 23,
1898), the volunteer units purchased their uniforms from
civilian suppliers, and although adhering to the khaki
cotton material, they varied somewhat from the
regulation pattern.
Overall the blouse is in very good condition with no
open seams and no evidence of abuse or significant
damage to the material. It does show evidence of use in
the tropics, with some characteristic fading, most
certainly the result of prolonged exposure to the
tropical sun and repeated laundering – including the
possibility of being washed in salt water during the
ship board transit to and from Cuba. (For those of you
who have never been treated to the joy of wearing salt
water washed clothing aboard a ship when fresh water
rationing is in force – well, you’ve been denied one of
the more or less subtle tortures life has to offer.)
The color of the khaki has a definite light rose tint to
it as can be seen in the photographs below. The color
of the khaki material used in this blouse is very
similar to the color of the khaki gabardine trousers
worn with the World War Two US Army “Pinks and Greens”.
In the case of the color of this blouse, it is likely
the fading that resulted in this tint.
Embroidered in gold bullion directly on each side of the
collar of the blouse is the unit identification, “1
U.S.V.”. The front of the blouse and the four pocket
flaps are closed with the standard issue uniform eagle
buttons – all present and each mounted with the disc and
cotter pin arrangement which allows them to be removed
when the blouse is laundered. Both sleeves bear the
correct cavalry sergeant’s chevrons. The chevrons are
in very good condition, with minimal fading consistent
with the khaki material and no significant wear, still
retaining much of the yellow color.
The fabric of the blouse is in overall very good
condition with one small hole (¼”) immediately next to
the right front breast pocket. The collar and all four
pockets are full form and do not show any significant
wear or damage. The most apparent condition issue is
the few rust stains primarily along the crest of both
shoulders, likely the result of storage on a metal
hanger.
The
note found in the pocket, in addition to the inscription
quoted above, also bears a second notation in red ink,
likely added by one of the subsequent owners after the
blouse was originally purchased, “Became congressman in
NM”. In fact, Armijo was not a congressman, and the
writer of this additional information was probably
confusing Armijo’s role in the New Mexico Constitutional
Convention with serving in congress.
This blouse has passed through the hands of a short list
of well respected collectors and I have
been able to document the
provenance of ownership through the five previous
owners, beginning with the man who purchased the blouse
from the estate.
I am
very comfortable with the honesty of the former owners -
I know several of them personally – and equally certain
of the information regarding the history and discovery
of the blouse.
Given the short duration of the Spanish American War
coupled with the limited number of soldiers in the 1st
US Volunteers, and considering their uniforms were
subjected to the severe use and wear of combat in a
tropical environment,
that this blouse survived
at all is remarkable. Further reducing the likelihood
of survival was the common practice of issuing new
uniforms to troops returning from the tropics and
requiring that their old uniforms be burned to prevent
the introduction and spread of disease within the
continental United States. In the case of the Rough
Riders, they were held in quarantine on Long Island, New
York upon their return for 30 days to prevent the
introduction of just such contagions.
Material identified to the 1ST US Volunteer
Cavalry continues to hold the interest of the collecting
community as one of the most well known military units
in our nation’s history and this offering is a rare
opportunity to acquire a uniform that belonged to a
member of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. Sergeant
Armijo was one of that special breed – the last of the
frontier bred soldiers who not only served with
distinction in this historic unit, but then returned to
husband his native homeland into the 20th
Century and through the process of statehood.
SOLD
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