Page 15 - SpringBoard_ELA_Assessment_Grade8_FlipBook

Name: ______________________ ID: A
Finally came the order to charge. Roosevelt was the only mounted man in the regiment. He had intended to go into the fight on foot, as he had at Las Guasimas, but found that the heat was so bad that he could not run up and down the line and superintend things unless he was on horseback. When he was mounted he could see his own men better, and they could see him. So could the enemy see him better, and he had one or two narrow escapes because of being so conspicuous.
He started in the rear of the regiment, which is where the Colonel should be, according to the books, but soon rode through the lines and led the charge up "Kettle Hill,"—so-called by the Rough Riders because there were some sugar kettles1 on top of it. His horse was scraped by a couple of bullets, as he went up, and one of the bullets nicked his elbow. Members of the other cavalry regiments were mingled with the Rough Riders in the charge,—their officers had been waiting for orders, and were glad to join in the advance. The Spaniards were driven out and the Rough Riders planted their flags on the hill.
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1large iron pots used for boiling cane sugar juice to make sugar
1. In this passage, the author repeatedly describes Roosevelt's bullet wounds. Why do you think the author does this? Support your argument with reasons and evidence from the passage.
2