Dayhoff Soundtrack: Unsung equestrian heroes of the Civil War by Karen Holt, Historic Americans Examiner January 12, 2012

Friday, January 13, 2012

Unsung equestrian heroes of the Civil War by Karen Holt, Historic Americans Examiner January 12, 2012

Unsung equestrian heroes of the Civil War

Karen Holt, Historic Americans Examiner January 12, 2012

http://www.examiner.com/historic-americans-in-national/unsung-equestrian-heroes-of-the-civil-war

Related Topics US Military War horses Civil War

When textbooks are written about the great battles of various wars and those who lead them, the names of generals and other officers normally head the list – Washington, Greene, Grant, Lee, Sherman, Eisenhower, Patton and many more.

Digging a little deeper reveals the names of those with less rank and popularity whose contributions were also important. However, there are other truly great heroes who tend to be missing from the majority of historic conversations - heroes with names like: ‘Traveller’, ‘Cincinnati,’ ‘Winchester,’ and ‘Old Baldy’. These heroes were many times the favorite targets of the enemy and had no say-so in whether they went to war or not.

Dating back as far as 5,000 years ago, horses have played a vital role in warfare. Battles in Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC were many times fought on horseback. The type and size of the horse used was determined by the style of warfare in which the animal participated. Was the horse being ridden or driven? Would the task involve raiding, communication, cavalry charge or reconnaissance?

Once gunpowder became a staple of warfare, stronger horses were needed to pull the wagons loaded with the heavy artillery. Lighter artillery was pulled by upwards of six horses, where as ‘9-pounders’ required eight and the heaviest of artillery called for a team of 12.

Another function of the horse was to carry the ranking officers into battle. Generals normally rode on horseback rather than walking so they were at a higher level than the troops – making it easier for the troops to see them and for the officer to spot danger further ahead.

Being on horseback may have helped the commanding officer to see and be seen better by his troops, but he was also more easily spotted by the enemy, and many times the officer was not the first target shot. Life expectancy for a horse used in war was about six months. At one point during the opening days of the Civil War, horses were dying at a faster rate than were the soldiers.

General Nathan Bedford Forest is named as the soldier that lost the most horses. It is said a minimum of 39 horses were killed while he was astride them in battle.

On the flip side, however, sometimes the horse fared better. Four Guillet brothers rode the same horse into battle on different occasions. Each of the brothers sustained a fatal wound, but the horse lived on to fight another day.

As with warriors, there are horses whose names are hallowed in the chronicles of history. The Civil War alone is replete with a number of them: http://www.examiner.com/historic-americans-in-national/unsung-equestrian-heroes-of-the-civil-war

20120112 HoltEx Unsung equestrian heroes Civil War