Perhaps the most famous warhorse remains disputed; nonetheless, according to legend The TROJAN HORSE became the instrument allowing access into the city of Troy, thus ultimately the Greek’s victory.
The Achaeans fought an unsuccessful war with the people of Troy for ten years, usually dated to the 12th or 11th centuries BC. The Achaeans pondered on the thought, perhaps Troy could be seized by slyness instead of by force. Executing this thought, the construction of The Trojan Horse became the strategy of their victory. The Achaeans hid an armed military force inside the horse and left it in plain view of the Trojans. Simulating a retreat, the Achaeans enticed the Trojans to bring the horse within the walls of their city. The horse had a deceitful inscription: "For their return home, the Achaeans dedicate this thank-offering to Athena."
Without the horse, most wars would have died within a very short time.
This blog is the first of a series dedicated to horses in history. We felt it appropriate to start here for without the valiant contributions of horses in military and war; man’s march through time would be much different. Horses were the most neglected among the many heroes of war serving by the billions, over the millennia in a variety of ways, large numbers suffered painfully and died in service. Life was not easy for the warhorse and was often ended by disease, starvation, severe injuries or being ridden to extreme exhaustion. Few received proper care, but the majority were mismanaged and cruelly mishandled. The severity of the work is not what killed them but the wretched conditions under which they did their work.
Pulling heavy loaded wagons or riding one into battle, the utilization of horses in war changed as time passed. The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5000 years ago. Images of those early horses pulling wagons in conflict with primitive equipment gave way to the impetus of the chariot. As history goes, new improved designs and tactics replaced the chariot with the cavalry. By 360 BC, the Greek cavalry officer Xenophon wrote an extensive paper on horsemanship. In it, Xenophon details the selection, care, and training of horses for the use both in the military and for the public. This treatise along with numerous improvements in technology including the invention of the saddle, the stirrup, and later, the horse collar transformed the effectiveness of horses in battle.
Good horses were always in demand by the military during warfare; riding horses were necessary for cavalry charges, scouting, raiding, communication, and drawing horses were needed for transportation of military supplies and heavy armor. The horse was deeply embedded in military life until after World War I when the method of warfare changed completely. The use of trench warfare, barbed wire, machine guns and tanks rendered traditional cavalry almost obsolete and the cavalry began to phase out. Some horse cavalry units were used extensively for the transport of troops and supplies in World War II, but by the end of the war, horses were rarely seen in battle.
For a horse, the best thing man ever did was develop technology to the point that it no longer had to participate in war. They were the unfortunate servants of war; their suffering was extensive and without falter; their heroic performances proven by the immense numbers that have lost their lives throughout history. Many warhorses had their names written upon the scrolls of history by their evident bravery, faithfulness and good judgment on the battlefields and some of them became almost as famous as the brave men who fought with them. Exposed to tedious marches and bullet-swept battlefields, yet somehow realizing their importance in the conflict continuing onward until the end. The horse has contributed to the success of man more than any other animal.
Today, the horse in war has almost disappeared, but it remains connected to man’s world. From working on the farm to the leisurely trail ride, the horse and human interactions are rooted in cavalry skills and classical horsemanship of days gone by. The riding and training skills of today were once used by the military on the horses in history.
HORSES in HISTORY
Military / War
Military / War
After endless reading and viewing thousands of photos in archives, extensive information has been found on certain steeds, while hardly a trace exists for others. To a large degree, names of horses in the American Civil War were easier to obtain for the amount of data available, while horses of various other conflicts were vastly unspecified. As time passes, their identities will be lost forever and they will remain countless, nameless, everlasting, true, unsung heroes.
We Honor their Courage and Valor
ALMOND EYE was the warhorse of Major General Benjamin F. Butler, nicknamed “Beast Butler” and together they rode into several battles of the American Civil War. Almond Eye acquired his name from the unusual shape of his eyes.
BABIECA was the white Andalusia warhorse of Spanish hero, Ruy Diaz, better known as “El Cid”. Babieca was never ridden again after El Cid’s death in 1099. Babieca died 2 years later at the incredible age of 40. Allegedly, upon his death, El Cid left instructions for Babieca to be buried alongside him and his wife at the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña and that his body be secured on Babieca in full armor and with sword raised. The request was initially fulfilled but later the remains were exhumed from the monastery and then interred at the cathedral in Burgos where they rest today.
BAYARD was the mount for General Bosquet in the Crimean War fought between the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia against the opposing Russian Empire (1853 – 1856). The Crimean War was the first war to introduce technical changes affecting the future course of warfare; first war thoroughly documented in photographs and the first tactical use of railways and the telegraph.
BEAUREGARD was the steed of James Russell Wheeler who left Union-held Baltimore under cover of darkness and joined the Confederate Calvary at Richmond, Virginia. Serving with Co. E of the 1st Maryland Calvary, he was captured twice in two years. Because of Wheeler’s capture, Beauregard became the property of his commander, Captain W. I. Rasin, who rode the horse to the surrender at Appomattox. Beauregard survived long after the war. He died in 1883.
BIJOU, French for, “jewel”, was the horse of Count Johan Augustus Sandels, in the Finnish War (1808-1809). The Count led the Swedish troops to victory against the Russian forces, at the Battle at Virta Bridge.
BILL was the mount of Henry Jackson Hunt, Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.
BILLY was the powerful and stout warhorse of Major General George Henry Thomas nicknamed, “Slow Trot Thomas”. Thomas was a hefty man weighing nearly two hundred pounds requiring a large steed capable of carrying him. Billy, named after Thomas’ friend, William T. Sherman, was a dark bay about 16 hands high. Billy was, like his owner, calm and measured in all his actions even in the turmoil of battle. Billy carried General Thomas in the march to Nashville, during the Civil War. His master defeated the Confederate arms in the winter of 1864. This was the last battle in which Thomas and Billy participated; it brought both to their death.
BLACK BESS was the warhorse ridden by John Hunt Morgan. Morgan led 2,460 troops racing past Union lines into Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio in July 1863. This campaign known as Morgan's Raid was the farthest north any uniformed Confederate troops infiltrated during the war.
Captain H. B. Clay possessed Morgan’s horses after Morgan died at the raid on Greeneville, Tennessee in 1864. Clay lived in Rogersville on Main Street and it was in Rogersville in 1864 when Brigadier General Alvin C. Gilliam attacked the town. While in Rogersville during the surprise raid, Sergeant J. H. Pharr, of Company A the 13th, captured a fine black horse belonging to Captain Clay; it was Black Bess. General Gilliam rode this horse throughout the campaign of East Tennessee.
GLENCOE was another horse ridden by Morgan as was SIR OLIVER. Sir Oliver was said to have been a magnificent chestnut sorrel thoroughbred.
BLACK HAWK was the favorite ride of Major General William B. Bate during the American Civil War. Bate was wounded three times and had six horses shot from beneath him throughout the war.
BLACK JACK was a black Morgan-American Quarter Horse cross. He was foaled in 1947 and was the last of the Quartermaster issue horses. Named to honor General J. (Black Jack) Pershing who is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army—General of the Armies.
Black Jack served a long and respectable military career. He was the riderless horse, with boots reversed in the stirrups, serving more than 1,000 Full Honor Funerals. He was a symbol of a fallen leader. Among the highlights of his career, he participated in four state
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Black Jack died after a 29-year dedicated, dignified military career on February 6, 1976. He is one of few horses in United States history buried with Full Military Honors. Black Jack was cremated and his remains laid to rest in a plot at Fort Myer, Virginia.
Blackjack's Burial Plaque - Photo Courtesy of Ron Williams
BLACKIE belonged to Chief Sitting Bull. The Chief was a Sioux holy man who led his people as a war chief during years of resistance to the United States. He was an expert horseback rider. With Federal permission, in 1885, Sitting Bull left the reservation to join Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show. He earned about $50 a week for riding once around the arena, where he was a popular attraction.
BOOMERANG had a tendency to move backward hence his name. Owned by the Colonel of the Twelfth Illinois Regiment, Colonel John McArthur who was a Union general during the American Civil War. McArthur became one of the ablest Federal commanders in the Western Theater.
BROWN BEAUTY was ridden by Paul Revere during his famous midnight ride on April 18, 1775. Paul was employed by the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety as an express rider hired to carry news, messages, and copies of resolutions as far away as New York and Philadelphia.
On the fateful night, Dr. Joseph Warren instructed Paul Revere to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. After crossing the Charles River to Charlestown, Paul Revere borrowed a horse from his friend Deacon John Larkin. This horse was Brown Beauty.
One, if by land and two, if by sea; while in Charlestown, Revere verified that the "Sons of Liberty" had seen his pre-arranged signals. Two lanterns had been hung in the bell-tower of Christ Church in Boston, indicating that troops would row "by sea" across the Charles River to Cambridge. Revere had arranged for these signals the previous weekend.
On the way to Lexington, Revere notified the country-side, stopping at each house, and arrived in Lexington about midnight. William Dawes was another rider who had been sent on the same errand by a different route. A third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott joined them in Concord, Massachusetts. All three were arrested by a British patrol; two escaped while Revere was held for some time and then released.
BRIGAND was a large black horse belonging to General William Mahone. During the American Civil War, he attained the rank of major general of the Confederate States Army. Mahone is known for turning the tide of the Battle of the Crater against the Union advance during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. Because of Mahone’s stature, he was nicknamed “Little Billy”. His wife Otelia served as a nurse in Richmond, Virginia.
BUCEPHALUS or BUCHEPHALAS was Alexander the Great's horse and one of the most famous real horses of ancient times. Legend has said Bucephalus was descended from the Mares of Diomed – see ... Horses of Legend, Myth and Folklore. Alexander the Great was an outstanding military leader of his age. Described as having a black coat with a large white star on his brow Bucephalus was a massive creature with a massive head. He was also supposed to have had a "wall", or blue eye, and his breeding was that of the best Thessalian strain. Bucephalus’ name means 'ox-head’, which they believe refers to the broad forehead and slightly concave profile that is characteristic of the local Thessalonian, strain.
Philip of Macedon bought Bucephalus and the steed was so unruly no one could ride him. Alexander noted that the horse was afraid of his own shadow and therefore rode him facing into the sun. As one of his chargers, Bucephalus served Alexander in numerous battles. Alexander rode Bucephalus for the last time in 327 BC (or 326BC) in the battle against the Indian King Porus, who they defeated at the Hydaspes River (now modern Pakistan). Bucephalus was 30 years old and died from his wounds at the end of the day. Buried with military honors the horse lies in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Pakistan. Alexander promptly founded a city, Bucephala, in honor of his horse. After the dynamic pair, it was all but expected of a conqueror to own a favorite horse.
Statue of Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus, Thessaloniki, Greece
BUCEPHALUS was the steed of Sterling Price who served in two wars, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.
BUTLER was Wade Hampton, III’s favorite horse. Hampton was a Confederate cavalry leader during the American Civil War. Another mount he rode was CAPTAIN.
CELER is a Roman name meaning "swift." This is the name of the horse of the Roman Emperor Verus. It was fed on almonds and raisins, covered with royal purple, and stalled in the imperial palace. Lucius Ceionius Commodus, the future Lucius Verus, was the son of Lucius Aelius Caesar. He was born December 15 A.D., 130. In 162 his brother, Emperor Marcus sent Lucius eastward to lead the Parthian campaign. In victory for Rome, Marcus shared the success with Lucius making him co-emperor. In between the wars Lucius participated in for Rome, Lucius Verus enjoyed life of self-indulgent pleasures of many kinds. One such pleasure was chariot racing. According to Lucius Verus, this was ranked above all other "sports”. VOLUCER, his favorite chariot horse, is buried on the Vatican Hill.
CETAK or CHETAK was the warhorse of Rana Pratap Mewar in India. Pratap rode Chetak during the gruesome Battle of Haldighati, June 1576 in which Chetak died. This warhorse was of Kathiawari or Marwari breed and a coat with a blue tinge. For this, Rana Pratap is sometime referred to as the Rider of the Blue Horse and both he and Chetak are forever immortalized in the ballads of Rajasthan.
CHAMP was the favorite charger of Ambrose Powell Hill. General A.P. Hill was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He gained early fame as the commander of Hill's Light Division, becoming one of Stonewall Jackson's ablest subordinates. Killed in the Battle of Gettysburg; Sergeant Tucker possessed and rode Champ during the war.
CHIEF the last U.S. Army cavalry horse, at the age of eight, was bought by the U.S. Army for the sum of $163, this purchase changed his life forever; he became a cavalry horse. In 1941, he reported for duty at Fort Riley, Kansas for military training. After a year, he rose to the rank of Advanced Cavalry Charger. Many young cavalry officers rode Chief and remarked on the wonderfully obedient mount.
Chief served faithfully for eighteen years as a U.S. Cavalry Charger and because of age in 1958 retired to a beautiful pasture at Ft. Riley. In the 1950s and 1960s, all the remaining retired cavalry mounts passed on leaving Chief as the last. Entertaining hundreds of visitors at the Ft. Riley Riding Club each year, Chief represented the millions of dedicated cavalry mounts who served and died before him. Buried on the parade grounds at Fort Riley, Kansas with a military funeral and full honors Chief’s death came at the age of thirty-six on May 24, 1968. Honoring the duties, courage and devotion these horses performed faithfully, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army was in attendance.
A marble vault constructed by the Post Engineers allowed Chief’s body to stand upright interred ready to ride again. Buried at the foot of the "Old Trooper" statue lies a plaque of Chief’s final resting place.
CHIEFTAIN was the horse belonging to the Confederate General Daniel Harvey Hill. He was brother-in-law to Stonewall Jackson and referred to as “Little General”. With his legs severely shot by a Union soldier, at the Battle of Gettysburg, Chieftain died shortly after.
CHARLEMAGNE was Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s Horse. Chamberlain was given the honor of commanding the Union troops at the surrender ceremony for the infantry of Robert E. Lee's Army at Appomattox, Virginia.
CINCINNATI was General Ulysses S. Grant's most famous horse during the American Civil War. He was the son of Lexington, the fastest four-mile thoroughbred in the United States and the most successful sire during the second half of the nineteenth century. Cincinnati was also the grandson of the great Boston, who sired Lexington.
At an early age, Grant emotionally bonded to horses. Grant was an excellent horseman and owned many horses in his lifetime. Cincinnati was a gift during the Civil War and he stood at 17 hands. Handsome and powerful, he quickly became Grant's favorite.
After the battle of Chattanooga, General Grant went to St. Louis to recover from contracting dysentery (disease of the lower intestine) during the siege of Vicksburg. During this time, General Grant received a letter from an “S.S. Grant”, requesting the General’s visit for he had something important to say which might be gratifying to hear. With the initials identical of a deceased Uncle, the General’s curiosity created excitement and Grant obliged the offer.
Upon General Grant’s arrival, S.S. Grant uttered he had the finest horse in the world. He knew of General Grant's great liking for horses and wanted to give his horse to him with conditions. He desired the horse be in a good home with tender care, no ill-treatment and never fall into the hands of such. This promise was given and General Grant accepted the horse. He called him Cincinnati.
Grant rarely permitted anyone to mount the horse but there were two exceptions, Admiral Daniel Ammen and President Lincoln. With Cincinnati’s remarkable bloodlines, the grandson of Boston, the son of Lexington and a half-brother to Kentucky, many offers of money for the magnificent horse were refused by Grant, some as much as $10,000. Cincinnati remained Grant’s battle charger until the end of the war. Grant rode Cincinnati to negotiate Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House and the horse became immortalized. Grant went on to become the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. Cincinnati, JEFF DAVIS and EGYPT all lived to enter the White House stables when Grant became president in 1869. Albert Hawkins was in charge of those stables at the time. Cincinnati died at his retirement facility, Admiral Ammen's farm in Maryland, in 1878.
Grant’s other war horses:
DYNAMITE
EGYPT was a remarkably beautiful horse seen by some people in Illinois, purchased by them and sent to Grant as a present, in January 1864.
Cold Harbor, Virginia. U.S. Grant's horses: on left, EGYPT, center, CINCINNATI, right, JEFF DAVIS 1864 June 14.
FOX was a horse that Grant purchased for field service. He was a roan color, very powerful and spirited horse and of great endurance. Grant road Fox during the siege and battles around Fort Donelson and at Shiloh.
JACK a gift to Grant while marching from Springfield, Illinois, to Missouri. Camping on the Illinois River for several days a farmer brought in a horse called Jack. The horse was a cream-colored stallion with black eyes, mane, and a tail of silver white. His coat gradually became darker toward his feet. He was noble, high spirited, very intelligent and excellent in every way.
Grant used him until after the battle of Chattanooga November 1863, as an extra horse and for parades and ceremonial occasions. At the 1863 Sanitary Fair in Chicago, General Grant gave him to the fair and bringing $4,000 to the Sanitary Commission for wounded soldiers from a raffle.
JEFF DAVIS, another wartime mount captured during the campaign and siege of Vicksburg. A cavalry raid or scouting party arrived at Joe Davis' plantation, the brother of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. The raid participants captured a black pony led it to the rear of the city and presented it to Grant. The horse badly worn reached headquarters with an eye of Grant’s upon it. With care, Jeff Davis began to pick up and soon carried himself in fine shape. Grant kept him until he died, which was long after the Civil War.
KANGAROO caught the eye of Grant. The Confederates left behind the horse on the battlefield, after the Shiloh battle. He was in poor condition rawboned and worn out. Jokingly, the officer who found the horse sent it with his compliments to Colonel C.B. Lagow, one of Grant’s aid-de-Camps and Acting Inspector General, a man of means who always kept an excellent mount.
When Grant saw the horse, he told the Colonel that the horse was a thoroughbred and a valuable mount. He asked Lagow, if he did not wish to keep the horse, he would be glad to have him. After Grant’s possession and within a short period of rest, feeding and care Kangaroo turned out to be a magnificent animal. Grant used him during the Vicksburg campaign. The horse was named Kangaroo because of his original appearance.
METHUSELAH was a white horse and Grant’s first horse on re-entering the Army in 1861. At that time, Colonel Grant rode into Springfield, Illinois and was astride Methuselah.
RONDY was the mount Grant rode into his first battle.
BUTCHER BOY was a horse Grant purchased when he was president. Grant with his son went on a ride one afternoon. With Grant running fast on his horse, a butcher's delivery wagon drew up and passed them. A bit up the road, it stopped to make a delivery. Soon, it caught up with Grant again and despite all Grant's effort; it passed a second time. Grant read the owner's name on the wagon and the following day he bought the horse pulling the wagon. The animal became a great favorite of Grants and he named him Butcher Boy.
President Grant's farm near St. Louis, Missouri, The old Dent homestead depicting ruins of former residence and the main stable.
c. 1875
Non-war horses of Grant's:
BILLY BUTTON (Shetland Pony)
ISMAEL
JENNY
JULIA
MARY
MAUD S.
REB (Shetland Pony)
ST. LOUIS
LEOPARD and LINDEN TREE were two magnificent Arabian stallions presented to Grant by the Sultan of Turkey, in 1879 when he made his celebrated tour around the world. The public was obsessed over the horses and went to the blacksmith shop that shod the horses asking for the nails, old shoes, and the clippings of the hoofs as relics.
COMANCHE was of mustang lineage, captured in a wild horse roundup, gelded and sold to the U.S. Army Cavalry on April 3, 1868, for $90. The bay, 925 pounds, standing 15 hands high with a small white star on his forehead, became the favorite mount for the Union Captain Myles Walter Keogh of the 7th Cavalry in the American Civil War.
Comanche was a noble warhorse wounded in many battles, quickly gained a reputation as a fearless and powerful steed. The massacre of General George Custer's command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, Comanche was the sole survivor of man and beast, of the 7th U.S. Calvary, again sustaining serious wounds.
Two days after the Custer defeat, a burial party investigating the site found the severely wounded horse, very weak and barely able to stand. Transported by steamer to Fort Lincoln, he spent the next year recuperating there. Comanche remained with the 7th Cavalry, never again to be ridden and under orders excusing him from all duties. Comanche loved to roam the Post and flower gardens freely.
Orders for the Cavalry to relocate to Fort Riley, Kansas in 1888, Comanche, aging but still in good health, accompanied them and continued to receive full honors as a symbol of the tragedy at Little Bighorn. His honors present at formal regimental functions only led by hand, draped in black, stirrups and boots reversed, at the head of the Regiment.
On November 7, 1891, Comanche died of colic; he was about 29 years old. The officers of the 7th Cavalry, wanting to preserve the horse, asked Lewis Lindsay Dyche of the University of Kansas to mount the remains: skin and major bones. Accepted, but on condition that Dyche be permitted to show the horse in the Chicago Exposition of 1893. The 7th Calvary agreeing, Dyche completed the appropriate taxidermy.
The horse donated to the university's Museum and property rights vested in the University through L.L. Dyche. Comanche is currently on display in a humidity controlled glass case at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Dyche Hall, Lawrence, Kansas.
COPENHAGEN was the Duke of Wellington's favorite horse, which he rode at the Battle of Waterloo. This Battle was the first time Wellington had encountered Napoleon. The horse was a magnificent chestnut stallion of 15 hands sired by Meteor who was a son of the even more famous Eclipse. Meteor was second in the Derby of 1786. However, Copenhagen was a failed racehorse, but a superb battle horse. After Waterloo, he was retired to the Duke's country estate at Stratfield Saye where he lived out his life. He died in 1836 at the age of 28. Honoring the horse, a funeral with full military honors on the estate was conducted. Today, Copenhagen’s grave is visible, marked by a magnificent turkey oak tree planted in 1843.
DANCER was Captain Richard Eggleston Wilbourn's horse. He was at the University of Virginia when the Civil War began. He was a Captain and chief signal officer on Lt. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's staff. He assisted the wounded Jackson at Chancellorsville and reported this incident directly to General Robert E. Lee. He fought at Gettysburg uninjured but the battle at Second Manassas he suffered a severe wound in the left arm. After the war, he became a merchant in Mississippi and died in 1878 of yellow fever.
DANIEL WEBSTER was the favorite warhorse of Major General George Brinton McClellan. McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Daniel Webster nicknamed that “devil Dan”, by the members of the general's staff because of his speed with which the staff officers had great difficulty in keeping pace.
Daniel Webster was extremely handsome, with more than ordinary good judgment. A dark bay about seventeen hands high, pure bred, with good action, never showing signs of fatigue, no matter how hard the test. During the battle of the Antietam, the great horse carried the commander safely through the day. After McClellan retired to private life, Dan became the family horse at Orange, N.J., where he died at the age of twenty-three. McClellan said, “No soldier ever had a better horse than I had in Daniel Webster”.
McClellan had a number of warhorses. Another charger named BURNS was a fiery black horse named after an army friend who gave the horse to McClellan. His one failing was that at dinnertime he would bolt for his oats regardless. Running at mealtime became so much an obsession with Burns that McClellan was always careful not to be mounted on him at that hour of the day.
There is question; if yet another steed, KENTUCK was a McClellan’s favorite.
DILU was the personal steed of Liu Bei. Liu Bei was a general, warlord, and later the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. Dilu was said to have a hex and marking on his face which would bring misfortune upon its rider.
DIXIE was the mount for Edward Porter Alexander. Alexander was the officer in charge of the massive artillery bombardment of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War.
DIXIE was the battle steed for Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne. While mounted at the Battle of Perryville, Dixie was shot from under Cleburne. The Major was last seen advancing on foot toward the Union line. DOLLY was another horse Cleburne rode and it too was shot from under him.
The EARL was the war mount of Lieutenant Richard Temple Godman. In May 1854, the young British officer was sent to the Black Sea during the Crimean War. Godman was in the 5th Dragoon Guards and rode in the successful Charge 
of the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava as well as other engagements. Despite the undertakings involving uncertainty and risk of war, Godman and The Earl came home unharmed. Godman took two other mounts to war in which returned home safe and sound also.
of the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava as well as other engagements. Despite the undertakings involving uncertainty and risk of war, Godman and The Earl came home unharmed. Godman took two other mounts to war in which returned home safe and sound also.
Godman sent many descriptive letters throughout the entire Crimean campaign home to his family at Park Hatch in Surrey. Once peace had been declared, Godman returned to England in 1856. Godman’s letters to his family were published in 1977 as “The Fields of War”. His writings are some of the most vivid accounts of life and conditions in the Crimean War.
FANCY was the favorite mount of John Fulton Reynolds who was a general in the American Civil War. Reynolds, one of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders killed at the very start of the Battle of Gettysburg.
PRINCE was another horse Reynolds would ride.
EL MORZILLO was the gallant steed of Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro that became a deity. Hernán Cortés was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire. Hernán Cortés rode an Andalusian stallion, El Morzillo, that was injured in the mountains around La Sierra de los Pedernalos and was in an Indian village on the shores of Lake Peten-Itza left.
As he marched on, Cortés left the wounded horse behind for the Indians had promised to cater to the horse properly. Cherished as a god, the horse was fed improperly and died. The people were terrified that Cortés would return one day and become angry about his horse’s demise. So the Mayans built a stone horse and prayed daily to their golden equine statue.
Cortez never returned. In fact, no new Spaniards arrived for one hundred-seventy-two years. One day, two lost and wandering Jesuit missionaries arrived and spotted the golden El Morzillo statue. Crying out idolatry, they destroyed the statue and tossed the remnants into the lake.
FANNY was the horse of John Gibbon who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
FAUGH–a-BALLAGH mounted by Patrick Kelly, the Irish-American Union Army officer during the American Civil War. Kelly led the famed Irish Brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg.
FAVORITO was the personal mount of Charles Albert of Savoy. Charles Albert was born in Italy and became the King of Sardinia. During the campaigns of 1848, Favorito was the heroic steed ridden by Charles. After defeat in 1849, the king abdicated to Porto and Favorito joined his master in exile until Albert’s death that same year. Favorito then returned to the Royal Stables in Turin.
Favorito lived for another 18 years and died in 1867. His pelt mounted on a life-size wooden sculpture and was equipped as for the wars of 1848–9, including the saddle used by the king. Along with this display are Charles Albert’s other military effects in the Royal Armoury.
FEARNAUGHT was the steed of William Henry Harrison. He was a white horse being very conspicuous to everyone, including the enemy in the Tecumseh's War at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 where Harrison earned the nickname "Tippecanoe" (or "Old Tippecanoe"). During the battle, Fearnaught ran away and Harrison rode Col. Owen's horse. In turn, Col. Owen captured Fearnaught and mounted him in the combat. Knowing Harrison’s gallant white steed, the Indians shot the man on the white horse. Unfortunately, Col. Owen was the recipient of the shot and he died. In a way, Fearnaught’s flee saved William Henry Harrison's life.
Serving in two other wars, Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812, William Henry Harrison became the 9th President of the United States in 1841. He was the last president to be born before the United States Declaration of Independence making him a British subject and the first president to die in office. Harrison died thirty-two days after taking office being the shortest term in United States presidential history.
Other horses William Harrison owned:
After the death of Harrison’s father, Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the Declaration of Independence, an inventory and appraisement of the Estate “Berkley”, was conducted in 1791. Entered into Charles City Will Book in November 1797 was a list of horses at Berkley. The following is the list in Will Book 1789 – 1808 pp. 408 – 414:
5 carriage horses £ 95. 0. 0
1 bay mare and colt 20. 0. 0
1 ditto ditto Nester 30. 0. 0
1 gray horse Cade 16.10. 0
1 sorrel ditto 13. 0. 0
1 young bay Mare 8. 0. 0
5 work horses 16. 0. 0
2 mules 24. 0. 0
Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison. Benjamin Harrison was a Civil War Brigadier General in the Union Army. His regiment joined William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and moved to the front lines. He commanded his brigade through many battles of the war and after the surrender of Robert E. Lee, Harrison rode in the Grand View of the Armies. This military procession and celebration in 1865 paraded the Union Army through the streets of Washington D.C.
Harrison owned horses, but it is unclear which one(s) he rode into battle, their names ABDULLAH, BILLY, JOHN and LEXINGTON. Benjamin Harrison become the 23rd
President of the United States serving one term from 1889 to 1893; making him and his grandfather, William, the only grandfather – grandson presidents.
FIRE-EATER was an impressive bay thoroughbred ridden by General Albert Sidney Johnston on the battlefield. At battle, the steed stood unwearyingly while bullets hurtled on all sides but charging the enemy was conducted with fire and vim. General Johnston was killed at the bloody battle of Shiloh.
FIREFLY mounted by Robert Emmett Rodes who was a young Confederate general in the American Civil War. Rodes was killed in 1864 at the battle in the Shenandoah Valley.
FLEETER was ridden by the famous Confederate spy Isabella Sarah Marie Boyd in the American Civil War. Best known as Belle Boyd or Cleopatra of the Secession, she operated from her father's hotel in Virginia and provided valuable information to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson in 1862.
FLEETFOOT was the horse of Lieutenant Colonel Walter H. Taylor, an aide to General Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War.
GAZALA the horse of Baldwin I of Jerusalem. Baldwin was one of the leaders of the First Crusade. During the Crusade of 1101, the Egyptians were victorious and Baldwin lost most of his army. He escaped on the back of the mare, Gazala.
GIMLET was the celebrated war horse of John C. Babcock. John C. Babcock, a Secret Service man for the Union during the American Civil War. Under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s orders, deputy provost marshal, Col. George H. Sharpe, created the Bureau of Military Information. This unit gathered intelligence and was aided by John C. Babcock.
GREY EAGLE was a white horse ridden by John Buford, a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War. Buford held a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg. John Buford died in 1863, possibly from contracting typhoid. At his funeral, General Stoneman commanded the escort in a procession that included Grey Eagle, the horse he rode at Gettysburg. President Lincoln was among the mourners.
HERO was the favorite mount of James Longstreet. Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his “Old War Horse”. In 1998, one of the last monuments erected at Gettysburg National Military Park was dedicated as a belated tribute to Longstreet; shown riding his horse, Hero, at ground level.
HEXMARK was the name of a steed belonging to Liu Bei, a powerful warlord and emperor of the Kingdom of Shu in ancient China.
HIGHFLY was one of the battle horses carrying General "Jeb" Stuart through many campaigns. Highfly became his favored companion through her intelligence and faithfulness transporting Stuart through the many frantic dangers. Once, Stuart was resting on the porch of a tavern, awaiting the arrival of General Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of Robert E. Lee, to discuss the next movement of the cavalry. The mare, Highfly, was unbridled and grazing in the yard near the road and a clanking of horses aroused the Confederate general. To see, Stuart walked to the roadway, leaving behind on the bench his hat, in which was a black plume, a pride of Stuart's. Suddenly, Stuart was within gunshot of Federal cavalry and was baffled believing to see Fitzhugh Lee. Quickly mounting his faithful and speedy bay he soon left the charging cavalry far behind. However, the enemy stole away the hat with its black plume.
Other notable steeds of Stuart's:
MY MARYLAND
SKYLARK was a proud, but friendly steed.
STAR of the EAST
VIRGINIA, a battle steed documented and credited with having prevented the capture of Stuart by jumping an enormous ditch, in the Gettysburg Campaign.
INCITATUS was the favorite horse of Emperor Caligula. Its name is a Latin adjective meaning "swift" or "at full gallop". Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, more commonly known as Caligula or Julius Caesar, was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41. Many said Caligula loved his steed Incitatus, a beautiful white stallion, foolishly. Caesar kept Incitatus inside the palace in a stable box of marble with a carved ivory manger, dressed in purple blankets and collars of precious stones. Inviting dinner guests to lavish parties at the palace in the horse's name; moreover, the horse would dine with the emperor and drank wine out of a golden pail. Caligula wanting his horse respected by others considered making the horse consul.
JARMAN was a World War II Coast Guard veteran. After his duties were eliminated as a caisson puller in the Army, he transferred to responsibilities at the Coast Guard. Serving as a guard horse with the Coast Guard's Beach Patrol during World War II, Jarman guarded Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County California. Jarman passed away at the mature age of 40 in 1974.
JASPER was Robert Huston Milroy’s horse, a Union Army general in the American Civil War, most noted for his defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester in 1863.
JEFF DAVIS was John Bell Hood’s mount. Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War having a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness. Sometimes these characteristics of Hood bordered on recklessness thus possibly leading to his ineffectiveness and significant defeats.
JINNY was the battle horse of Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Trimble is most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. During this charge and atop Jinny, Trimble received a wound in his left leg. His leg required amputation and Dr. Hunter McGuire performed the surgery.
JOE SMITH was the mount ridden by Brig. General Adam R. Johnson and the steed had remarkable speed and endurance.
KASZTANKA was the horse of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, interwar Polish leader and most likely the most famous Polish horse. She became the service mount of Commandant Józef Piłsudski, in the Polish Legions' battles at the side of Austro-Hungary and Germany in World War I, for the independence of Poland. The mare became Pilsudski’s favorite horse and faithful companion. For 13 years, she remained his riding horse until her premature death.
Kasztanka is the Polish word for the chestnut color in horses, and Piłsudski so named his horse due to her color. She was an elegant mare of moderate height, about 14.3 hands, with markings that included a blaze and four white stockings. She was not remarkable for any unique gait or for extraordinary feats of courage, but she was very loyal and when her master asked, she remained controlled and obedient under difficult conditions.
Marshal Piłsudski rode Kasztanka for the last time on November 11, 1927, at the Polish Independence Day parade on Warsaw's Saxon Square (now Piłsudski Square). On Kasztanka's journey by train back home, she was injured and died several days later. After her death, Kasztanka's body underwent taxidermy and when Marshal Piłsudski's died in 1935, she was given a place in the Belweder Palace museum. The rest of her remains were buried in a park at the barracks of the 7th Uhlan Regiment.
During World War II, under German occupation, the stuffed Kasztanka ended up in Warsaw's Museum of the Polish Armed Forces. The mount survived the war, but due to lack of routine care for the collections, it became badly damaged by moths. Probably, after the war, her remains were cremated. Kasztanka earned a place in the hearts of many. She became an equine celebrity. The first songs of Polish soldiers during World War I, written by K. Biernacki and B. Lubicz, featured Kasztanka. She was also a subject of Wojciech Kossak's 1928 painting Piłsudski on Horseback, which hangs in the National Museum, Warsaw.
KIDRON / QUIDRON was the famous horse of General of the Armies John J. ("Black Jack") Pershing's. Together they rode in early military campaigns, but Kidron became celebrated when they rode through the Arc de Triomphe at the end of World War I, in a victory parade. Kidron was easily identifiable by his white rear feet. After serving his master, Kidron died in 1942 at an impressive age of 36, in Front Royal, Virginia.
The War Department was hoping to have the horse mounted, however taxidermists were unable to mount the skin because of Kidron's
age at the time of his death and because the body had decomposed rapidly due to hot weather. Subsequently, they turned over the remains to the U.S. National Museum. On March 31, 1943, the Smithsonian accepted as a transfer from the War Department, the skin and skull of Kidron. These remains are now part of the research collection of the Division of Mammals in the National Museum of Natural History.
KING PHILIP was possibly the favorite horse of Nathan Bedford Forrest, who also owned and rode RODERICK and HIGHLANDER. Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
KIT was the horse of Major General James Garfield whose allegiance was to United States of America in the American Civil War. In 1881, Garfield became the 20th President of the United States. Shot by Charles J. Guiteau in 1881, Garfield’s death came two months later and six months after his inauguration making his tenure, at 199 days, the second shortest (after William Henry Harrison) in United States history.
KITTY was the horse belonging to Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The Baron was the Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defense Forces, Marshal of Finland, a politician, and a military commander. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland.
KITTY was Edwin Forbe's mare that he rode from 1862-1865, during the American Civil War. Edwin Austin Forbes was an American landscape painter and etcher who first gained fame during the Civil War for his detailed and dramatic sketches of military subjects, including battlefield combat scenes.
Kitty, Edwin Forbe's [sic] mare that he rode from 1862-1865
LANCER was General George Armstrong Custer’s favorite mount. Custer was an officer in the Civil War, but his fame came later, when he and all his troops were killed in a battle with Native Americans. Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led the Native Americans and the battle became known as Custer’s Last Stand.
Other possible horses Custer owned and rode into battle were:
DANDY
DON JUAN
HARRY
ROANOKE
VIC died at the Battle Little Big Horn.
Brigadier-General George A. Custer / Illus. in: Harper's weekly, 1864 March 19, p. 177.
LEOPARD was the mount of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Scott Venable. Venable was a professor at the University of Virginia and noted for authoring a series of publications in math. Venable was present at the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, serving as a lieutenant in the South Carolina state militia. He joined the staff of presidential military advisor to General Robert E. Lee as an aide-de-camp with the rank of major. He continued serving on Lee's staff when he took command of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862 as general. He served on Lee's staff from the Peninsula Campaign to Appomattox Court House.
LEXINGTON was General William Tecumseh Sherman’s favorite warhorse. Sherman had many horses that carried him through the war. Sherman's first warhorse was killed early in the Civil War, at the battle of Shiloh. Two of his other chargers were killed while being held by an orderly. Of his many horses, Sherman had two holding a particular place in his affections, Lexington and SAM. Lexington was a Kentucky thoroughbred, and his excellent achievements attracted the admiration of all who saw him.
In 1864, when the Federal forces finally entered and occupied Atlanta, Sherman was riding Lexington. After the end of the war, in 1865, again Sherman rode Lexington in the final review of his army in Washington.
SAM was a half-thoroughbred bay, sixteen and a half hands high. This steed had great speed, strength, and endurance. Sherman marched his troops atop Sam from Vicksburg to Washington, through the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, Columbia, and Richmond achieving one of the longest and most difficult marches ever recorded in history. With his rapid gait, Sam could march five miles an hour at a walk. In 1865, Sherman retired Sam to an Illinois farm, where he received every mark of affection. The gallant warhorse died of extreme old age, in 1884. Occasionally, Sherman rode a mare named DOLLY.
LITTLE SORREL, also known as Fancy and Old Sorrel, became famous as the mount of the great Southern leader, General Thomas Stonewall Jackson. In 1861, while Jackson was in command at Harper's Ferry, the Confederates captured a trainload of supplies and horses, on the way to the Federal camps. One horse attracted Jackson's attention and he purchased the animal for his own personal use. Little Sorrel was chosen initially for Mrs. Jackson however, the General commandeered Little Sorrel because his horse, BIG SORREL, proved unreliable in battle.
Little Sorrel carried Jackson over many of the bullet-swept battlefields. During the swift campaign through the Shenandoah, in 1862, when Jackson marched his "foot cavalry" towards the citadel at Washington, the horse was his constant companion. In 1863, at Chancellorsville, Jackson while mounted on Little Sorrel was mistakenly wounded by his men in battle. Jackson died a few days later.
Immediately after Jackson’s death, Little Sorrel was pastured at Mrs. Jackson's home in North Carolina. Later he went on as a mascot to the Virginia Military Institute where the General had taught cadets he led to battle. Then, in response to requests from many Southern States, Little Sorrel was shown at fairs and exhibition. The gallant old warhorse of Jackson's was held in tender esteem in the South.
In 1885, very old and frail at the age of 35, Little Sorrel was retired to the Confederate Soldier's Home. The following year he died when the hoist used to lift him to his feet slipped; he fell breaking his back. His bones are buried at VMI near a statue of General Jackson, but his hide was stuffed and housed in a museum at the Veterans Home until 1949 when Little Sorrel was placed at V.M.I. Refurbished twice since 1886; Little Sorrel is presently on display at the Virginia Military Institute's Museum in Lexington, Virginia. Without question, no other horse in the War Between the States witnessed such fierce battle scenes — and survived — as did Jackson's horse: First and Second Manassas, Front Royal, Winchester, Cross Keys, Port Republic, Harpers Ferry, Fredericksburg, the Seven Days Campaign and that fateful final ride at Chancellorsville.
LITTLE TEXAS was the Great War horse ridden by Lt. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish American War. Little Texas, born in 1894 was bred as an army officer’s horse. Theodore Roosevelt purchased Little Texas when he created the Rough Riders and the group trained at Fort Sam Houston. Historians describe the chestnut gelding as a “pony” for its small size, but the heroism portrayed by this horse was anything but small. Little Texas, with Roosevelt astride, bravely led the charge up Kettle Hill in one of the fiercest battles of the 1898 Spanish American War: the Battle of San Juan Hill.
Little Texas retired at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, the summer residence of the Roosevelt's. He died in 1903 and was buried in a Pet Cemetery conceived by Mrs. Roosevelt which is located to the rear of the main house.
Theodore Roosevelt had a love for horses and owned several throughout his life. Other names include Rain-in-the-Face, and Bliestein. Mrs. Roosevelt's favorite riding horse was Yagenka.
LOOKOUT was the famous charger of General Joseph Hooker, a Union General in the American Civil War. Hooker was in command at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, during the Chattanooga campaign, in which his horse acquired its name.
Stabled in New York, Lookout was up for bidding and caught the eye of the General. Lookout was a rich chestnut color, stood nearly seventeen hands high, and had long slender legs. Hooker obtained him and rode him in the campaigns in which he later participated.
The grandeur of Lookout's stride and his height dwarfed many courageous warhorses and he has been termed one of the finest chargers in the army.
LOUIE, the oldest cavalry horse was specially honored during the final mounted parade of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, at Fort D.A. Russell, TX, on December 14, 1932. Receiving orders to transfer to Ft. Knox, Ky. the 1st Cavalry Regiment, the oldest mounted regiment in the U.S. Army, was to become the Army's first mechanized unit.
The event conducted marked the end of an era. At the bugle call of "Boots and Saddles," the 600 men of the command mounted their horses for the last time. After passing in review, the men dismounted and passed in review again, saluting their horses. The men stood in front of their horses for a long moment with hands on the polls of their mounts in a silent farewell. Then a trooper led a lone horse, caparisoned in black, to the front of the regiment. The horse was Louie, the oldest mount in the historic First Cavalry regiment.
Louie, a cavalry mount since shortly after the turn of the century, had served in the tropics, during the Mexican border troubles and during World War I. Now he stood tied to the reviewing stand. The regiment, now afoot, marched past, their sabers drawn in salute to their comrade. Taps sounded, the lines broke, and the troopers returned individually to their stables with their horses. At sundown, in solemn ceremony, Louie’s escort moving to the slow beat of the Death March went to his final resting place. With a ceremonial volley of shots and the sad notes of Taps, a squad buried the First Cavalry's oldest horse.
The other horses of the regiment were shipped to other border posts, but at age 34, Louie was too old to transfer and went to his final resting place on the lands of the First Cavalry since 1923. Established in 1911, this post continued in operation through World War II but abandoned in 1949 and the Army sold the buildings and the land. Louie's grave remained, a gray stone marker bearing the 1st Cavalry Black Hawk insignia, in the once wild country he had helped to protect.
What had once been Fort D. A. Russell, the artist, Donald Judd, established The Chinati Foundation on the grounds of the former fort, the home base of the First U. S. Cavalry. 
Named after a nearby mountain, the foundation was a desire of Judd's and the museum exhibits his work as well as that of several other artists.
Named after a nearby mountain, the foundation was a desire of Judd's and the museum exhibits his work as well as that of several other artists.
Two friends of Judds, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, visited the foundation and noticed the crumbling marker of Louie’s. As a gift to the museum to preserve the history of the area, in 1991, an enormous horseshoe statue called Monument to the Last Horse, was erected on the site of Louie’s grave with a live horse, "OLD BLAZE," in attendance. The monument is inscribed, as was the former marker, with the phrase Animo et Fide or "spirited and faithful."
LLAMREI was the steed of King Arthur whose historical existence continues debate among modern historians. The particulars of Arthur's account are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention. According to medieval histories and romances, he was a legendary British leader who led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century.
MAIDAN was an Arabian foaled in 1869 in the Najd (today's Saudi Arabia). Entered in horse races, Maidan won every race he was in during the next three years. Trained for battle, Maidan was sold for use as a charger and for the next 12 years his owner, Lieutenant Colonel Brownlow rode him in campaigns throughout the mountains of India and Afghanistan.
During the forced march totaling 300 miles from Kabul to Kandahar during the Second Afghan War, Maiden carried Brownlow to victory making a mark for itself in history. Still swift on its feet at the age of 22 years, Maidan won a challenging steeplechase and was still absolutely sound when he broke a leg and had to be killed.
MARENGO was Napoleon of France’s gallant gray Arabian war mount ridden at Waterloo and captured by the British. Although Marengo was a stallion, he never produced offspring. He was a small steed of only 14.1 hands, but was incredibly reliable, steady, and courageous. Named after the Battle of Marengo, through which he carried his rider safely.
Marengo was wounded eight times in his career, and carried the Emperor in the Battle of Austerlitz, Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Battle of Wagram, and Battle of Waterloo. He survived the retreat from Moscow in 1812, but fell captive after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 by William Henry Francis Petre, 11th Baron Petre.
Marengo outlived Napoleon by eight years and died of old age in 1831, at the age of 38. His remains were preserved and displayed as a trophy. The hide with the 'N' brand was lost, but his skeleton is on display at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London. The skeleton is minus a hoof because General Angerstein presented it to the officers of the Brigade of Guards for use as a snuffbox in the officers' mess.
Napoleon kept meticulous stable records showing many of his horses renamed. Some of the various horses owned by Napoleon were INTENDANT who was affectionately nicknamed COCO by the Imperial Guard. He was the tall, pure-white Norman parade horse. The rechristened MON COUSIN name changed to AUSTERLITZ while CIRUS and INGENU both became WAGRAM to commemorate famous victories. Just as, MOSCOU was known as TCHERKES after the disastrous Russian campaign, equally it is assumed that the stallion ALI was called Marengo.
The following story was recorded in The Cavalry Journal of the British Army, in April 1924.
Even though the Corsican, Napoleon was small in demeanor, he had conquered all of Europe. But one bold German cavalry officer stole seven of Napoleon's Arabs and dared the French Emperor to try and take them back!
His name was Major Schill who was a celebrated German Legion Cavalry Officer. In 1807, he took several beautiful Arabian horses from Napoleon. These horses were presented to Napolean by the Sultan.
Infuriated by this defeat, the Emperor set a price of 100 napoleons on Schill's head. Schill showed little concern over the bounty set by Napoleon. As this tactic did not present results, Napoleon sent a letter demanding the return of his horses along with promising to pay Schill 4,000 crowns in gold or whatever sum they might be worth.
Schill's reply: "Dear Brother, I am more than pleased at having taken seven of your horses, as I see by your letter that you put so great a value on them, but I cannot accept the 4,000 crowns in gold. I am not in any want of money and should the occasion arise I can always find sufficient in the military chests of the French Army, which I am sure to take. If, however, instead of this you will replace the four horses which you stole from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, you shall have those which I have taken from you without further payment."
MARSALA was the steed of Giuseppe Garibaldi who is known as one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland". He was an Italian politician and general who personally commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led eventually to the formation of a unified Italy.
MATSUKAZE was the personal horse of Maeda Toshimasu, better known as Maeda Keiji. He was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku Period through early Edo Period. Matsukaze was not tamable or ridable, but through unknown methods, Toshimasu managed to tame the wild horse. From that time, the two were inseparable.
Matsukaze means, "wind in the pines". He was a horse of immense strength, able to carry his master's large frame for days. After his master's death, supposedly Matsukaze ran off and never seen again.
MERLIN was Sergeant George W. Tucker's mount. Tucker was with Stonewall Jackson when he received his fatal wound at Chancellorsville. Also there Capt. R. E. Wilbourn, Capt. William Randolph and Sergeant George W. Tucker, chief of couriers for A.P. Hill, several of the Sergeant’s men and two members of the signal groups present when the Union general, Hooker and his men surprisingly fired upon them. Jackson and his men were under heavy artillery attack and galloped back toward the Confederate line. Many knowing this would be a mistake; for the Confederates would assume they were foe. Severely shot by his own men, Jackson died within a few days.
Tucker upon Merlin rode with Robert E. Lee and the other generals to the surrender at Appomattox.
MILROY was the mount of Brig. General John Brown Gordon, who was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted Confederate generals during the American Civil War. Gordon captured Milroy from the Union General Robert Huston Milroy at the Second Battle of Winchester; hence the steed’s name.
MONMOUTH was the gray Captain Philip Kearny rode during the Mexican War. His troop (First United States Dragoons) were equipped with horses all of the same color. Kearny was assisted by Abraham Lincoln in purchasing the horses in Illinois and found himself in possession of one hundred gray horses. While engaged in battle before the City of Mexico, mounted upon Monmouth, Kearny was wounded in an arm, which was finally amputated.
MOSCOW was the warhorse of Maj. General Philip Kearny during the Civil War. This charger was a high-spirited white horse. On the battlefield, Moscow was conspicuous because of his color, but Kearny was without regard of the protests his staff voiced against this needless exposure. Moscow was undoubtedly Kearny’s favorite mount. After Kearny’s death at the Battle of Chantilly, Moscow was in the possession of Colonel James K. Averill.
After the war in Sand Lake, NY with his master, Colonel Averill astride, he pranced proudly at the head of every Decoration Day parade. When the Colonel past away, on May 21, 1881 his son took over the care of the animal and rode the spirited steed in all subsequent celebrations until the day when Moscow’s age no longer permitted the event. Moscow went into retirement, under the care of Averill’s son and never ridden again.
During the next Decoration Day, Moscow heard the band playing its familiar numbers and he raced to the road on which the parade was taking place. Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop, slumped to the ground and when those in the parade reached his side, they found him dead. Carrying the expressed wish of his father, his son had the beloved pet interred in the family cemetery plot, at the feet of his former master and friend.
Kearny had many noteworthy horses available for his use. Others included:
DECATUR, warhorse of Kearny’s with a light bay coloring who was shot through the neck in the battle of Fair Oaks.
BAYARD was a brown horse ridden by Kearny at the Seven Pines battle and his fame will ever stand in history through the poem by Stedman, "Kearny at Seven Pines." At the battle of Chantilly, Kearny and Bayard were advancing alone near the close of the struggle, when they met with a regiment of Confederate infantry. Bayard instantly wheeled and dashed from danger, with Kearny laying flat upon the horse's neck. A shower of bullets fell about the general and his charger. They seemed about to escape when a fatal bullet struck the general.
NELLIE was the favorite mare of the Brig. General Kenner Garrard who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Initially, assigned to the artillery but later transferred to the cavalry.
NELLIE GRAY was Maj. General Fitzhugh Lee's little mare, which was numbered among the dead after the battle at Opequon in the American Civil War. Lee was the nephew of Robert E. Lee.
NELSON was the heroic warhorse of General George Washington. Early on, it became apparent of Washington’s equestrian skills. Washington was known as the best horseman of his age breaking all his own horses; and an excellent and bold horseman, leaping the highest fences, and riding swiftly with ease. The Mount Vernon web site explains that Washington kept a large stable of horses and that he was active in breeding, racing, and training the animals.
One of Washington’s warhorses was Nelson, and probably his favorite steed. Nelson was a light chestnut gelding that was great in battle scenarios because he held steady under fire. Washington wrote a letter in August 1778, thanking Thomas Nelson Jr., who gave him the horse and for whom the animal was named. Nelson was the horse with him when General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. Washington held great affection for Nelson. Washington went on to become the 1st President of the United States and to this day remains the only president to receive 100% of the electoral votes. The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously in 1789, and again in the 1792 election.
BLUESKIN was another charger, a dark iron-gray color that appeared almost blue. He was known for his fiery personality and great endurance. Blueskin was not the favorite warhorse of Washington’s because of his not standing fire so well as honored Old Nelson.
Both Blueskin and Nelson served Washington so faithfully that when independence was won the steeds retired to a life of ease at Mount Vernon.
ELLEN EDENBERG and ROGER LEO were two other mounts General Washington rode at Valley Forge.
Other horses in Washington’s stables:
CHINKLING
DOLLY
JACK
JACKSON
JOLLY
LEONIDAS
MAGNOLIA was an Arabian stallion that Washington raced in Alexandria.
RANGER
ROYAL GIFT (MULE)
ROZINANTE
SAMSON
STEADY
TRAVELLER
George Washington’s Mt. Vernon stables
OLD BALDY was the horse ridden by Union Major General George G. Meade at the Battle of Gettysburg and in many other important battles of the American Civil War.
After the first battle of Bull Run, there was a bright bay horse, white face and feet that stood alone and wounded, his rider seriously injured and dying. The horse was taken to recover from the wounds it received that day and months later, General Meade bought the horse and named him Baldy.
Baldy held a remarkable war record with Meade astride. Taking part in nine foremost battles of the war, Baldy suffered major wounds in many. In the last battle at Antietam, the gallant horse was left on the field as dead. Remarkably, in the next Federal advance, Baldy was discovered quietly grazing on that battleground, but wore a deep wound in his neck. Again, Baldy was warmly cared for and soon was fit for duty.
Once more Baldy and Meade charged at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and for two days, he was present at Gettysburg. Here, he received his most severe wound from a bullet lodged between the ribs. From Meade’s great affection for the horse, Baldy stayed with the army until the following spring.
Meade’s planning for their last campaign, the Army of the Potomac, included Baldy’s retirement. Baldy was sent to pasture at Downingtown, in Pennsylvania. After the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox, Meade hurried to meet his faithful charger, fully recovered. For many years, the horse and the general were undividable companions, and when Meade died in 1872, the bullet-scarred warhorse followed the hearse.
Ten years later Baldy was euthanized on December 16, 1882, at the age of 30, when he became too feeble to stand. To honor this courageous steed, on Christmas Day of that year, two Union Army veterans (Albert C. Johnston and H.W.B. Harvey) disinterred Baldy's remains and decapitated him, sending the head to a taxidermist. Today the head mounted on a plaque in a glass case, under the care of the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table, is on exhibit in the Meade Room of the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia. They are protected and cherished relics of the George G. Meade Post. The museum claims to be the oldest chartered American Civil War institution in the United States.
Other horses Meade rode were:
BLACKIE
GERTIE
OLD BILL
OLD BOB was Ambrose Everett Burnside’s mount. Burnside was a Union Army general in the American Civil War. Burnside always wore a distinctive style of facial hair; derived from his last name today known as “sideburns”.
OLD FOX was the steed of Col. E G. Skinner of the First Virginia Infantry in the American Civil War.
OLD JIM was the mount for the U.S. Army officer, Colonel Strong Vincent. Vincent mortally wounded, during the fighting on Little Round Top at the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.
OLD SPOT was the ride for Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of brevet major general.
OLD WHIP was the great steed that Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna rode in many conflicts. Santa Anna was a Mexican political leader. Other major titles included president and general; Santa Anna greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government. Santa Anna fought more battles than Napoleon and George Washington combined. He captured and caused the loss of half of Mexican territory (one million square miles) beginning on the battlefield of San Jacinto in 1836.
OLD WHITEY belonged to Brevet Major General Rutherford Birchard Hayes but found his place as the personal mount of Hayes’ friend and aide, Major Russell Hastings. In battle, 19 total during the Civil War, the big white steed proved himself fearless under fire. His speed, stamina, and ability to clear any fence or creek were legendary among the soldiers of the 23rd Ohio. Old Whitey’s heroic service made him famous.
After the war, Hayes assigned one of his men to take Old Whitey to his uncle Sardis Birchard at Spiegel Grove in Ohio. There he lived in retirement. Hayes went on to become the 19th President of the United States (1877 – 1881). While in office, on March 20, 1879, President Hayes was handed a dispatch from a White House telegrapher containing the words: “Old Whitey is dying.” Before the night was over, a second telegram arrived, notifying the president that, indeed, his beloved warhorse had died.
The celebrated warhorse had died of spinal meningitis at the age of 29. Old Whitey lies not far from the master he served so well. He was buried with hay and a blanket around him as a great worrier taking his rest. Today a moss-covered stone marks the grave of this noble animal.
OLD WHITEY was the mount for Major General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican-American War. Taylor was a popular career soldier and hero of the Mexican-American War and acquired the nickname “Old Rough and Ready”. Zachary Taylor led his men to victory at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey in the Mexican War. Taylor became 12th President of the United States from 1849-1850.
OLD WHITEY was the horse of Jubal Anderson Early. He was a lawyer and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served under Stonewall Jackson and then Robert E. Lee for almost the entire war.
On the bank of the Shenandoah, at Snicker's Gap, Early atop Old Whitey took charge of an advance, and gradually drove back the enemy.
OLD WHITNEY was the usual mount of Mary Ann Bickerdyke, also known as Mother Bickerdyke, who was a hospital administrator for Union soldiers during the American Civil War.
PALOMO was the main battle horse of Simón Bolívar. He was a South American political leader and together with José de San Martín, played a key role in Latin America's successful struggle for independence from Spain. Palomo accompanied him on most of his campaigns of national liberation. The horse was white, tall, with a tail that almost reached the ground. Bolívar named it Palomo, meaning cock pigeon, for its gray color. It was a gift from an elderly peasant woman from Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Boyacá Department, shortly before the Battle of Boyacá in 1819.
Bolívar lent Palomo to one of his officers, and it died exhausted after a grueling march in the Hacienda Mulaló, in what is today Yumbo, Valle del Cauca Department. It was buried next to the estate chapel by a lush, very old ceiba tree. Palomo's horseshoes and other effects of Bolívar are on exhibit in the Museum of Mulaló.
POCAHONTAS was the steady steed of George H. Steuart. He was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. To avoid verbal confusion with Virginia cavalryman J.E.B. Stuart, he was nicknamed “Maryland Steuart”. When his brigade entered Maryland during the Gettysburg Campaign in June 1863, he is said to have jumped down from his horse, Pocahontas, kissed his native soil and stood on his head in jubilation. These celebrations proved short lived, as Steuart's brigade was severely damaged at this battle.
PRETTY a beautiful mare ridden by David McMurtie Gregg. Gregg was a farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry General in the American Civil War.
PLUG UGLY was Alpheus Starkey Williams gallant steed during the war. Williams was a lawyer, judge, journalist, U.S. Congressman, and a Union general in the American Civil War. Both survived the war, but Plug Ugly endured many injuries and eventually affecting him significantly.
Williams was riding Plug Ugly during the battle at Chancellorsville when passing through a low, muddy spot and a shell struck in the mud directly under his horse and exploded. Williams obviously shocked; quickly gaining composure realized he and Old Plug were alive. He dismounted and found Plug Ugly bleeding freely, but strange to say, not seriously wounded and only in three or four places.
With Williams astride Plug Ugly following Lee through Maryland's Pleasant Valley in July of 1863, during the post Gettysburg days, Old Plug Ugly had fallen eight or ten feet into a ditch. Williams quickly jumped off before the land, but Plug Ugly met the earth hard. As he groaned hugely, Williams believed his horse was finished at last. Again, surprisingly the worthy war torn horse luckily escaped with minor wounds. Finally, Plug Ugly gave out and became too worn for further use, and in 1864 Williams ignominiously sold him for $50. Williams learned the gallant steed died soon after he disposed of him. Williams stated he would have cheerfully paid for his bullet-bored skin, if he had it a home.
YORKSHIRE was another horse of Williams, being showier than Plug Ugly and barely used for battle. Yorkshire was his favorite show horse. He was a beautiful horse, admired, and pronounced by many as one of the finest animals in the army.
MAJOR was obtained by Williams in the spring of 1864 and started riding this horse since Plug Ugly was tattered from the battles of war.
RAMBLER was the favorite charger of John Sedgwick, a Union Army general in the American Civil War. Sedgwick died in 1864 from shots fired by Confederate sharpshooters at the beginning of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. He was the highest-ranking Union casualty in the Civil War. CORNWALL and HANDSOME JOE were two occasional rides of Sedgwick.
RECKLESS was a Mongolian mare that fought gallantly in the Korean War. She was the four-legged US Marine credited with making 51 trips in a single day during ferocious fighting. The mare carried 386 rounds totaling more than 9,000 pounds and walked over 35 miles without hesitation. Staggering up a hill and usually without a handler, she carried heavy 75mm recoilless rifle ammunition. She then descended to be reloaded and repeat the task she had just completed. During the combat of that smoked filled day with tracer rounds streaking in both directions and the injured and dead piling up, she continued her duty by valiantly transporting wounded soldiers. Reckless survived that March day in 1953.
In October, 1952 Reckless was purchased at a racetrack from a Korean boy for 250.00. The child sold the horse to buy an artificial leg for his sister who lost one from a land mine. The horse bonded quickly with the Marines at camp. She would stick her head in their tents for treats, she loved” Tootsie Rolls”. At night she would linger by the oil stove with the men to ward off the bitter cold and she was welcomed to sleep inside their tents. Reckless was taught to duck under barbed wire and how to lie flat if caught under fire in the open.
After the war, Reckless was brought back to the United States. Her bravery led the Marine Corps to honor her with the rank of Staff Sergeant and 9 other awards including two Purple Hearts and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal. Reckless was also recognized as the first horse in the Marine Corps to have participated in an amphibious landing. She lived in retirement at the Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, in California. Reckless died there on May 13, 1968, she was 20 years old.
RED EYE was Richard Brooke Garnett’s horse. Garnett was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Garnett was in no shape to lead an infantry charge during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.; he was suffering from fever and an injured leg because Red Eye kicked him and Garnett could not walk. Despite protests from other officers, Garnett insisted on leading his soldiers into battle on horseback, becoming a conspicuous target for Union riflemen. Garnett personally got within 20 yards of the "Angle" on Cemetery Ridge and was never seen again. His colleagues realized that he had been killed when Red Eye returned to the Confederate lines on Seminary Ridge without him.
RED HARE, also known as Chitu, was Lü Bu's horse from the Three Kingdoms period of China. This horse inspired the phrase "Among men: Lü Bu. Among horses: Red Hare." Historical records only mention the horse when Lü Bu temporarily became a subordinate of Yuan Shao, where he charged and defeated the armies of Zhang Yan while riding the Red Hare.
Red Hare was originally a treasured horse of Dong Zhuo, but at Li Su's suggestion, he gave it to Lü Bu to persuade him to murder his stepfather Ding Yuan, and join Dong Zhuo. Red Hare was said to be able to run one roughly 415.8 km or 258.2118 miles in a day (measurement during the Three Kingdoms period). Red Hare was of a uniform ashen red, with not a hair of another color. He measured 8 feet from head to tail and from hoof to neck nearly 7 feet tall.
After Cao Cao in Xiapi executed Lü Bu, he presented Red Hare to Guan Yu as a gift, as Guan Yu had managed to tame it after all other officers had failed. Cao Cao allowed him to keep the horse even after Guan Yu left Cao Cao's service and hospitality. Later, when Lu Meng captured Guan Yu after Lu Meng's invasion of Jing province, Sun Quan gave the Red Hare to Ma Zhong. However, following the execution of Guan Yu, Red Hare refused to eat and died of starvation.
RIFLE was the much-cherished steed of General Ewell, Richard S.Richard Stoddert Ewell. Ewell was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Wounded on numerous occasions, Ewell was one of the first senior officers wounded in the war. His first encounter was at a May 31 skirmish at Fairfax Court House. Ewell wounded once again on July 3, but only in his wooden leg, a circumstance of a previous war injury. Defeated, he led his corps on an orderly retreat back to Virginia. His luck continued to be poor and was wounded at Kelly's Ford, Virginia, in November and again in January 1864, when Rifle fell in the snow and died.
RODNEY was an Army horse in the Cuban War. He was retired to Fort Myer, an Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River, from Washington, D.C. These pictures were taken around 1916. No other information was found.
PALOMO was the main battle horse of Simón Bolívar. He was a South American political leader and together with José de San Martín, played a key role in Latin America's successful struggle for independence from Spain. Palomo accompanied him on most of his campaigns of national liberation. The horse was white, tall, with a tail that almost reached the ground. Bolívar named it Palomo, meaning cock pigeon, for its gray color. It was a gift from an elderly peasant woman from Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Boyacá Department, shortly before the Battle of Boyacá in 1819.
Bolívar lent Palomo to one of his officers, and it died exhausted after a grueling march in the Hacienda Mulaló, in what is today Yumbo, Valle del Cauca Department. It was buried next to the estate chapel by a lush, very old ceiba tree. Palomo's horseshoes and other effects of Bolívar are on exhibit in the Museum of Mulaló.
POCAHONTAS was the steady steed of George H. Steuart. He was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. To avoid verbal confusion with Virginia cavalryman J.E.B. Stuart, he was nicknamed “Maryland Steuart”. When his brigade entered Maryland during the Gettysburg Campaign in June 1863, he is said to have jumped down from his horse, Pocahontas, kissed his native soil and stood on his head in jubilation. These celebrations proved short lived, as Steuart's brigade was severely damaged at this battle.
PRETTY a beautiful mare ridden by David McMurtie Gregg. Gregg was a farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry General in the American Civil War.
PLUG UGLY was Alpheus Starkey Williams gallant steed during the war. Williams was a lawyer, judge, journalist, U.S. Congressman, and a Union general in the American Civil War. Both survived the war, but Plug Ugly endured many injuries and eventually affecting him significantly.
Williams was riding Plug Ugly during the battle at Chancellorsville when passing through a low, muddy spot and a shell struck in the mud directly under his horse and exploded. Williams obviously shocked; quickly gaining composure realized he and Old Plug were alive. He dismounted and found Plug Ugly bleeding freely, but strange to say, not seriously wounded and only in three or four places.
With Williams astride Plug Ugly following Lee through Maryland's Pleasant Valley in July of 1863, during the post Gettysburg days, Old Plug Ugly had fallen eight or ten feet into a ditch. Williams quickly jumped off before the land, but Plug Ugly met the earth hard. As he groaned hugely, Williams believed his horse was finished at last. Again, surprisingly the worthy war torn horse luckily escaped with minor wounds. Finally, Plug Ugly gave out and became too worn for further use, and in 1864 Williams ignominiously sold him for $50. Williams learned the gallant steed died soon after he disposed of him. Williams stated he would have cheerfully paid for his bullet-bored skin, if he had it a home.
YORKSHIRE was another horse of Williams, being showier than Plug Ugly and barely used for battle. Yorkshire was his favorite show horse. He was a beautiful horse, admired, and pronounced by many as one of the finest animals in the army.
MAJOR was obtained by Williams in the spring of 1864 and started riding this horse since Plug Ugly was tattered from the battles of war.
RAMBLER was the favorite charger of John Sedgwick, a Union Army general in the American Civil War. Sedgwick died in 1864 from shots fired by Confederate sharpshooters at the beginning of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. He was the highest-ranking Union casualty in the Civil War. CORNWALL and HANDSOME JOE were two occasional rides of Sedgwick.
In October, 1952 Reckless was purchased at a racetrack from a Korean boy for 250.00. The child sold the horse to buy an artificial leg for his sister who lost one from a land mine. The horse bonded quickly with the Marines at camp. She would stick her head in their tents for treats, she loved” Tootsie Rolls”. At night she would linger by the oil stove with the men to ward off the bitter cold and she was welcomed to sleep inside their tents. Reckless was taught to duck under barbed wire and how to lie flat if caught under fire in the open.
After the war, Reckless was brought back to the United States. Her bravery led the Marine Corps to honor her with the rank of Staff Sergeant and 9 other awards including two Purple Hearts and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal. Reckless was also recognized as the first horse in the Marine Corps to have participated in an amphibious landing. She lived in retirement at the Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, in California. Reckless died there on May 13, 1968, she was 20 years old.
RED EYE was Richard Brooke Garnett’s horse. Garnett was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Garnett was in no shape to lead an infantry charge during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.; he was suffering from fever and an injured leg because Red Eye kicked him and Garnett could not walk. Despite protests from other officers, Garnett insisted on leading his soldiers into battle on horseback, becoming a conspicuous target for Union riflemen. Garnett personally got within 20 yards of the "Angle" on Cemetery Ridge and was never seen again. His colleagues realized that he had been killed when Red Eye returned to the Confederate lines on Seminary Ridge without him.
RED HARE, also known as Chitu, was Lü Bu's horse from the Three Kingdoms period of China. This horse inspired the phrase "Among men: Lü Bu. Among horses: Red Hare." Historical records only mention the horse when Lü Bu temporarily became a subordinate of Yuan Shao, where he charged and defeated the armies of Zhang Yan while riding the Red Hare.
Red Hare was originally a treasured horse of Dong Zhuo, but at Li Su's suggestion, he gave it to Lü Bu to persuade him to murder his stepfather Ding Yuan, and join Dong Zhuo. Red Hare was said to be able to run one roughly 415.8 km or 258.2118 miles in a day (measurement during the Three Kingdoms period). Red Hare was of a uniform ashen red, with not a hair of another color. He measured 8 feet from head to tail and from hoof to neck nearly 7 feet tall.
After Cao Cao in Xiapi executed Lü Bu, he presented Red Hare to Guan Yu as a gift, as Guan Yu had managed to tame it after all other officers had failed. Cao Cao allowed him to keep the horse even after Guan Yu left Cao Cao's service and hospitality. Later, when Lu Meng captured Guan Yu after Lu Meng's invasion of Jing province, Sun Quan gave the Red Hare to Ma Zhong. However, following the execution of Guan Yu, Red Hare refused to eat and died of starvation.
RIFLE was the much-cherished steed of General Ewell, Richard S.Richard Stoddert Ewell. Ewell was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Wounded on numerous occasions, Ewell was one of the first senior officers wounded in the war. His first encounter was at a May 31 skirmish at Fairfax Court House. Ewell wounded once again on July 3, but only in his wooden leg, a circumstance of a previous war injury. Defeated, he led his corps on an orderly retreat back to Virginia. His luck continued to be poor and was wounded at Kelly's Ford, Virginia, in November and again in January 1864, when Rifle fell in the snow and died.
RODNEY was an Army horse in the Cuban War. He was retired to Fort Myer, an Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River, from Washington, D.C. These pictures were taken around 1916. No other information was found.
ROMEO was a black gelding belonging to General George Edward Pickett. Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Best remembered for his participation in the futile and bloody assault at the Battle of Gettysburg that bears his name, Pickett's Charge leaving Pickett commemorated forever. Pickett astride Romeo along with his troops rode with General Lee to the Appomattox surrender. Early in the war, Pickett rode a sleek black charger named “OLD BLACK”.
Fort Pickett in Blackstone, Virginia, named in his honor. Originally a site for the Civilian Conservation Corps, it was an active U.S. Army training facility in World War II and currently occupied by the Virginia National Guard.
RONALD belonged to Lord Cardigan who was a Commander of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War. Ronald was lovingly brought to the valleys of the Crimea by ship all the way from Deene Park, Northhamptonshire, the Brudenell family home. Lord Cardigan was riding his cherished handsome chestnut horse, Ronald, at Balaclava, on 25 October 1854. This was the black day of the ‘Charge’where Lord Cardigan took Ronald straight into the jaws of the massed Russian canon. Ronald survived the charge, as did his master, without a scratch.
In remembrance of this loyal and magnificent horse, one of Ronald’s hooves was placed on a bronze pillow, surmounted by a small statue of Lord Cardigan riding Ronald. This artifact can be seen at The King’s Royal Hussars Museum, Peninsula Barracks, Winchester, UK.
SAM PATCHES was the white wartime mount of Andrew Jackson. Jackson partook in two major wars: the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, holding ranks of Colonel and Major General. Notorious for his toughness, he was nicknamed “Old Hickory."
Jackson was an exceptional horseman and had a number of horses and ponies. General Jackson bred and owned some of the finest and was known as the leading breeder and racer in the state. In 1804, the first official horse race in Tennessee was held in Gallatin. Andrew and Rachel Jackson attended the race, in which Jackson’s horse INDIAN QUEEN lost to Polly Medley. Soon after, he purchased a famous Virginia thoroughbred; TRUXTON who was a white racehorse foaled in 1800 along with GREYHOUND, a horse that had previously beaten both Indian Queen and Truxton.
In 1805, the famous match races between Andrew Jackson's "Truxton" and Captain Joe Erwin's "Plowboy" were run on the racetrack in river bottom, Davidson County near Nashville, TN. Andrew Jackson's Truxton beat out Captain Joseph Erwin's Plowboy and this race indirectly led to the fatal duel between Jackson and Irwin's son-in-law, Charles Dickinson. Dickinson challenged Jackson to the duel where Jackson shot and killed him.
Another prized racer of Jackson’s was PACOLET, foaled in 1808. Jackson's horses ran several races at Clover Bottom before he sold most of them in 1816. Jackson became the 7th President of the United States in 1829. After becoming president, Jackson took three horses to Washington to race them there. He was the last president to race horses in the nation's capital.
Other horses owned by Jackson:
BOLIVIA
EMILY
LADY NASHVILLE
SANDY was Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges’ favorite charger. Bridges served with Australian forces during World War I, and was the first Australian to reach general officer rank. Ironically, in 1915, killed in battle at Gallipoli, Bridges was the first Australian general to be killed during the war.
Sandy did not return to Australia with his master’s remains. His tour of duty included Gallipoli, Egypt and almost a year later transported to France. The Minister for Defence, Senator George Pearce, called for Sandy’s return to Australia in October 1917. Leaving Liverpool England nearly one year later, Sandy arrived in Melbourne in 1918.
Sandy was officially retired and turned out to graze at the Central Remount Depot in Maribyrnong. Almost five years later, becoming blind and in poor health, Sandy was put to rest in 1923. Of the 136,000 Australian horses sent away to World War I, Sandy was the only horse to return home to Australia. Sandy’s head is mounted in a showcase originally displayed at the 1st Australian War Memorial Museum in Sydney and later in Canberra at the AWM.
SANDY was the warhorse for Capt. J.H. Craige, U.S.M.C. Shown here on 7/1/25, no other information was found.
SARDANAPALUS was the favorite mount of the partisan of Missouri, Meriwether Jeff Thompson. He served the Confederate Army as a cavalry commander, and had the unusual distinction of having a ship in the Confederate Navy named for him.
SEFTON, ECHO and YETI, three horses that survived the 1982 IRA bomb explosion at Hyde Park and Regent's Park London, England. During British military ceremonies, two bombs exploded: in Hyde Park one along the Household Cavalry route, Sefton and Yeti’s course and the other detonated almost simultaneously in Regent's Park where Echo, a Metropolitan Police mount, was prepared to escort the Cavalry.
Four soldiers and seven horses were killed and many others, including spectators injured from the blasts. Incredibly, Sefton, Echo and Yeti survived. Yeti did not receive any bodily injuries, but Echo and Sefton were not as fortunate. Their wounds were brutal suffering from many including Sefton’s severed jugular vein in his neck. Miraculously all survived to a seasoned age. From their difficulty through their recovery, the courage and will to survive the horses revealed deeply influenced the public. Capturing the people's hearts, they all had become much-loved equine heroes.
Sefton was an army horse stabled at Knightsbridge Barracks and the stationed regiments there date back to about 1660 AD. The horses are usually all black in color; ironically most come from Ireland the original birthplace of the IRA’s movement. In 1982, Sefton was “Horse of the Year” at the Wembley Horse Show and notably that year the crowds were emotional. Two years later, Sefton retired from the Household Cavalry and moved to the Home of Rest For Horses at Speen, Buckinghamshire. In retirement, Sefton remained an instant attraction and noted for his love of rolling in the mud. At the age of 30, in 1993 Sefton died a national hero.
Echo, was a solid white mount. After his amazing physical recovery, within a few months of returning to the Calvary, Echo, then 11, became a mental wreck. The hero retired at the Home of Rest for Horses, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire UK where he spent the rest of his life. Settling down, but never succumbing worry Echo often had bouts of colic; eventually taking his life at the age of 32, in 2003.
Yeti of the Household Cavalry, escaped physically unharmed from the blast, but mentally traumatized. Recovering and able to return to service for four more years until 1986 when he too retired to the Home of Rest for Horses, Buckinghamshire meeting his old friend Echo. This is where he died at age 36, in 2004.
Yeti’s rest home chief executive, Brigadier Paul Jepson, called 16-hand high Yeti "the epitome of a grand old gentleman, increasingly frail but never losing his zest for life and never, ever forgetting his manners".
SHABDIZ was the legendary black stallion of Khosrau Parvez, one of the most famed Sassanid Persian kings (reigned 590 to 628CE). Shabdiz, meaning "midnight", was reputedly the "world's fastest horse".
SHADOWLESS was the personal steed of Cao Cao. Cao Cao was a warlord and the second to last Chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during its final years in ancient China.
SLASHER ridden into battle by Maj. General John Alexander Logan and depicted by an artist as dashing along a line of battle with all four feet off the ground. Slasher participated at Fort Donelson where he received injuries and at the Battle of Belmont where he died in battle.
SLICKY was the steed of Alfred Pleasonton. Pleasonton was a United States Army officer and General of Union cavalry during the American Civil War.
General Pleasonton (right) and Captain George Custer (left) in Falmouth, Virginia.
SOVEREIGN was Eppa Hunton II’s steed used in the Civil War. Hutton was a U.S. Representative and Senator from Virginia and a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Hunton captured on April 6, 1865 at Battle of Sayler's Creek and paroled at Fort Warren, Massachusetts, on July 24 of the same year.
STREIFF was the horse of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. He was founder of the Swedish Empire at the beginning of what is widely regarded as the Golden Age of Sweden. He rode his steed at the battle of Lützen.
SULTAN was the battle steed of Colonel George Clarke of the 2nd Dragoon Guards in the Crimean War. Sultan's hindquarter was branded "2D" for 2nd Dragoons. Sultan was wounded in battle, at Balaklava.
TAFFY was the warhorse of Corporal Austin Edwards, a mounted Australian patrol. Corporal Edwards was seriously wounded at the Battle of Romani, part of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, in August 1916. During the battle, Taffy stood still for his wounded rider to remount and escape.
TAMMANY was the favorite charger used by Daniel Edgar Sickles. Sickles was a colorful and controversial American politician, Union General in the American Civil War, and diplomat. Two others steeds Sickles rode were GRAND OLD CANISTER and GRAPE.
TARTAR was purchased by the U.S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, in July 1857 to serve in Battery B, 4th Artillery. He was 4 years old and became part of the grueling work in the frontier Army. Tartar was picked by 1st Sgt. James Stewart to be his mount and when the 4th Artillery was assigned to duty with the Utah Expedition it meant a journey from Fort Leavenworth to Great Salt Lake City of some 1,200 miles over South Pass of the Continental Divide.
Tartar's first action was to hunt buffalo to supply meat for the battery mess. Tarter proved successful and the battery had fine steaks for dinner. After that, Stewart remarked, not a day went by that Tartar and he did not bag a buffalo or two for the regiment. Things were working well for the horse until October when Tartar came down with "malignant distemper" near Green River in what is now Wyoming. Capt. John W. Phelps, 4th Artillery commander, ordered to abandon Tartar while the expedition moved on. Tarter was left on his own.
The upcoming winter was soon to follow and they were extremely brutal on the Wyoming plains that year. With temperatures plunging to 45 degrees below zero that November and in one horrifying night, the expedition lost 600 animals, horses, mules and oxen to cold and starvation. In the spring, the battery was short of horses and Brig. Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston offered a $30 bounty for each stray horse carrying a government brand that was returned to camp. The Indians brought in the first horses and surprisingly Stewart recognized one of which as Tartar. Tarter was found last fall, by the Indians, in the same area he was abandoned near Green River. Ironically, Tarter was used all winter by the Indians to haul tent poles and had fared better with the Indians than other animals had with the battery.
Tarter returned to his duties with the battery. In the summer of 1860, the men of Battery B served double duty as mounted infantry in keeping the mail routes open and free from hostile raids between Salt Lake City and Carson City. Tartar's average work included 40 to 50 miles a day.
Then, early in 1861, in response to the Civil War, the battery marched and then went by rail to Washington, D.C., to the Army of the Potomac. Tartar and Lt. Stewart now, found themselves at the second battle of Bull Run. With the massive cannon firings, Tartar was struck by fragments that tore both flanks and carried away his tail. Believing Tartar was not going to survive, Stewart left him at a small farmyard. The next day, Tartar appeared at camp. The gallant horse had jumped a fence and followed the battery.
Throughout the battles of war, Tarter suffered injuries. At Fredericksburg, Va., Tartar was wounded again and from then on, not surprisingly, it was difficult to get him to stand under musket fire. Upon reaching Gettysburg, Tartar was lamed by running a nail into a fore hoof and did not ride into battle.
In the Union’s pursuit of Robert E. Lee after the fight, Tartar could not keep up the pace with the battery and once again left him at a farm on the road, along with a note explaining what command he belonged to and later Stewart learned Tartar was with another division. It was August 1863; Stewart located his great horse and found no further war wounds upon him. Tarter served to the end of hostilities. Tarter and Stewart were present at Appomattox Court House when the surrender was signed. Stewart left Tarter with the battery when he was transferred to the 18th Infantry in 1866.
THUNDER was the gallant steed of Jefferson Davis. He was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War. Davis was a veteran of two wars, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.
KENTUCKY and TARTER were two other horses belonging to Davis.
TOM TELEGRAPH was the warhorse of Turner Ashby, Jr who was a Confederate cavalry brigadier general in the American Civil War. Ashby was a striking figure, called by many the "Black Knight of the Confederacy". He generally rode horses that were pure white or pure black. He achieved prominence as Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's cavalry commander in the Shenandoah Valley and might have been one of the most famous cavalry commanders of the war had he not been killed in battle in 1862. Near Harrisonburg, an attack on Ashby's position at Good's Farm resulted in Tom Telegraph’s death by enemy fire and Ashby charging ahead on foot. Within a few steps, a shot through his heart killed him instantly.
TRAVELLER was the famous warhorse of General Robert Edward Lee, the Confederate commander. Traveller was an iron gray Morgan horse who became legendary. Traveller was born and raised in the mountains of West Virginia and as a colt won first prize at a fair in Lewisburg, Virginia. When Lee first saw the gray in 1857, he attached instantly to him and referred to him as "my colt." Initially Major Thomas L. Broun owned the horse known as Jeff Davis, and paid $175 (in gold) for him. Soon the War Between the States was about to commence.
In the spring of 1862, the horse was five years old and finally became the property of Lee, who paid $200 in currency for him. He changed the name of his charger to Traveller and from that date forward, it became almost a daily sight to see the commander astride the gray, riding about the camp. His black points contrasting against his light color, a long mane and long flowing tail were easily recognizable aspects of the horse. Traveller stood sixteen hands high, was muscular with a deep chest and short back, strong haunches and legs, small head, quick eyes, broad forehead, and small feet. His rapid, springy step and bold carriage made him prominent in the camps of the Confederates. Without falter, Traveller could easily carry Lee's weight at five or six miles an hour.
Traveller became the special companion of the general. The steed solidly accepted and withstood the hardships of the war campaigns in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. When the last battle of the Army of Northern Virginia was fought in April 1865, the veteran warhorse was still on duty. When Lee rode to the McLean house at Appomattox Court House to surrender, he was astride Traveller. In addition, it was this faithful four-footed companion who carried the Southern leader back to his waiting army, and then to Richmond.
When Lee became a private citizen and retired to Washington and Lee University, as its president, the veteran warhorse was still with him. During the life of Traveller after the-war, he was the pet of the countryside about Lexington, Va. Many marks of affection were showered upon him and as the years passed and both master and servant neared life's end they became more closely attached. In 1870, the much-admired Lee died and the funeral cortege with Traveller marching behind the hearse, escorted Lee to his last resting place. Traveller with his step slow and his head bowed, as if he understood the impact of the occasion.
Two years later in 1872, turned out to pasture for grazing, Traveller stepped on a nail. With great effort to heal the horse, Traveller succumbed to lockjaw and died. Over time from the numerous requests to mount the valiant steed, the horse was disinterred and the skeleton mounted and displayed at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. On May 8, 1971 after more than 60 years on exhibit, Traveller’s remains interred for the last time outside the Lee Chapel close to the Lee family crypt.
Although Traveller was the most well known horse and Lee’s favorite, he was not the only horse the General used during the war. However, the other horses broke under the strain and hardships.
LUCY LONG was a mare and the primary backup horse to Traveller. She remained with the Lee family after the war, dying considerably after Lee, when she was thirty-three years old. Purchased by General Jeb Stuart from Stephen Dandridge and presented to Lee, Lucy Long served for two years in alternation with Traveller.
During the war in the evacuation of Richmond, there was much confusion and mistakenly Lucy Long misplaced with the public horses was sent to Danville. Lee lost all trace of his warhorse and searched for her constantly. In 1866, discovered in eastern Virginia and brought to Lexington to pass her days in leisure with General Lee and Traveller. General’s Lee son, General Custis Lee, years after his father’s death and a few after Traveller’s, sent Lucy Long into the country to retire.
RICHMOND, an aggressive bay stallion acquired by General Lee in early 1861, died of colic in 1862 after the Battle of Malvern Hill.
THE ROAN or BROWN ROAN was a good-natured gelding purchased by Lee in West Virginia around the time of Traveller's purchase. The horse went blind in 1862 and had to be retired.
AJAX was a sorrel horse given to Lee after he injured his hands. The horse was too large for Lee to ride comfortably and thus usedoccasionally. Ajax died after Lee's retirement from injuries sustained from a sharp prong on a gate latch.
Traveller is a historical novel written by Richard Adams in 1988. Traveller is the alleged author of this ghostwritten volume that depicts the Civil War as seen through equine eyes.
VILLEBOIS owned by General Villebois De Mareuil and his mount in the Boer War (South African Campaign). In 1900, Major General Lord Chesham noticed the horse and brought the horse to England where the General acquired him. The General was killed at the battle of Boshof, South Africa 5th April 1900 and Villebois was wounded. A simple stone mound is erected in Latimer, Bucks United Kingdom honoring Villebois.
VOLONEL was the steed of Frederick Sleigh Roberts. Field Marshall Earl Roberts of Kandahar commanded the British forces in Afghanistan during Baden-Powell's service in 1881-1882. He was later to become the Commander-in-Chief in India (1885-1893), in the South African War (1899-1902) and, finally Commander-in-Chief of the British Army (1901-1904). For much of Baden-Powell's active military service, Lord Roberts was among the highest ranking and most respected officers of the British Army. He became known as "Kipling's General."
Volonel was an Arabian horse and Roberts rode it during the 300 mile march from Kabul to Khandahar during the Second Afghan War. Volonel impressed the British so much that Queen Victoria awarded the horse a campaign medal.
WINCHESTER was General Philip H. Sheridan's horse during most of the Civil War. Originally, the horse was named Rienzi after Sheridan's raid on Rienzi, Mississippi; later changing it to Winchester after carrying Sheridan on his famous ride from Winchester, Virginia to Cedar Creek, Virginia in time to rally his troops and turn almost-certain defeat into victory.
Sheridan’s charger was foaled at or near Grand Rapids, Michigan, of the Black Hawk stock, and was brought into the Federal army, at nearly three years old, by an officer of the Second Michigan Cavalry. The horse was presented to Sheridan in the spring of 1862, while the regiment was stationed at Rienzi, Mississippi. He was a beautiful black horse with 3 white socks. It was over seventeen hands in height, powerfully built, with a deep chest, strong shoulders, a broad forehead, a clear eye and of great intelligence. In his prime he was one of the strongest horses Sheridan ever knew, very active, and one of the fastest walkers in the Federal army. Always holding his head high and by the quickness of his movements gave the impression Winchester was a hotheaded steed. Nevertheless, Sheridan was always able to control him by a firm hand and a few words. Winchester was as cool and quiet under fire as any veteran trooper in the Cavalry Corps.
In one of the closing scenes of the war, Five Forks, Sheridan was personally directing a movement against the Confederates protected by temporary entrenchments about two feet high. The General dashed ahead; followed by his command the gallant steed leaped the low works and landed the general fairly amid the astonished Southerners. Close behind him, Merritt's cavalrymen came in a resistless charge swept the Confederates backward in confusion.
The horse passed a comfortable old age in his master's stable and died in Chicago, in 1878; the lifelike remains were in the Museum at Governor's Island, N.Y., as a gift from his owner. In 1923, the Military Service Institution, Governor’s Island, New York, presented the mounted steed to the Smithsonian. Winchester can be seen in the Armed Forces History Hall at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Behring Center. Accession No. 69413
Catalogue No. 32870
Poets, sculptors, and painters have made the charger the subject of their works. Thomas Buchanan Read was inspired to write his immortal poem, "Sheridan's Ride," which thrilled the North.
ALDEBARON was an early mount for Sheridan who was then a Colonel. Aldebaron gave way to the gelding named Rienzi.
WARRIOR was the war horse who carried the Canadian cavalry officer, General Jack Seely. The trusted companion and courageous animal braved the bullets, barbed wire and shell fire of World War I. Warrior managed to survive several near death experiences and was nicknamed “The horse the Germans couldn't kill”. The brave life of the 32-year-old thoroughbred ended at Mottiston Manor, Isle of Wight in 1941; on that Good Friday Seely wrote, "I do not believe, to quote Byron on his dog Boatswain, that he is denied in Heaven, the soul he had on earth.'?
Go Green Tips:
Consider the energy used to bring the following items to stores
- Find a local grower of oats and hay
- In season, find local growers of fruits and vegetables - these are great treats for you and your horse
- Plant a tree; it cleans the air and keeps you cool
Any Go Green Ideas?
Email us: info@agreenhorse.com
Look back at our struggle for freedom,
Trace our present day's strength to it's source;
And you'll find that man's pathway to glory
Is strewn with the bones of the horse.
~Author Unknown
Trace our present day's strength to it's source;
And you'll find that man's pathway to glory
Is strewn with the bones of the horse.
~Author Unknown
PLEASE CONTRIBUTE ANY INFO/PHOTOS YOU MAY HAVE RELATING to MILITARY / WAR HORSES
Your Comments and Corrections are Always Welcomed
Your Comments and Corrections are Always Welcomed
