Friday, November 13, 2009

Horses of a Color

I've posted before about units attempting to have horses of the same color before and during their service in the Civil War. I came across the following passage in the war memoirs of Captain Isaac Dunkelberger of the 1st U.S. Cavalry concerning the fall of 1863:

"In October we (ed: the Reserve Brigade) were ordered to join the Cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac. On the 20th of October I was detailed to report to General Meade with my squadron of cavalry.

"I was put on duty of commanding the escort of General Meade. This gave me an ellegant (sic) opportunity to dicipline (sic) and equip my company in a manner that is seldom accomplished in cavalry organizations in time of War. My horses (about two hundred) were all of a size and jet black. They were fed and groomed to perfection."

It's good to be on headquarters duty, I guess. At this same time period in the Army of the Cumberland, units were being mounted on mules...

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