72 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2011
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
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Sitting Ducks & Heavy Lifters:
The Civil War’s Most Vulnerable Heroes
By Fred McWane
all photos by author
The cavalry was the most visible and
most glamorous role of horses in the Civil
War – that wing of the army which used
horses in battles against enemy cavalry
and mixed battles including infantry
and artillery; mounted patrols, raids,
reconnaissance (scouting and spying)
and protection for moving infantry and
artillery units. The cavalry also had
dismounted units – those without a full
contingent of horses or having assignments not requiring
mobility such as guarding railroads, bridges and supply
depots.
Even so, the cavalry was not the only dangerous role nor
was it necessarily the most important. Horses (and mules)
performed several other critical tasks and one simply could
not say one was more important than another.
Some suggest the most important was
movement of artillery units – huge cannons
and caissons containing ammunition and
accessories. The effort to move these heavy
pieces from one battlefeld to another often
over impossible terrain was staggering; but
the greatest danger was in placing these guns
during combat and then standing nearby. The
danger was exponential - when a round hit
one caisson the resulting explosion might take
out several teams, cannons and additional
caissons. These teams were primary targets
for enemy rifemen who continually tried to
disable or capture the cannons, and when horses were killed
saving the guns was almost impossible unless the enemy was
repulsed.
Maybe the most important battlefeld employment of horses
was by feld offcers and orderlies. Mounted orderlies carried
messages to nearby commands or to distant headquarters -
often running their horses to death. While company grade
The artillery group on the south end of the Grant Memorial between the U.S. Capitol and the Refecting Pool dramatically
shows the strain of three horses pulling a cannon and caisson over rough terrain. Two soldiers ride on the caisson, a third
astride one of the horses and a fourth on a separate mount as they try to affect a diffcult turn