88 SIDELINES DECEMBER 2011
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Most close quarters
cavalry battles against
a mounted enemy
involved sabres, which
in their formative years
were attached to the
saddle rather than
worn on the person
as they were in this
war. Although it was
soon phased out of
combat, the sabre
remains as an often
used accoutrement
of the offcer’s dress
uniform. (The sabre
is closely associated
with the cavalry where
the “sword” is a more
generic weapon)
Cavalrymen fought with
handguns most often at mid-
range where their accuracy
improved. But the need
to reload quickly made
them risky in hand-to-hand
combat with sabers after they
expended their original load.
They used rifes for long range
attacks where hand guns or
sabers were ineffective and
they had time to reload
The War Horse. This realistic and thought
provoking monument designed by Tessa Pullan
of Rutland, England, and given by Paul Mellon of
Upperville, Virginia, was placed in 1997 in front
of Battle Abby at the Virginia Historical Society
in Richmond, Virginia. The inscription reads, “In
memory of the one and one half million horses and
mules of the Confederate and Union armies who
were killed were wounded or died from disease in
the Civil War.” The Society is open seven days a
week. http://www.vahistorical.org/civilwar/main.htm