Jacob Timmons

December 1, 2015
T R 9:00am
Mark McDonald
Horses in the civil war
The first journal article I reviewed was called War in History. The writer talks
about horse discipline and how to make the horses become friends with each other
so the horses will be able to connect to each other better. The writer talks about
how horses communicate better to each other when they are filmier with the other
horse. The writer barley talks about horses at all. The author talks about was and
how war is like but not much about horses I the war. Horses are very important.
Back then horses were used in many ways. People used horses for travel and to
carry heavy equipment lo distances. Horses where very useful during war times.
Horses are gregarious creatures. Even within a larger herd they form
strong personal attachments to other individual horses with which they spend more
time engaged in mutual grooming and sharing space, standing together far closer
than they would tolerate a less familiar animal. The domesticated horse, like the
dog and cat, retains juvenile characteristics into adulthood, and their friendships
often involve playful activity such as nipping, shoving, and chasing.18
Psychologically, such bonds are immensely important to horses, and those that are
kept singly have often been observed to bond with surrogates, developing
affectionate relationships with yard dogs and farm cats. The most significant
interspecies relationship, though, is that with humans. While horses have a general
preference for the company of other horses they clearly form close bonds with
humans too; it is well established that the companionship of an animal reduces
stress and anxiety in humans, but equine scientists are now suggesting horses

benefit from such relationships in a similar way. The author says how important it is
for horses to build relationships with other horses just like humans develop
relationships with other humans and need those relationships. Without horses
knowing other horses the horse might not do what is asked of it at the time and
might become crazy and wild if not properly trained. This article talks about the
importance of relationship between horse and between human.
The next article I read is called Horses and Mules in The Civil War. This
author talks about every aspect of horse usage in the civil war. How they were used,
the stats of horse to men in numbers, and how useful they were. The first image
called to mind of equines when we think of the civil war is the dashing Calvary
charge. At full strength (which was exceedingly rare) a Calvary regiment required a
minimum of around 1,200 horses with 137 union and 206 confederate full time
regiments the total minimum would be 120,050 horses. When the average 4 month
life of a Calvary horse is calculated in, the probable total requirement for Calvary
horse would be 1,440,600. The author here talks about how its nearly impossible
for everyman to have horse and how horses only live for about four months in the
war. Horses dont live long in wars which makes it incredibly hard and too expensive
to afford which makes it difficult to win wars.
The death amount of war. Over the course of 3 days, between July 1 and July 3,
1863, the Battle at Gettysburg was fought. When it was over, around 3100 Union soldiers had
been killed. Lee's Army lost approximately 4,000 soldiers. Less often commented upon is
that between 3,000 and 5,000 horses and mules were killed in the engagement. It has been
estimated that at least 1.5 million horses and mules were killed during the war, and perhaps
as many as 3.5 million. For every soldier killed during the Civil War, almost 5 horses met a

similar fate. This author starts off their work with the death amount. About 1.5 million horses
were killed in just three days. How insane is that. Also, The Civil War could not have been
fought as it was without all of those horses and mules. They were absolutely indispensable to
both sides. And they paid dearly as a result of that indispensableness. For that matter, so,
too, did many a farmer and noncombatant, whose horses were confiscated routinely over the
course of the war by both Union and Confederate forces, leaving them without draft animals
that they depended upon for their livelihood. This just shows how important the horses
where in the war. Both sides absolutely needed horses and mules to survive. Both sides of
the war needed on horses to get the job done and help win the war. Without horses on the
battle field troops dont have a way of fast travel and troops dont have a way of transporting
injured troops or transporting equipotent from place to place. People respected their horse
as much as their commander. The battle chargers of the general officers of the Confederate
and Federal armies during the American Civil War, wrote their names upon the scrolls of
history by their high grade of sagacity and faithfulness. They carried their masters upon the
tedious march and over the bullet-swept battlefields, and seemed to realize their importance
in the conflict. The horse of the commanding officer was as well-known to the rank and file as
the general himself, and the soldiers were as affectionately attached to the animal as was the
master. The soldieries viewed their horses as high as they viewed their commander in
respect and in control of the war. Horses were a key source in battles and helping win the
war. Many people when looking back on the civil war dont take the time t relies how much of
an effect horses had on helping the north win. With horses being able to help on and off the
battle field by bringing in troops and carrying troops of the field and horses carrying
equipment like guns and gun powder and all the other equipment that soldiers needed the

horse could easily carry it for them and that brought a he advantage in wars. Horses are carry
a very important art of wars and are very helpful for winning. The author goes on to talk
about his father being in the military and on through many different horses and even had to
take his pony away from him because his fathers horse died in battle. The son talks about
how the father took an unwanted horse from a battle and nurtured it and restored its health
and how the horse became a Great War horse. The son eventually goes on to talk about
generations of war horses and how vital horses are for war and how men won wars because
of the horses they used. He tells great stories of men in battle and how they overcame
dealing with injured or sick or wild horses and how the soldieries were able to cope with the
great majestic animal that the soldieries had and were able to take care of them and
overcome the war both on battle and off the battle field.

Finally, this ends my journal article reviews. It started off with only one article
and turned into several. The point is that horses were key factors in the civil war. Both the
north and south used them. Horses were great for carrying equipment and injured solders of
battle and transporting troops to battle quickly. Horses were used for many great reasons
and I hope my review helps people learn the importance and value of horses in war.

Works cited.

Armistead, Gene C.. Horses and Mules in the Civil War : A Complete History with a
Roster of More Than 700 War Horses. Jefferson, NC, USA: McFarland & Company,
2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 30 November 2015.

"Horses Of The Civil War Leaders." Horses Of The Civil War Leaders. N.p., n.d. Web.
01 Dec. 2015.

Writing Horses into American Civil War History

Phillips, GervaseView Profile. War In History20.2 (Apr 2013): 160-181.

Armistead, Gene C.. Horses and Mules in the Civil War : A Complete History with a
Roster of More Than 700 War Horses. Jefferson, NC, USA: McFarland & Company,
2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 30 November 2015.