Text: Han Shi's words
Edited by Han Shi's words
Preface
The "protagonists" in every war are people, and the final winners of every war are also people, but in this case, there are always many participants who are not human and silently participate in these wars, such as the indispensable horse on the traditional battlefield.
The American Civil War caused great damage to horses, and a large number of horses were killed or disabled in this war, and killing horses even became a military tactic at that time.
They are supposed to be heroes of war, so why should they be treated like this?
Unsung contributor in the Civil War
Horses played a very important role in the Civil War, mainly for cavalry, artillery, infantry, and transportation, among others. Among them, the cavalry is the most prominent cavalry unit in the army, which undertakes the tasks of reconnoitring the enemy, defending the army, and observing and commanding.
Usually a cavalry regiment usually consists of 10 companies, each of which requires 116 horses, so a cavalry regiment needs at least 1,200 horses at full strength.
In addition to cavalry, infantry also needed horses to supervise the marching routes, and many brigades, divisions, corps headquarters, and generals also needed mounts to move, observe, and command.
And artillery is divided into siege artillery and field artillery, and horses play a vital role in the transportation of these two types of artillery. Horses need strength and mobility to be able to pull artillery into a given position and reposition it in battle.
But in war, the life span of horses is usually very short, and the average lifespan of artillery horses is only 7 months.
Gun wagons were an important part of the transport of horses, and both the quartermaster and the commissary needed a large supply of horses.
The army also relied on horses to transport food, clothing, supplies, etc., especially in areas where it was not possible to transport it by river, coast, and rail.
Horses are also widely used in the medical sector, and there are two types of ambulances, a two-wheeled ambulance pulled by one horse and a four-wheeled ambulance pulled by four horses. The army's signal regiments and engineers also used horses for communication and transportation.
During the Civil War, horses, in addition to serving the army in battle, also provided recreation in army camps and garrisons to relieve the monotony of army life and boost the morale of soldiers.
Although bands were often found in infantry organizations, bands in cavalry units were rare, and playing musical instruments on horseback was even rarer, in particular.
At the end of 1861, the 17th Cavalry Regiment of Pennsylvania formed the first cavalry band in the Civil War.
The members of this band were selected from the ranks without government funding as part of cavalry training, and their main duty was to provide music in battle.
Horse racing was also a popular pastime for soldiers. During the Civil War, horse racing was one of the very popular pastimes for soldiers from both the North and the South.
The tournament is also simple to organize, doesn't require much preparation, and adds to the fun by placing bets on the outcome of the match.
Horse racing saw some decline in the early stages of the war, but by the end of the war it had returned to similar levels before the war. Since thoroughbreds are used for horse racing, special attention is paid to the speed, strength and endurance of these horses.
Horses with such excellent physique became cavalry mounts that were highly valued by many officers.
In addition to physical fitness, these excellent racehorses also added an element of prestige and elegance to the cavalry. Many famous officers and soldiers proudly rode thoroughbreds, which boosted their combat morale and self-confidence.
During the Civil War, horses also played a role in hygiene. Surgeons in the South discovered that horsehair could be used as surgical sutures.
While military surgeons typically use silk, sheep gut, or cotton thread to suture wounds, surgeons use horsehair when these materials are in short supply.
After all, horsehair is a naturally renewable and readily available material, and its use can significantly reduce the cost of surgery.
As the Confederate blockade made the Confederacy more dependent on horsehair, Confederacy doctors would also cook horsehair in water to make it softer and more elastic, and inadvertently treat it when sterilizing horsehair sutures.
In contrast, the sutures used in the North were not sterilized, so the Confederacy had fewer wound infections than the North.
In addition, horses were also used as a food for soldiers to eat. Although in the early days of the Civil War, Americans had a strong aversion to the widespread consumption of horse meat because of its poor taste and texture. But the attitude of the North and the South towards eating horse meat varies.
The Northern army was surprised by the Southern soldiers' consumption of horse meat and made fun of the situation faced by the Confederate defenders, while some in the Confederate army were proud of being one of the few fresh foods on the battlefield.
The need for horses in the war
The American Civil War was a conflict that created many "firsts" and was one of the first industrial wars. Industrialization provided opportunities and means for the large-scale use of horsepower.
Just as the pre-war railroad facilitated the use of horses, the war of industrialization also contributed to an increase in the demand for horses.
Railways played an important strategic role in the war, requiring the use of cavalry and artillery units. As a result, horses quickly became one of the largest expenditures in the federal budget. However, neither the North nor the South has established a system that can quickly mobilize the country's horse resources.
Horses in battle are more susceptible to injury than people because of their larger size and greater exposure to enemy attacks, especially artillery units.
In the early days of the war, the army often received low-quality horses due to the small number of purchasers and inspectors. This provides a source of profit for both horse sellers and those who pursue personal gain.
There have been many frauds in the purchase of horses. Some intermediaries obtained procurement contracts and subleased them to professionals for huge profits for themselves, leading the army to buy low-quality horses and mules at high prices.
This situation intensified under the management of the government's Quartermaster Minister, Simon Cameron. His management was not only botched, but also involved corruption and political debt.
Cameron used the profits he made from the purchase of horses through the army to pay off political debts, causing the army to buy low-quality horses and mules at expensive prices.
Despite these problems in the war, the need for horses in the Civil War was still enormous, and the expansion of the theater of operations and the invention of new equipment made the dependence on horses increasing.
In the American Civil War, army procurement was the primary way horses were recruited, and the Confederate quartermaster maintained a system of warehouses scattered across the military to serve the field army.
By 1862, the supply of horses was difficult for Quartermasters of the Confederate Army, as the horse breeding districts of the West, Kentucky, Missouri, and central Tennessee had been controlled by the Union Army early in the war, and the warehouses could not provide enough livestock to meet military and basic civilian needs.
In addition to munitions procurement, the private supply of horses was the main source of Confederate cavalry, and the private supply of horses was a common practice for generals and other officers.
The Confederate cavalry needed to provide their own horses, and the government sent horse prosecutors to evaluate each horse and pay soldiers 40 cents a day for the use of horses, as well as food and horseshoes.
The owner of the horse will receive an estimate of the value of the unit at the time of conscription, and the soldiers will not receive any compensation if the horse is lost, captured, or disabled for any reason. If a soldier still wants to stay in the army, he must replace him at his own expense.
In addition, both the Union and the Confederacy formally requisitioned horses extensively, and it was a common occurrence to requisition civilian horses during raids and invasions.
In this case, the army urgently needed to replace horses, and sometimes it was necessary to stop the pursuit of the enemy. Both Union and Confederate commanders were educated at West Point, and private property could only be confiscated for military necessity to support or benefit the military.
But when requisitioning the horses, no receipts or vouchers were given for the horses or paid on the spot, which caused discontent among the civilian population.
In the Civil War, the purchase of horses was only the first step in the formation of a cavalry corps. In order to be able to get the most out of the horse, the cavalry must professionally train the horses and train the riders.
Due to the urgency of the war, both the North and the South shortened the time for cavalry training, from three years to six months. However, in such a short period of time, most horses are not professionally trained.
Therefore, the cavalry had to spend a lot of time and effort training the horses to adapt them to the saddle on their backs and the riders on the saddle.
Horses not only need to adapt to the weight of the rider and use the saddle, but also need to be trained in the sound of horns used in army Xi and battle formations. Therefore, the cavalry team had to spend a lot of time training the horses and adapting them to various environments and situations.
In addition to training the horse, the rider on horseback must also learn how to ride the horse correctly. This includes proper sitting, controlling the horse, and using whips, among other things. Riders also need to learn how Xi work well with their horses in order to use cavalry more effectively in battle.
The impact of the war on horses
Horses not only provide basic mobility in the army, but also play an important role in battlefield logistics. Therefore, in the period of transition from traditional warfare to modern warfare, the demand for horses is still huge, and the recruitment and training of horses is particularly important.
The American Civil War was the first large-scale war after the Industrial Revolution, and there was a large gap in strength between the North and the South. The capitalist economy in the north developed rapidly, while the south relied mainly on the plantation economy, which made it difficult to provide important logistical support.
The military apparatus of the federal government, in particular, dwarfed the efforts of the Confederate government and had a significant impact on the outcome of the war.
While it is difficult for the South to win with the skillful use of horses and experience with equestrianism alone, the North is superior in terms of horse numbers, logistical supplies, and horse management techniques.
The scarcity of horse resources in the South, combined with losses from fighting and disease, dealt a fatal blow to the South, seriously affecting the choice of military strategy by commanders and the conduct of military operations.
The Civil War took a huge toll on horses. Insufficient care for the horse's hooves can also lead to hoof degeneration and lameness, and may also cause leukoery. So in order to delay the wear and tear of the horse's hooves and ensure stable walking, some horses are fitted with horseshoes.
However, during the march, the nails that control the horseshoe may become loose due to the growth of the horse's hooves, especially when it is rough or traversing rocky terrain, and the horseshoe is often lost.
In addition, the wear and tear of the harness on the horse's skin also poses a threat to their health. Due to the urgency of the war, horses were often fastened to harnesses, especially saddles, for long periods of time.
This long-term friction and pressure can lead to severe open skin sores that are difficult to heal because the horses need to keep working.
Horses also require relatively high-quality food and feed to meet their nutritional needs. Low-quality pasture grass can contain too much dust particles or mold, which can cause breathing problems in horses and affect their ability to work.
Hunger is also one of the common causes of death in horses, and sometimes soldiers will even steal food from horses when they are hungry, making their eating problems worse. In addition, the limited capacity of agriculture and the supply chain limits the ability to provide adequate food and water for horses.
Throughout the war, horses were often plagued by disease due to the urgency of the war and the inability of field commanders to ensure a suitable living environment.
epilogue
What was supposed to be a heroic existence in the war ended up like this, but it was also because of this battlefield that photos of dead horses on the battlefield and the cruel treatment of horses and mules in the army were later published, raising people's awareness of animal protection.
In addition, the idea of animal kindness in the 1960s was widely accepted by more American families, who embraced the ideals of Victorian gentle, liberal evangelical theology and family life, and the beliefs that came with it for social progress and moral upliftment.