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Larry Purtell
Little Meadows, PA, USA
Posts: 1825
 | | Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 7/12/2012 3:56:48 PM | I found this advertisement fora large lot of draught,carriage and riding horses in the July 10 1863 edition of the Baltimore Sun. It seems neither the Union or ANV army hit this area too hard. Maybe they were brought in from areas East that weren't affected by the late campaign??????
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"My goal is to live forever. So far, so good.
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| joe mieczkowski
Fairfield, PA, USA
Posts: 527
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 7/31/2012 8:58:28 PM | Sounds like some of the carriages were convertables.
"top" or "no top"
Joe
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You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. -- Simon Cameron
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| Michigan Dave
Muskegon, Michigan, MI, USA
Posts: 4998
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/1/2012 7:14:34 AM | Hey we all know the Colts used to be in Baltimore!? 
MD
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"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."
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| Larry Purtell
Little Meadows, PA, USA
Posts: 1825
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/1/2012 9:11:27 AM |
Quote:Hey we all know the Colts used to be in Baltimore!? MD --Michigan Dave
Still a sore subject.
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"My goal is to live forever. So far, so good.
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| Ed Bell
PA, USA
Posts: 304
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/10/2012 1:23:30 PM | And amazingly, during the Battle, The Department of the Susquehanna posted an ad in a local Harrisburg Newspaper stating their need for 1,500 horses, and they were going to do it by the book; while down at Gettysburg they made the needed acquisitions by hook…
$1,500 HORSES WANTED.
Proposals will be received at Harrisburg until the 6th July at 8 o'clock P.M., of said day, for the delivery on or before the EIGHTEENTH DAY OF JULY, A.D. 1863 of Fifteen Hundred Horses as follows:
750 WAGON HORSES
250 ARTILLERY HORSES
500 CAVALRY HORSES
The horses to be sound, not less than six nor more than nine years old, not less than fifteen hands, of dark colors and adapted to the service for which they are accepted.
None will be received until they are inspected by an authorized agent of the Government.
The ability of the bidder must be guaranteed, by two responsible persons who will sign the bids as guarantees in their own hand writing, and bidders must state their residence and post office address and be ready to respond immediately to their bid.
Proposals to be endorsed "Proposals for Horses" on the envelope.
Proposals must be separate for the different kind of horses bid for, as separate contracts will be made for each.
By order of: LT. COL. THOMPSON, Chief Quartermaster, Dep't Susquehanna
E.C. WILSON, Capt. and Ass't Quartermaster
July 2nd, 1863, Harrisburg Daly Telegraph
...." I lost in the battle about 100 horses. The government had ho spare horses with the army or anywhere immediately available. Unless these horses were replaced, I should be compelled to dismount one battery, take its horses for the other and leave it. This was not advisable. I therefore asked General Howard for an order to send men into the country and gather up the horses required from the citizens, in other words, press them into service. This order he gave, and i sent out the quartermaster sergeants with all the batteries with instructions to take from the citizens the horses that each battery required and give memoranda receipts for them. The orders were carried out to the letter, and much to the consternation of the farmers. The receipts were given and the government soon after paid $125 for each horse without inquiring as to its market value. it was a good sale to some and a bad one for others." (XI Corps Artillery Brigade) "Major Thomas Osborn, Experiences at the Battle of Gettysburg, Crumb, ed., The Papers of Major Thomas Osborne, 29-45… “Pickett’s Charge: Eyewitness Accounts at the Battle of Gettysburg, Richard Rollins, ed. p.375
Chalk it up to "The Fog of War."
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“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Thoreau
Regards,
Ed Bell
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| Red Bailey
Prescott, AZ, USA
Posts: 2151
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/10/2012 1:40:24 PM | Probably a coincidence, but those 750 Wagon Horses match the number of wagon horses lost to Stuart when he captured those 125 wagons near Rockville on his ride north.
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Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed. ....Lincoln
As usual,
Red
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| Ed Bell
PA, USA
Posts: 304
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/10/2012 8:11:13 PM | Red,
I'd thought about that; but then I figured they'd also need the 125 wagons to go with those horses! But, then maybe Studabaker had them all ready, sitting by and ready for immediate shipment! 
And, weren't those particular draft animals mules?
Best Regards,
Ed
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“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Thoreau
Regards,
Ed Bell
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| Red Bailey
Prescott, AZ, USA
Posts: 2151
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/11/2012 12:15:15 PM |
Quote:Red, I'd thought about that; but then I figured they'd also need the 125 wagons to go with those horses! But, then maybe Studabaker had them all ready, sitting by and ready for immediate shipment! And, weren't those particular draft animals mules? Best Regards, Ed --Ed Bell
You're right Ed! Stuart mentioned mules in his description of the capture of most of the wagon train, and the above specifys 'Wagon Horses'.
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Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed. ....Lincoln
As usual,
Red
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| Ed Bell
PA, USA
Posts: 304
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/12/2012 12:19:45 PM | Red,
Possibly the drivers in the Department of the Susquehanna were more familiar and comfortable with horses than mules; they were much more preferred in the South as they were cheaper to purchase and feed and they handled the hotter climates better than horses. The states of Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee were the Union Army’s primary suppliers of mules.
It has always been my opinion that horses were the preferred draft animals for artillery and mules were the more preferred and more economical animals for drawing wagons. Genetics played a major part in all of this; sure there might be an odd mule here or there in an artillery team, where the horse half of the genetic pool dominated, but most mules I’ve met seemed to have inherited the donkey’s cantankerousness and unpredictability, especially evident when under stress; definitely not ideal characteristics for an animal that is expected to stand in place and patiently wait until they were required to leap into action while under fire.
I remember a fellow that farmed with mules well past the ¾ mark of the last century. They were all large black animals, well matched and all had varying streaks of cantankerousness, but one was particularly disruptive and a master at pushing things far past the point of his owner’s tolerance and when this occurred, Morris, would let loose... He was a big, tall man and I see him yet… his hat went flying, his arms waving, ranting and railing at that old mule until he couldn’t talk anymore. And I swear that old mule, knowing quite well that he had pushed it as far as he could, would lay back his ears, raise his head and let out a few shrill, loud brays as if to say either Haw! Haw! Haw! Or, Ok! Ok! Ok! - I was never sure which… in either case, Morris had vented, the mule/s had rested, and across the fields they would again go, performing the task at hand, as if nothing had ever happened.
Pop surely would have sold him off if he’d have been ours; but, for the both of them, over the years, it had become a well-rehearsed and acted scene in which each knew his role and played it to the best of their abilities; it surely was a funny and amazing act, but one quickly sensed the respect each had for the other. His animals were loved and well cared for and never mistreated, and the feelings were mutual, even at the times they were like mischievous children needing a good ‘talking to.’
I believe the drivers of the Civil War era had neither the time nor the inclination to develop that amount of understanding, tolerance or love for their draft animals, particularly due to the rapid turnover rate experienced by both drivers and teams in those turbulent times.
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“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Thoreau
Regards,
Ed Bell
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| Red Bailey
Prescott, AZ, USA
Posts: 2151
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/12/2012 12:40:02 PM | Any allusions to some of the cantankerous posters in these forums Ed?
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Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed. ....Lincoln
As usual,
Red
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| Ed Bell
PA, USA
Posts: 304
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/12/2012 4:07:39 PM | Red,
Like my old neighbors mules, some here have more; others less tolerance to what and how long they will endure; and when miffed, then they dig in, kick up their heels and raise hell until either the burr is removed; the point made and the situation resolved; or if unresolved and they’ve vented enough, they quit and move on. Hopefully all involved cede to the fact that it is a disruptive and unproductive characteristic that diminishes the quality of this forum, and quite possibly, reduces its membership.
Ed Bell
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“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Thoreau
Regards,
Ed Bell
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| Larry Purtell
Little Meadows, PA, USA
Posts: 1825
| | Re: Horses in Baltimore | | Posted on: 8/13/2012 8:15:04 AM | Here's an eye opener about the quality of what was being offered to the U.S. government in August 1863. From the Illustrated New Age of Phila Pa.
August 3 1863.
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"My goal is to live forever. So far, so good.
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