Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to this special bonus episode of our Civil War podcast.

My name is Rich. And I'm Tracy. Hello, y'all. Thanks for downloading this episode. As we hinted at a week or so ago, today we're going to be talking about horses and also mules and their importance to Civil War armies. And then we'll close out this episode by looking at perhaps the most famous animal of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee's horse, traveler.

When Abraham Lincoln was informed in March 1863 that Confederate partisan rangers had raided in Virginia and made off with a Union Army Brigadier General and numerous horses, the president reportedly joked that the loss of the commander was easily remedied, but the horses cost $125 a piece.

Well, Lincoln's remark had more than humorous significance since victory or defeat in the Civil War was often greatly influenced by the number and quality of horses that could be provided to an army.

So we decided to do this episode on horses and mules too, because we thought it's worth emphasizing that Civil War armies couldn't have functioned without the large numbers of horses and mules that drew supply wagons, provided mounts for cavalry and for officers, pulled ambulances and moved artillery pieces.

For those of us who love animals, it's heartbreaking to realize that horses and mules were a highly consumable resource in the Civil War. The life expectancy of an artillery horse, for example, was seven and a half months.

Like the men who rode or drove them, the animals that accompanied the armies suffered from sickness and fatigue, and during the war, far more horses and mules died of disease or were broken by overwork than were killed by the enemy.

In terms of numbers, it's thought that more than twice as many horses as soldiers perished during the Civil War, an estimated 1.5 million horses died during the war, compared with perhaps around 700,000 men.

When measured beside the scale of such human tragedy, the severe attrition of the animals that accompanied the armies was considered of but little consequence by most of the soldiers who served during the war.

But we don't mean to make it sound like everyone who fought in the Civil War cavalierly wasted the lives of the animals that allowed the armies to move and fight.

A Confederate cavalryman, for example, would do his best to practice good horse management, especially since the animal he was riding was his own personal property.

And many Union cavalrymen and artillerymen also did their best to give their horses proper care and attention.

There were three basic components to good horse management. They were 1, 4, 2, water, and 3 grooming.

As far as forage, which each day usually was supposed to consist of 12 pounds of oats, barley or corn, and 14 pounds of hay for each animal,

well, supplied depots couldn't provide forage in the astounding amounts needed over long stretches of time.

So while armies were on campaign, they mostly depended on what could be squeezed from the countryside in which they were operating.

And so in time, large areas were picked clean of forage, causing particularly severe shortages of grain and corn.

Horses on campaign were frequently on short rations, supplemented by grazing on grass, which was not a proper alternative to grain.

And artillery horses, unlike cavalry, could seldom actually indulge in grazing since on the march they were hitched to cannon or casons.

It wasn't unknown for artillerymen to be sent on grass cutting forage to feed the battery's horses.

A Confederate Lieutenant Colonel, who commanded an artillery battalion at Gattiesburg, made this report after the retreat from Pennsylvania.

Quote, I regret to state that owing to the jaded condition of the horses, which had been but scannily supplied with forage since July 1st, during all of which time they had not received a single feed of corn, I was forced to abandon two rifled pieces.

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