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Horses in Warfare
Horses have been used in human warfare for millennia, probably since the time of domestication of the horse. Horses were specially trained for a variety of military uses, including battle, individual combat, reconnaissance (scouting), transport, and supply. The term war horse usually refers to horses used for fighting, whether as cavalry in battle or in individual combat. The best-known war horse was the destrier, ridden by the knight of the Middle Ages. However, even horses used for purposes other than direct combat played a critically important part of successful military ventures. There are still some uses for horses in the military even in today's modern world... MORE
Famous Horses of the American Civil War
Many a fighting man had one or more favorite mounts, entitled to bountiful corn and fodder, careful grooming, and a name of its own. One clause in the surrender terms at Appomattox in 1865 puzzled some people: every Confederate cavalryman was entitled to take his horse home with him. This provision, insisted on by Lee, was accepted by Grant when he was told that once they returned to civilian life, former soldiers wouldn't be able to plant spring crops without their war horses... MORE
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How We Shaped Horses, How Horses Shaped Us
The close relationship between horses and humans has changed us both. People have remade horses, creating dozens of breeds in our efforts to make horses faster, stronger, bigger or smaller. But horses have also changed us. The ways we travel, trade, play, work and fight wars have all been profoundly shaped by our use of horses. The galleries that follow provide a glimpse into the countless ways that horses have transformed human societies around the world... MORE
America's Civil War: Horses and Field Artillery
The field artillery of the Civil War was designed to be mobile. When Union or Confederate troops marched across country, the guns moved with them. During battle, the guns were moved to assigned positions and then were switched from place to place, pulled back or sent forward as fortune demanded. The field batteries went galloping off to support an advance or repel an attack. When they withdrew, they contested the field as they went. Movement was everything. The guns could fulfill their essential function only when they could be moved where they were most needed... MORE
The Role of the Horse in World War One
At the beginning of the war, cavalry units were considered by many to be the elite of an army. Many senior officers were drawn from their ranks. The cavalry had traditionally played a key role as the army's "mobile arm" charging through breaches made in enemy lines to carry through the attack... MORE
More About the Horse in War
Major Tylden in his interesting article "Ponies in Warfare" (in this journal) makes mention of "the tremendous losses in horseflesh during the South African War". According to the "Times History of the War" the Remount Department of the British Army supplied 520,000 horses and 150,000 mules of which 350,000 horses and 50,000 mules perished. The losses by the Burgher Forces are not given but the total turnover probably exceeded 150,000... MORE
American Indian Horse
The word "Mustang" comes from the Spanish word, mesteno, meaning "stray or ownerless" horse. This term aptly describes all wild, feral horses in the United States. The modern horse evolved over three million years ago and then disappeared from this hemisphere 10,000 years ago. The horse returned to North America when explorers Cortes and DeSoto came mounted on magnificent Barbs from Morocco, Sorraia from Portugal and Andalusians from Spain... MORE
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