The U.S. Army Veterinary Corps

By Andy Watson, AMEDD Regimental Historian

Veterinarians officially and unofficially have been a part of the Army since its inception. Reliance on animals for transportation, nutrition, and commerce were essential to early army operations and logistics. While there were farriers and other “horse tenders” attached to the American Army from the time of the Revolutionary War, medical expertise and official recognition did not occur until much later.

Veterinary medicine, similar to other scientific disciplines in the United States slowly made gains during the 19th Century.

A few civilian veterinarians were hired to support the Army during the War with Mexico (1846-1848). Later, the rank of veterinary sergeant existed briefly at the beginning of the Civil War in order to support some cavalry regiments, but the position was dropped in 1862. In 1863 each regiment of cavalry was authorized a regimental veterinary surgeon with the rank commensurate of a regimental sergeant major. Experience and field observation often overrode the lack of fixed standards in veterinary care; hence there were very few graduate veterinarians. To supplement the need for assistance civilian veterinarians were again hired, this time in greater numbers.

After the Civil War the smaller army still had mobility requirements and increased standards of its veterinary care. Existing cavalry regiments (6) were still authorized one veterinary surgeon and newly formed cavalry regiments (4) were authorized two veterinary surgeons, one of which would be designated the “Senior Veterinary Surgeon”. Army General Orders of 1879, later included in Army Regulations of 1881 provided that all appointed veterinary surgeons “be graduates of established and reputable veterinary schools or colleges.” Congressional legislation in 1899 improved the status
of senior veterinarians in the cavalry regiments, when they were accorded rank between cadet and second lieutenant.

The turn of the 20th Century in “Progressive Era” America and a desire to improve quality of life led
An investigation of “embalmed meats” at the close of the Spanish-American War (1898) mirrored the spirit of the time (The Jungle, foundation of the FDA) and established the use of Army veterinarians for food inspection.

From 1901 to 1906 a handful of veterinarians were detailed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Subsistence Department of the Army for meat inspection. Later, post commanders were able to utilize veterinarians to inspect locally purchased beef.

Even before the build-up of the American Army for World War I, early planners saw the wisdom of increasing the size and permanency of the Army Veterinary Service. On 3 June 1916 the National Defense Act in Section 16, specified the appointment, duties, and implementation of veterinarians in the Army. This act also provided for an official Veterinary Corps with officer rank and a promotion structure.

Due to the reliance on animal transportation, many times over newer mechanical conveyances, the U.S. Army veterinarian gained status within the American Expeditionary Force. Similarly their efforts in “remounting” and treating horses and mules assisted the war effort in Europe, where animal stocks had been greatly depleted.

The veterinarians would also begin a mission magnified in later years as they enhanced of camp conditions through better sanitation.

While World War I may have been the high-point for animal transportation care, World War II served as the standard for food inspection on a massive scale. Although animal care was provided for military working dogs, horses, and mules; food inspection served as 90% of veterinarian’s job during WWII. To supply the enormous Army, 142 billion pounds aggregate of meat and dairy products were inspected from 1940 through 1945. Complimenting this task were 11 labs in the United States and 23 units or labs overseas.

Within weeks of the invasion of South Korea by North Korea in June of 1950 Veterinary Service Units arrived to provide support. Their duties consisted largely of food inspection and also provided animal care for local livestock and military working dogs. In some cases the “fluid” battlefield found Army Veterinarians on the move and frequently in harm’s way.

In the 1950s the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Research Service working with a U.S. Army medical unit with suitable x-ray equipment and Veterinary personnel, assisted in the trial irradiation and ultimately eradication of screw worms.* (Cochliomyia hominivorax) The fly larvae, once a scourge to livestock and some humans in the Americas, enters its host through open wounds and then consumes portions of the host’s flesh.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. Army veterinarians worked with the local populace to help curb a rabies epidemic within the country. Other challenges included not only food procurement, but also ice as well. Increasing numbers of military working dogs and mascots caused another shift in veterinary care as several small animal clinics and dispensary detachments were established for U.S. Forces in Vietnam.

More recently Army Veterinarians have been integral to military efforts in Afghanistan by maintaining animal health in an agrarian society. Similarly, the numbers of military working dogs in theater have increased as have certain threats such as rabies. Food safety also remains a constant task of importance. Continuous testing, service in the field, and research allow the Veterinary Corps to preserve public and animal health.

From: history.amedd.army.mil/newsletters

Image: Traveller Skeleton

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Horses of the Civil War Leaders

From: civilwarhome.com

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.

General Grant's Horses
When the Civil War broke out, my father,(1) General Grant, was appointed colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry and on joining the regiment purchased a horse in Galena, Illinois. This horse, though a strong animal, proved to be unfitted for the service and, when my father was taking his regiment from Springfield, Illinois, to Missouri, he encamped on the Illinois River for several days. During the time they were there a farmer brought in a horse called "Jack." This animal was a cream-colored horse, with black eyes, mane and tail of silver white, his hair gradually becoming darker toward his feet. He was a noble animal, high spirited, very intelligent and an excellent horse in every way. He was a stallion and of considerable value. My father used him until after the battle of Chattanooga (November, 1863), as an extra horse and for parades and ceremonial occasions. At the time of the Sanitary Fair in Chicago (1863 or '64), General Grant gave him to the fair, where he was raffled off, bringing $4,000 to the Sanitary Commission.

(1) This account was furnished at the author's request by General Frederick Dent Grant, U.S.A.--TFR

Soon after my father was made a brigadier-general, (August 8, 1861 ), he purchased a pony for me and also another horse for field service for himself. At the battle of Belmont (November 7, 1861), his horse was killed under him and he took my pony. The pony was quite small and my father, feeling that the commanding general on the field should have a larger mount, turned the pony over to one of his aides-decamp. (Captain Hyllier) and mounted the captain's horse. The pony ,was lost in the battle.

The next horse that my father purchased for field service was a roan called "Fox," a very powerful and spirited animal and of great endurance. This horse he rode during the siege and battles around Fort Donelson and also at Shiloh.

At the battle of Shiloh the Confederates left on the field a rawboned horse, very ugly and apparently good for nothing. As a joke, the officer who found this animal on the field, sent it with his compliments, to Colonel Lagow, one of my father's aides-de-camp, who always kept a very excellent mount and was a man of means. The other officers of the staff "jollied" the colonel about this gift. When my father saw him, he told the colonel that the animal was a thoroughbred and a valuable mount and that if he, Lagow, did not wish to keep the horse he would be glad to have him. Because of his appearance he was named "Kangaroo," and after a short period of rest and feeding and care he turned out to be a magnificent animal and was used by. my father during the Vicksburg campaign.

In this campaign, General Grant had 'two other horses, both of them very handsome, one of which he gave away and the other he used until. late in the war. During the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, a cavalry raid or scouting party arrived at Joe Davis' plantation (the brother of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy) and there captured a black pony which was brought to the rear of the city and presented to me. The animal was worn out when it reached headquarters but was a very easy riding horse and I used him once or twice. With care he began to pick up and soon carried himself in fine shape.

At that time my father was suffering with a carbuncle and his horse being restless caused him a great deal of pain. It was necessary for General Grant to visit the lines frequently and one day he took this pony for that purpose. The gait of the pony was so delightful that he directed that he be turned over to the quartermaster as a captured horse and a board of officers be convened to appraise the animal. This was done and my father purchased the animal and kept him until he died, which was long after the Civil War. This pony was known as "Jeff Davis."

After the battle of Chattanooga, General Grant went to St. Louis, where I was at the time, critically ill from dysentery contracted during the siege of Vicksburg. During the time of his visit to the city he received a letter from a gentleman who signed his name "S.S. Grant," the initials being the same as those of a brother of my father's, who had died in the summer of 1861. S.S. Grant wrote to the effect that he was very desirous of seeing General Grant but that he was ill and confined to his room at the Lindell Hotel and begged him to call, as he had something important to say which my father might be gratified to hear.

The name excited my father's curiosity and he called at the hotel to meet the gentleman who told him that he had, he thought, the finest horse in the world, and knowing General Grant's great liking for horses he had concluded, inasmuch as he would never be able to ride again, that he would like to give his horse to him; that he desired that the horse should have a good home and tender care and that the only condition that he would make in parting with him would be that the person receiving him would see that he was never ill-treated and should never fall into the hands of a person that would ill-treat him. This promise was given and General Grant accepted the horse and called him" Cincinnati." This was his battle charger until the end of the war and was kept by him until the horse died at Admiral Ammen's farm in Maryland, in 1878. (2)

About this time (January, 1864) some people in Illinois found a horse in the southern part of that State, which they thought was remarkably beautiful. They purchased him and sent him as a present to my father. This horse was known as "Egypt" as he was raised, or at least came from southern Illinois, a district known in the State as Egypt, as the northern part was known as Canaan.

(2) "Cincinnati" was the son of "Lexington," the fastest four-mile thoroughbred in the United States, time 7:19 3/4 minutes. "Cincinnati" nearly 'equaled the speed of his half-brother, "Kentucky," and Grant was offered $10,000 in gold or its equivalent for him, but refused. He was seventeen hands high, and in the estimation of Grant was the finest horse that he had ever seen. Grant rarely permitted anyone to mount the horse --two exceptions were Admiral Daniel Ammen and Lincoln. Ammen saved Grant's life from drowning while a school-boy. Grant says: "Lincoln spent the latter days of his life with me. He came to City Point in the last month of the war and was with me all the time. He was a fine horseman and rode my horse 'Cincinnati' every day."--TFR

General Lee's "Traveller"
The most famous of the horses in the stables of General Lee, the Confederate commander, was "Traveller," an iron gray horse. He was raised in Greenbrier County, near Blue Sulphur Springs, and, as a colt, won first prize at a fair in Lewisburg, Virginia. When hostilities commenced between the North and the South, the horse, then known as "Jeff Davis," was owned by Major Thomas L. Broun, who had paid $175 (in gold) for him. Lee first saw the gray in the mountains of West Virginia. He instantly became attached to him, and always called him "my colt."

In the spring of 1862, this horse finally became the property of the general, who paid $200 in currency for him. He changed the name of his charger to "Traveller" and from the date of purchase it became almost a daily sight to see the commander astride the gray, riding about the camp.

There were a number of battle horses in Lee's stables during the war. There were "Grace Darling," "Brown Roan," "Lucy Long," "Ajax," and "Richmond," but of them all "Traveller" became the especial companion of the general. The fine proportions of tiffs horse immediately attracted attention. He was gray in color, with black points, a long mane and long flowing tail. He stood sixteen hands high, and was five years old in the spring of 1862. His figure was muscular, with a deep chest and short back, strong haunches, fiat legs, small head, quick eyes, broad forehead, and small feet. His rapid, springy step and bold carriage made him conspicuous in the camps of the Confederates. On a long and tedious march with the Army of Northern Virginia he easily carried Lee's weight at five or six miles an hour, without faltering, and at the end of the day's hard travel seemed to be as fresh as at the beginning.

The other horses broke under the strain and hardships; "Lucy Long," purchased by General "Jeb" Stuart from Stephen Dandridge and presented to Lee, served for two years in alternation with "Traveller," but in the fall of 1864 became unserviceable and was sent into the country to recuperate.(3) "Richmond," "Ajax," and "Brown Roan" each in turn proved unequal to the rigors of war.

(3) "Lucy Long," second to "Traveller" in Lee's affections, was recalled from the country just before the evacuation of Richmond; but during the confusion she was placed with the public horses and sent to Danville, and Lee lost all trace of his war-horse. A thorough search was made, and finally, in 1866, she was discovered and brought to Lexington to pass her days in leisure with General Lee and "Traveller." After a number of years the mare became feeble and seemed to lose interest in life, and when "Lucy Long" reached about thirty-three years of age a son of General Lee mercifully chloroformed the veteran war-horse of the Army of Northern Virginia.

But "Traveller" sturdily accepted and withstood the hardships of the campaigns in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. When in April, 1865, the last battle of the Army of Northern Virginia had been fought, the veteran war-horse was still on duty. When Lee rode to the McLean house at Appomattox Court House, he was astride of "Traveller," and it was this faithful four-footed companion who carried the Southern leader back to his waiting army, and then to Richmond.

When Lee became a private citizen and retired to Washington and Lee University, as its president, the veteran warhorse was still with him, and as the years passed and both master and servant neared life's ending they became more closely attached.(4) As the funeral cortege accompanied Lee to his last resting place, "Traveller" marched behind the hearse, his step slow and his head bowed, as if he understood the import of the occasion.

(4) During the life of "Traveller" after the-war, he was the pet of the countryside about Lexington, Va. Many marks of affection were showered upon him. Admiring friends in England sent two. sets of equipment for the veteran war-horse. Ladies in Baltimore, Md., bestowed another highly decorated set, and another came from friends at the Confederate capital, Richmond. But the set that seemed to most please "Traveller" was the one sent from St. Louis, in Missouri.

General McClellan's Horses
While General McClellan was in command of the Army of the Potomac, in 1862, he had a number of war-horses. The favorite of them all was "Daniel Webster," soon called by the members of the general's staff "that devil Dan," because of his speed with which the staff officers had great difficulty in keeping pace. During the battle of the Antietam the great horse carried the commander safely through the day.

"Daniel Webster" was a dark bay about seventeen hands high, pure bred, with good action, never showing signs of fatigue, no matter how hard the test. He was extremely handsome, with more than ordinary horse-sense. He was a fast walker, an important requisite in a commander's charger, but a disagreeable quality for the staff officers whose horses were kept at a slow trot. After McClellan retired to private life, "Dan" became the family horse at Orange, N.J., where he died at the age of twenty-three. McClellan said: "No soldier ever had a better horse than I had in 'Daniel Webster.'"

McClellan also had a charger named "Burns," a fiery black, named after an army friend who gave the horse to McClellan. His one failing was that at dinner time he would bolt for his oats regardless of how much depended on McClellan's presence on the battlefield at the critical moment, as in the battle of the Antietam. Running at dinner time became so much an obsession with "Burns" that McClellan was always careful not to be mounted on him at that hour of the day.(5)

(5) The Editor has vivid recollection of "Little Mac" in April, 1862 (then at the height of his popularity), during a ride from Fort Monroe to Big Bethel, being the first day's march of the Army of the Potomac toward Yorktown, Va. The writer commanded the escort (a squadron, Second U.S. Cavalry), and during the ten or twelve miles of the route covered at a gallop, between double lines of infantry, halted for the moment to permit the commanding general to pass, the air was literally "rent" with the cheers of the troops, filled with high hopes of an early entrance to the Confederate capital. As the brilliant staff, headed by the young chieftain of magnetic presence, with bared head, mounted on "Black Burns," swept along amid clatter of hoof, jingle of equipment, and loud hurrahs, the thought came to the writer that thus the "Little Corporal" was wont to inspire his devoted legions to loud acclaim of Vive l'Empereur. (T. F.R.)

General Sherman's Horses
General Sherman's best war-horse was killed early in the Civil War, at the battle of Shiloh, where he led the right wing of the Federal army against General A. S. Johnston's Confederate legions. Two of his other chargers were killed while being held by an orderly. Of the many horses that carried Sherman through the remaining years of the struggle, two had a particular place in the general's affections--" Lexington" and" Sam." The former was a Kentucky thoroughbred, and his fine action attracted the admiration of all who saw him. When the Federal forces finally entered and occupied Atlanta, in 1864, Sherman was astride of "Lexington "; and after peace was declared, in ]865, the general rode the same horse in the final review of his army in Washington.

"Sam" was a large, half-thoroughbred bay, sixteen and a half hands high. He possessed great speed, strength, and endurance. The horse made one of the longest and most difficult marches ever recorded in history, from Vicksburg to Washington, through the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, Columbia, and Richmond. He had a rapid gait, and could march five miles an hour at a walk. While under fire "Sam" was as calm and steady as his brave master. He was wounded several times, while mounted, and the fault was usually due to Sherman's disregard of the horse's anxiety to seek cover. In 1865, Sherman retired "Sam" to a well-earned rest, on an Illinois farm, where he received every mark of affection. The gallant warhorse died of extreme old age, in 1884.

General Thomas J. (" Stonewall ") Jackson, the great Southern leader, had his favorite battle charger, which at the beginning of the war was thought to be about eleven years old. On May 9, 1861, while Jackson was in command of the garrison at Harper's Ferry, a train load of supplies and horses, on the way to the Federal camps, was captured. Among the horses was one that attracted Jackson's attention. He purchased the animal from his quartermaster's department for his own personal use. The horse, named "Old Sorrel," carried Jackson over many of the bullet-swept battlefields and was with Jackson when that officer fell before the volley of his own men at the battle of Chancellorsville. During the swift campaign through the Shenandoah, in 1862, when Jackson marched his "foot cavalry" towards the citadel at Washington, the horse was his constant companion.

In 1884, a state fair was held at Hagerstown, in Maryland, and one of the most interesting sights was that of the veteran war horse, "Old Sorrel," tethered in a corral and quietly munching choice bits of vegetables and hay. Before the fair was ended nearly all the mane and hair of his tail had disappeared, having been plucked by scores of relic hunters. For many years after the cessation of hostilities, Jackson's gallant old war-horse was held in tender esteem at the South.

When the veteran battle charger died, admirers of Jackson sent the carcass to a taxidermist and the gallant steed now rests in the Soldier's Home in Richmond, Virginia.(6)

(6) From the Confederate Veteran

General Sheridan's "Rienzi"
General Sheridan's charger was foaled at or near Grand Rapids, Michigan, of the Black Hawk stock, and was brought into the Federal army by an officer of the Second Michigan Cavalry. He was presented to Sheridan, then colonel of the regiment, by the officers, in the spring of 1862, while the regiment was stationed at Rienzi, Mississippi; the horse was nearly three years old. He was over seventeen hands in height, powerfully built, with a deep chest, strong shoulders, a broad forehead, a clear eye and of great intelligence. In his prime he was one of the strongest horses Sheridan ever knew, very active, and one of the fastest walkers in the Federal army. "Rienzi" always held his head high, and by the quickness of his movements created the impression that he was exceedingly impetuous, but Sheridan was always able to control him by a firm hand and a few words. He was as cool and quiet under fire as any veteran trooper in the Cavalry Corps.

 At the battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, the name of the horse was changed from "Rienzi" to "Winchester," a name derived from the town made famous by Sheridan's ride to save his army in the Shenandoah Valley. Poets, sculptors, and painters have made the charger the subject of their works. Thomas Buchanan Read was inspired to write his immortal poem, "Sheridan's Ride," which thrilled the North.

From an account of this affair in "Scribner's Magazine," by General G.W. Forsyth, who accompanied Sheridan as aide-de-camp, the following is quoted:

"The distance from Winchester to Cedar Creek, on the north hank of which the Army of the Shenandoah lay encamped, is a little less than nineteen miles. As we debouched into the fields . . . the general would wave his hat to the men and point to the front, never lessening his speed as he pressed forward. It was enough. One glance at the eager face and familiar black horse and they knew him and, starting to their feet, they swung their caps around their heads and broke into cheers as he passed beyond them; and then gathering up their belongings started after him for the front, shouting to their comrades farther out in the fields, "Sheridan! Sheridan!" waving their hats and pointing after him as he dashed onward .... So rapid had been our gait that nearly all of the escort save the commanding officer and a few of his best mounted men had been distanced, for they were more heavily weighted and ordinary troop horses could not live at such a pace."

In one of the closing scenes of the war -Five Forks- Sheridan was personally directing a movement against the Confederates who were protected by temporary entrenchments about two feet high. The Federal forces, both cavalry and infantry, were suffering from a sharp fire, which caused them to hesitate. "Where is my battle-flag.?" cried Sheridan. Seizing it by the staff, he dashed ahead, followed by his command. The gallant steed leaped the low works and landed the federal general fairly amid the astonished Southerners. Close behind him came Merritt's cavalrymen in a resistless charge which swept the Confederates backward in confusion. The horse passed a comfortable old age in his master's stable and died in Chicago, in 1878; the lifelike remains are now in the Museum at Governor's Island, N.Y., as a gift from his owner.

General Stuart's "Highfly"
The battle horse, "Highfly," carried General "Jeb" Stuart through many campaigns and had become his favored companion. The intelligence and faithfulness of the steed had many times borne the dashing cavalier through desperate perils. In the summer of 1862, at Verdiersville on the plank road between Fredericksburg and Orange, in Virginia, Stuart was stretched out upon a bench on the porch of the tavern, awaiting the arrival of General Fitzhugh Lee with whom he desired to confer on the next movement of the cavalry. "Highfly" was unbridled and grazing in the yard near the road. The clatter of horses aroused the Confederate general, and he walked to the roadway, leaving behind on the bench his hat, in which was a black plume, the pride of Stuart's heart. Suddenly, horsemen dashed around the bend in the road and Stuart was within gunshot of Federal cavalry. He was nonplussed; he had expected to see Fitzhugh Lee. Mounting his faithful and speedy bay he soon left the chagrined cavalry far behind, but the foe carried away the hat with its black plume.

General Meade's "Baldy"
In the first great battle of the Civil War, at Bull Run, there was a bright bay horse, with white face and feet. His rider was seriously wounded. The horse was turned back to the quartermaster to recover from his wounds received that day. Later, in September, General Meade bought the horse and named him "Baldy." Though Meade became deeply attached to the horse, his staff officers soon began to complain of the peculiar pace of "Baldy," which was hard to follow. He had a racking gait that was faster than a walk and slow for a trot and compelled the staff, alternately, to trot and then to drop into a walk, causing great discomfort.

"Baldy's "war record was remarkable. He was wounded twice at the first battle of Bull Run; he was at the battle of Dranesville; he took part in two of the seven days' fighting around Richmond in the summer of 1862; at Groveton, August 29th, at the second battle of Bull Run; at South Mountain and at Antietam. In the last battle the gallant horse was left on the field as dead, but in the next Federal advance "Baldy" was discovered quietly grazing on the battle-ground, with a deep wound in his neck. He was tenderly cared for and soon was again fit for duty. He bore the general at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. For two days "Baldy" was present at Gettysburg, where he received his most grievous wound from a bullet entering his body between the ribs, and lodging there. Meade would not part with the gallant horse, and kept him with the army until the following spring.

In the preparations of the Army of the Potomac for their last campaign, "Baldy" was sent to pasture at Downingtown, in Pennsylvania. After the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox, Meade hurried to Philadelphia where he again met his faithful charger, fully recovered. For many years the horse and the general were inseparable companions, and when Meade died in 1872, the bullet-scarred war-horse followed the hearse. Ten years later "Baldy" died, and his head and two fore hoofs were mounted and are now cherished relics of the George G. Meade Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in Philadelphia.

General Thomas' "Billy"
The "Rock of Chickamauga," General George H. Thomas, possessed two intelligent war-horses, both powerful and large, and able to carry the general, who weighed nearly two hundred pounds. Both horses were bays; one named "Billy" (after Thomas' friend, General Sherman) was the darker of the two, about sixteen hands high, and stout in build. He was, like his owner, sedate in all his movements and was not easily disturbed from his habitual calm by bursting shells or the turmoil of battle. Even in retreat, the horse did not hurry his footsteps unduly, and provoked the staff by his deliberate pace. "Billy" bore General Thomas through the campaigns in middle Tennessee and northern Georgia. He was on the fields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, and marched with the Federal host in the advance upon Atlanta. From Atlanta, he next moved to Nashville where his master engineered the crushing defeat to the Confederate arms in the winter of 1864, the last battle in which Thomas and "Billy" participated.

General Hooker's "Lookout"
General Hooker first became acquainted with his famous charger, "Lookout," while the animal Was stabled in New York, and when Louis Napoleon, the French emperor, and an English gentleman of wealth were bidding for its purchase. Napoleon repeatedly offered the owner a thousand dollars for the horse. Hooker finally obtained him and rode him in the campaigns in which he later participated.

"Lookout" was raised in Kentucky, and he was a three-quarters bred, out of a half bred mare by Mambrino. He was of a rich chestnut color, stood nearly seventeen hands high, and had long slender legs. Despite his great height, the horse was known to trot a mile in two minutes and forty-five seconds. When the battle of Chattanooga occurred, the horse was seven years old. It was here that the animal received its name of "Lookout." The grandeur of "Lookout's" stride and his height dwarfed many gallant war-horses and he has been termed the finest charger in the army.

General Kearny's Horses
General Philip Kearny was a veteran of the Mexican War, with the rank of captain. It had been decided to equip Kearny's troop (First United States Dragoons) with horses all of the same color, and he went to Illinois to purchase them. He was assisted in the work by Abraham Lincoln and finally found himself in possession of one hundred gray horses. While engaged in battle before the City of Mexico, mounted upon one of the newly purchased grays, "Monmouth," Kearny was wounded in an arm, which was finally amputated. During the Civil War, Kearny had many excellent animals at his command, but his most celebrated steed was "Moscow," a high-spirited white horse. On the battlefield, "Moscow" was conspicuous because of his white coat, but Kearny was heedless of the protests of his staff against his needless exposure.

Another war-horse belonging to General Kearny was "Decatur,"a light bay, which was shot through the neck in the battle of Fair Oaks or Seven Pines. "Bayard," a brown horse, was ridden by Kearny at this battle, and his fame will ever stand in history through the poem by Stedman, "Kearny at Seven Pines." At the battle of Chantilly, Kearny and "Bayard" were advancing alone near the close of the struggle, when they met with a regiment of Confederate infantry. "Bayard" instantly wheeled and dashed from danger, with Kearny laying flat upon the horse's neck. A shower of bullets fell about the general and his charger. They seemed about to escape when a fatal bullet struck the general.

The leader of the Southern legions in the West, General Albert Sidney Johnston, rode a magnificent thoroughbred bay, named "Fire-eater," on the battlefield. The steed stood patiently like a veteran when the bullets and shells hurtled about him and his master, but when the command came to charge, he was all fire and vim, like that Sunday in April, 1862, the first day of the bloody battle of Shiloh.

Among the hundreds of generals' mounts which became famous by their conspicuous bravery and sagacity on the battlefields, were General Fitzhugh Lee's little mare, "Nellie Gray," which was killed at the battle of Opequon Creek; Major General Patrick R. Cleburne's "Dixie," killed at the battle of Perryville; General Adam R. Johnson's "Joe Smith," which was noted for its speed and endurance; and General Benjamin F. Butler's war-horse, "Almond Eye," a name derived from the peculiar formation of the eyes of the horse.

Source: "Photographic History of the Civil War: Article by Theo. F. Rodenbough, Brigadier-General, United States Army (Retired)

Image: General Robert E. Lee on Traveler

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Civil War Veterinarians

From: suite101.com

While much research has been done on the casualties of the Civil War among the soldiers and civilians, one area has been overlooked...that of the animals that carried troops.

Though the United States was estimated to have about 7.5 million horses at the beginning of the Civil War, there were only 50 graduate veterinarians in the country.“Although three veterinary schools were established during the decade of the fifties, only one survived. The survivor was the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons founded in 1857. The first graduates were a class of two in 1867,” according to Walter R. Heiss in Veterinary Service during the American Civil War (Baltimore, Md.: Publish America, 2005, pg. 9).

If not done by a veterinarian, animal care might be given to horse doctors or farriers.

War and the Horse
With the secession of the southern states and outbreak of war, both the Union and the Confederacy started on a massive procurement of horses. Hundreds of thousands of horses needed to be fed, sheltered, shod and equipped.

Many of the cavalry battles in the war left horses with saber wounds that could have been healed if treated properly. Because no proper care existed, many of these injuries became fatalities.

Despite the Confederacy's reputation of having superior horsemen, Heiss's research found they didn't care for their horses any better than the Union troops.

Did having Vets Win the War?
According to Fredie Steve Harris, writing in Western Horseman in 1976, the Union was better able to care for their horses and won the war. The Confederacy was unable to cope with the demand and lost.
Typically, a horse received 26 pounds of grain and hay a day. "At the end of the war, General Lee was writing and asking if he could just receive five pounds a day," Heiss said in an interview with the author.
Caring for the Horses

Military horses lacked good care. They were overworked and many suffered from a disease called glanders, a contagious disease that increased mucus secretions from a horse's nostrils and swelled the glands in their lower jaws.

Because of this poor care, close to 1.5 million or 20 percent of the nation's horses died during the war.
Heiss said both the Union and Confederacy built "magnificent remount depots" that could hold up to 30,000 horses with appropriate infirmaries, haying facilities and wide open corrals.

"There were no veterinarians to work there," Heiss said. "It was like building the National Institutes of Health and not having any doctors to staff it."
Why there were no Veterinarians

There were people who had practical knowledge of horses, just not doctors trained in their care. Cavalry units had veterinary sergeants at the beginning of the war, the position was eliminated without explanation in July 1862.

In part, the lack of veterinary surgeons was an economic one. Sergeant majors received $75 a month in pay. Farriers got $15 a month.

"So if a commanding officer could get one veterinarian or five farriers, he was well ahead to take the farriers," Heiss said. "He could get more people who could provide some medical care and do other things as well."

Heiss said that veterinary service really wasn't established in the military until 1916 when the veterinarians were first given their commissions.

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'This Sorrowful War': A Veterinary Surgeon in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

Philip M. Teigen and Leon Z. Saunders

Horses and mules attended or participated in virtually all engagements of the American Civil War (1861-1865). This was the case whether the action took place in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, or anywhere else. Horses and mules served artillerymen, infantrymen, sailors, quartermasters, cavalrymen, and surgeons. After the war, horses—but not mules—then served celebratory functions, appearing in thousands of sculptures, photographs, drawings, and paintings, commemorating Union and Confederate war efforts. In spite of their ubiquity during the Civil War and in the American collective memory, however, we know little about how horses and mules actually fared. For this reason, the memoir of Gustavus Asche-Berg deserves our attention. An experienced veterinarian who served in the Union Army for about a year, Asche-Berg published a memoir of his experiences in 1863 in a Berlin veterinary journal. There it remained unnoticed until Leon Z. Saunders discovered it recently.

Trained as a veterinarian, and possibly as a physician as well, Asche-Berg practiced veterinary medicine in the Old World for thirteen years and then human medicine in the New, before joining the Union cause during the late summer or early fall of 1861. He first connected with a Pennsylvania unit as a surgeon, but soon changed his mind and joined the Fourth New York Cavalry as a veterinarian. At this time, he might have been in his late thirties or early forties.

Asche-Berg's memoir is important not only for historians of veterinary medicine but also for those of the Civil War. It illustrates some of the disasters that befell the Union Army as it tried to stop Stonewall Jackson's 1862 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. More generally, it contributes to our understanding of the Union Army's ethnic conflicts, amateurishness, and political conflicts.

This essay is an introduction to Asche-Berg's recollections. They are too long, complicated, and contradictory to publish independently, or even to summarize entirely. Moreover, much remains unknown about him, his possible origins in Prussia or Mecklenberg, his education, his emigration to the United States, and his career after leaving the Civil War in the summer of 1862. Indeed, we do not know when or where he died.

1. The Fourth New York Cavalry
Although Asche-Berg does not identify his regiment, it was almost certainly the Fourth New York Volunteer Cavalry. He describes in detail garrison life at Hunter's Chapel, Virginia, and we know from other sources that the Fourth New York was the only cavalry unit garrisoned there then. Moreover, this unit's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia closely parallels Asche-Berg's narrative. All the same, we should note we have not yet found Asche-Berg during a continuing search of the regiment's archives.

The Fourth was filled with German immigrants recruited chiefly in New York and Pennsylvania. Its organizer and commander, Christian F. Dickel, was a German immigrant like Asche-Berg. His unit was part of Louis Blenker's Division—also known as the German Division— because it, too, was organized and commanded by a German immigrant. So German was Blenker's Division that its dispatches to Dickel's regiment (and perhaps others) were written, or at least translated, into German.

During late summer and early fall of 1861, the Fourth New York Cavalry made its way from New York to Hunter's Chapel in northern Virginia, across the Potomac River from the District of Columbia . Hunter's Chapel comprised a part of the circle of defenses that Abraham Lincoln built to protect the Capitol from Southern attack. The Fourth New York Cavalry remained there for five months. During this time, it brought its ranks up to strength, trained men and horses in warfare, served as picket line for artillery emplacements protecting the Long Bridge to the Capitol (Fig. 2); and performed military ceremonies in and around Washington. [7] This last duty fell to Dickel's unit because Blenker, Dickel, and many of their men were experienced soldiers before emigrating, and therefore knew how to parade and drill. There was antipathy, however, between the immigrants and the nativists in Blenker's Division. Another memoirist of the Fourth New York, William R. Parnell, ridiculed Blenker, Dickel, and the German troops:

"Dress-parade was conducted in a manner that to the genuine American soldier will appear supremely ridiculous. . . . As soon as all the necessary preparations were made, the Great Mogul,--the division commander,--in all the splendor of gold lace, followed by his staff, together with from fifty to sixty counts, barons, dukes (hangers-on), would stride out through the open space to the centre of the square and then halt. Everybody then saluted with the hand, retaining the hand German fashion until the Great Mogul acknowledged the same by raising with magnificent dignity his gold lace cap."

Although this junior officer in the regiment scorned them, General George B. McClellan, the Commander of the Army of the Potomac, loved the German experience and military presence, using them often in parades (Fig. 3 omitted). However exaggerated and unjust Parnell's critique was, it illustrated the bitter ethnic and political infighting that marked many units during the Civil War. Later we will set out Asche-Berg's equally harsh indictment of the native-born volunteers.

In March of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln ordered Blenker's Division, including the Fourth Cavalry, to leave the Capitol's defensive perimeter, and set out for the Shenandoah Valley. Lincoln detached the German Division from George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, which was about to move on the Confederate capitol in Richmond, Virginia, and sent it to join the Mountain Department, commanded by John C. Fremont, a political ally. Fremont, in turn, was to engage Stonewall Jackson's forces then at large in the Shenandoah and a continuing threat to nearby Washington, D.C. Blenker's Division marched as far West as Franklin, Romney, and Moorefield, Virginia, (now, West Virginia) and to battles at Cross Keys and Cedar Mountain, as well as skirmishes along the way. Hindered by terrible weather, inexperienced soldiers, and inept organization and supply, Blenker's Division ineffectually pursued Jackson and his forces. Along the way, Blenker and his 9,000 or so soldiers—with artillery and hundreds of horses—lost their way and had to be located by officers sent out from the Mountain Department. So chaotic and desperate were the Division's movements that troops resorted to thievery and looting.

2. Horses at War
From October 1861 until March 1862, when the Fourth New York Cavalry left Hunter's Chapel, the regiment lost 160 of the 780 horses assigned to it, according to Asche-Berg. Some were lost by disease, others by accident, carelessness, inexperience, and actual combat. Asche-Berg notes the presence of goiter, strangles, and glanders. He became angry when glanderous horses were not destroyed, quarantined, or buried properly. His protests may have led to a regimental order which instructed that "veterinary surgeons, or sergeants, will from this date, bury dead horses in graves not less than six feet in depth."

 Although Asche-Berg understood the dangers of glanders to a cavalry regiment, he concluded that it was too rare a disease to pose a major threat to the regiment's horse herd during the 1861-62 winter. For a neighboring artillery unit, however, the disease was a serious problem,

More serious than disease was the carelessness of inexperienced riders and the fortunes of war. Reckless soldiers, overcome with what Asche-Berg called an "infectious frenzy," cost the regiment eighteen horses.
" The riding, whether uphill or downhill... in the camp, from the headquarters, over fields and streets in the cities or countryside, from house to house, private party, general, high commander, lieutenant, and quartermaster, all, all without interruption, was at a gallop. To see a trot or pace is as seldom as a black swan ... ."

This carelessness was hard to stop, although the regiment's order book describes efforts to do so. On September 22, 1861, for example, the regimental commander, Christian F. Dickel, forbad soldiers from racing horses when taking them to water. On October 18, he complained that horses were still being raced in camp. Two days later he ordered that commissioned officers accompany the enlisted men each time they watered horses. A month later, Dickel ordered soldiers confined for eight days on bread and water if they galloped horses in camp. (The same punishment was prescribed for men who struck their horses.)  By the time the regiment left Hunter's Chapel in March of 1862, such recklessness seems to have abated. The men, perhaps having acquired more training and experience during the winter, appeared to need less disciplining.

Of the 780 horses issued to the regiment in October 1861, twenty-one were stolen or lost, eighteen were destroyed after suffering accidents while performing orderly or picket duty, eleven were shot in combat (some by friendly fire), and nine died or were destroyed because of disease. Ninety-eight were unfit for service because of temporary lameness, fistulas, emaciation, and gravidity. In short, five months of garrison duty and training cost the regiment twenty percent of its horses. Of those declared unfit for service, thirty-one were taken along as pack animals and the remaining sixty-seven were abandoned. Their abandonment angered Asche-Berg because he thought he could have returned most of them to service
.
Asche-Berg left Hunter's Chapel angry and frustrated. However, the disasters of the subsequent five months in the field made garrison duty in Northern Virginia appear idyllic in retrospect. In his memoir, for example, written after the Shenandoah Campaign had ended, he spent more time reminiscing about his own horse—a Canadian pony that he talked an Irishman into giving him—than on any other subject. It captivated him on first sight, and his affection grew as he restored it to health, aided by the healing force of nature.

Leaving Northern Virginia to aid General Fremont's pursuit of Stonewall Jackson, the regiment's horses suffered even greater losses than they had while at Hunter's Chapel. Although spring seemed near when the regiment left the District of Columbia's defense perimeter on March 10, winter soon returned, and the horses and men suffered four days of cold, rain, and ice without food or shelter, and a disastrous crossing of the flooded Shenandoah River.  Then it got worse.

When the regiment approached Franklin, Virginia (now part of West Virginia), its rocky and steep mountainsides exhausted the horses. At the same time, because supply wagons could not keep up, the horses went without food for eleven days. Many died from exhaustion and malnutrition. Then, when feed finally arrived, it killed and sickened more horses. Compounding these disasters was the lack of horseshoes and nails, which were especially needed on the rocky ground around Franklin. The regiment's herd—620 on March 10—was reduced to 329 by June 10, and to 249 by the end of July 1862.

Besides the weather, the mountainous terrain, and the inadequate logistics, wounds from kicks, saddle sores, and friendly fire also reduced the number of serviceable horses still further. These three classes of injuries incapacitated 142 horses. Thirty-two others were captured or killed by the enemy, including the pony Asche-Berg had become so attached to at Hunter's Chapel. Diseases such as scabies, lice, and rheumatic lameness laid low more. Five months after leaving Hunter's Chapel, none of the regiment's horses were fit for cavalry service and all were relegated to "permanent orderly duty.".

3. A German Immigrant's Opinion of the American Civil War
Asche-Berg held strong opinions about the conflict between the North and the South, which he called "this sorrowful war", as well as about American military culture in particular and American culture in general. Corruption offended him. Although competent officers recruited some regiments, in many others swindle, humbug and speculation turned recruiting into a "cash cow." Entrepreneurs who recruited 100 men were named regimental commanders, while those who could collect only 30 or 40 became company-grade officers. Speculators would pay men out of their own pockets, in the hopes that the salaries and expenses of their unit would eventually be picked up by the President and the Secretary of War. This method of recruitment lead to motley units of volunteers who, motivated chiefly by poverty, looked more like carnival workers or gypsies than soldiers.

The wastefulness of the soldiers—encouraged by the enormous wealth of the Northern states — also offended Asche-Berg. He remarked on how Uncle Sam was spending $1.5 million a day to prosecute the war and later notes how the phrase "Uncle Sam" came to signify the "immeasurable coffers" of the federal government. For too many Union soldiers the war was just business where "everyone works toward pulling down as much as possible from which an advantage could accrue directly or indirectly.... everything at the cost of the good-natured uncle of the states".

Asche-Berg felt veterinarians were poorly treated. In particular, he objected to the fact that they were not commissioned officers, but only sergeants. As a result, they were subjected to low status and pay. This did not apply to Asche-Berg himself, however, because he never actually enlisted. He was careful not to swear the oath of allegiance to the United States required at enlistment. Hence, he supplemented his salary (if he had one) by charging fees for caring for officers' horses. He thus assured himself of an income equal to what he had as a civilian.

Finally, Asche-Berg disliked the amateurishness of the soldiers. They could not take the time to learn how to wage war. It was forward or perish for them all (p. 21). It was this amateurishness— comprised of inadequate training and insufficient discipline—that led these cavalrymen—officers and enlisted men alike—to loot Southern farms.

Asche-Berg ended his memoir late in July 1862, about a month after the Shenandoah campaign ended with battles at Cross Keys and Port Republic, Virginia.. During the summer of 1862, then, or shortly thereafter, he walked away from the Fourth New York Cavalry. His initial commitment to soldiering for Uncle Sam was minimal, as he had joined as much out of curiosity as out of commitment to a cause. Within a year of leaving the Union Army, he published his memoir in Berlin, and by July of 1863, he was practicing veterinary medicine as a civilian in Baltimore. He then disappears from the historical record.

Epilogue
Besides leaving posterity an important narrative of the Civil War, Asche-Berg's account of his experiences at Hunter's Chapel and in the Shenandoah Valley is notable for two reasons. Because his memoir was published in 1863, a year or less after he had experienced them, it is among the earliest narratives published about the Civil War. Furthermore, his memoir is one of disillusionment, placing him among the memoirists who remembered its deadly destructiveness. Civil War reminiscences written after it was over tended toward sentimentality, recounting the comradery, adventure, and glory of warfare rather than its horrors.  Asche-berg's disenchantment and subsequent abandonment of the Fourth New York Cavalry parallels the Civil War experience of the great novelist and journalist Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens, 1835-1910). Although his memoir is not comparable to Twain's recollections in terms of the quality of its writing, Asche-Berg's account bears a greater similarity to Twain anti-war feelings than to the romanticized recollections of most other veterans. Twain, like Asche-Berg, was among the thousands who "entered the war, got just a taste of it, and then stepped out again, permanently."

 Incompetence, senseless suffering, and killing led both Asche-Berg and Twain to "step out" of the ranks. "I could have become a soldier myself if I had waited," Twain wrote. "I had got part of it learned; I knew more about retreating than the man that invented retreating."  This could be Asche-Berg's epigraph, also.
The millions of horses and mules that suffered and died during the Civil War left no epigraphs. They do have a monument now, however, in Middleton, Virginia, on the road to the Shenandoah Valley, where so many fought and died during the spring and summer of 1862.

From: New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center
Courtesy of Veterinary Heritage, Fred Smithcors, Editor.

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During the Civil War, Some Heroes Had Hooves

By Kate Kelly
From: huffingtonpost.com

If you have a pet, then you are well aware that Americans spend a great amount of money on their animals. In addition to food, most pets go to the veterinarian at least once a year; many are on daily medicines. Pets also have to be boarded while the family is away. These costs add up. A recent study done by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reveals that the average per-pet amount spent by Americans each year is about $1500; that's probably a low figure in many communities.

With this in mind, Americans would be quite amazed to look back 150 years at the state of animal care during the Civil War.

In what was a simply fascinating visit to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland earlier this month, I was particularly struck by information cited at the museum about animal care during the war--something I had never thought of. Horses and mules were the lifeblood of the military, yet the very act of feeding and caring for these animals was a monumental task.

At the start of the war, the North had about 3.4 million horses; the Confederacy had about 1.7 million, and there were distinctions in their suitability for service. The horses in the North were primarily farm animals and were better suited for moving equipment; those in the South were bred for riding and racing, so the Confederacy was better prepared to build a cavalry.

The horses and mules were a vital part of all military operations, and as a result, more than one million horses and mules died during the course of the war. Like their human counterparts, battle wounds were only part of the problem. Lack of food, illness, and actual war injuries all contributed to the death toll of the animals.

Care was far from ideal. Veterinary medicine was in its infancy. There were thought to be fifty veterinarians in the U.S., and only six veterinarians were in the military.

"Most of the animal care was either performed by the soldiers themselves or by farriers who provided everything from horse shoes to whatever medical care they learned from working around animals," says Walter Heiss, author of Veterinary Service during the American Civil War.

Feeding the Animals

Today's military officers would marvel at the thought of having to provide 26 pounds of fuel per day to their "modes of transportation" but that was the reality of the 1860s. Horses needed 14 pounds of hay and 12 pounds of grain each day.

When instructing his troops. Major General William T. Sherman said: "Every opportunity at a halt during a march should be taken advantage of to cut grass, wheat, or oats and extraordinary care should be taken of the horses upon which everything depends."

While staying in one location might have provided the soldiers with the time to gather food for the animals, the truth was that the armies frequently picked an area clean, and wagons that should have been traveling back and forth carrying additional provisions were frequently seized to be used for other purposes. By 1864, Union artillery horses in some locations were living on only five pounds of grain per day.

Something as simple as providing water for the animals also took planning. If there was no source of water nearby, the soldiers would take half the horses to a river or stream, leaving the other half available to help move the army in case of a surprise attack.

Battlefield Injuries

Horses on the battlefield were important to soldiers for both attacking and escaping. Those that were trained for battle were taught to lie down and stay down on command. This lessened the chances of them being hit but also created cover for the soldier.

New ammunition in the form of the minié ball was beginning to be used, and these bullets were much more damaging to the human body but still could not bring down a horse. It often took five to seven shots before a horse was killed, but any shot could inflict a serious, if not fatal, wound.
At the start of any skirmish, horses were often targeted first. Both sides understood that picking off horses left the opposing side with no way to move artillery and supplies. At Ream's Station (Virginia) in August 1864, the Tenth Massachusetts Battery had positioned themselves behind a temporary barricade, but they left their thirty horses exposed. Within moments, only two of these horses were still standing.

"Both north and south built reserve camps behind their lines, and these served as infirmaries for the horses," says Robert A. Burton, director of education at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Though the animals could be fed and become rested there, the dearth of veterinarians and the lack of medical knowledge of farriers and soldiers meant that there was not much that could do be done for horses with serious wounds.

Fatigue and Illness

Horses were frequently ridden until they could go no further; the reality was that without a mount, a courier or a cavalry member was useless.

In addition, a viral illness known as glanders spread through the horse population. Symptoms involved an increase in mucus and swelling of the glands. The disease was highly contagious, so once one horse was sick, it was a real problem for the army.

The Confederate Quartermaster at Lynchburg was concerned about the spread of glanders, and asked two physicians to investigate. John Jay Terrell and John R. Page established a stable where the horses could be quarantined, and as a result of their work, the two doctors saw that good ventilation, proper diet, and clean water made a difference in resistance to disease. Infected animals needed to be destroyed as the disease was terminal so that was the best way to reduce exposure. These were advanced concepts for a time when little was fully understood about the spread of any type of disease.

Tragedy for Both Man and Beast

In a discussion with Robert Burton at the museum, Burton cited a letter written by Massachusetts soldier Charles Francis Adams to his mother on May 12, 1863. It describes the magnitude of what was happening to the animals:

"The air of Virginia is literally burdened today with the stench of dead horses, federal and confederate. You pass them on every road and find them in every field, while from their carrions you can follow the march of every army that moves."

While the care we lavish on our house pets today may be excessive, the "work horses" of 150 years ago deserved much better care than they got, and they should be remembered along with their human counterparts for their contributions to both sides of the War Between the States.

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A Medical Doctor Treats Sick Horses

Horses were an essential part of the Civil War military. They were responsible for transporting food, supplies and artillery. Sickness among horses could have a devastating effect on the course of a campaign.   Confederate surgeon Herbert M, Nash was treating soldiers with malaria, when the unit's horses began to stumble and tremble.   "While the men were thus suffering with malaria, the horses became affected with blind staggers and many died. Without horses the artillery could not be moved, and they could not be replaced.   "I made autopsies and became convinced that the same or a similar poison was acting on both men and horses, and rode to Richmond, reported the facts to the Surgeon-General and appealed to him for an issue of a dozen ounces of quinine to treat the horses.   "He at first declined to issue the quinine for horses when he could not issue it for the men. I replied very earnestly that this was a most extraordinary condition which should be combated with every possible available means, and that I should be obliged to report to army headquarters the object of my visit and its results.   "Seeing the intensity of my conviction he finally relented and gave me the quinine, with which I speedily returned to the bottoms, to drench each horse as soon as the symptoms appeared with one ounce of quinine to the quart of water.   But one such dose was given to each sick horse. I am glad to relate that not another horse died, and I subsequently had them removed a mile back from the river to the pines, when the cases of staggers ceased to occur."

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Civil War Veterinary Medicine

by Carole Adrienne /

The first veterinary facility in Europe was established at Lyon, France, in 1762, after centuries of wars, disease epidemics, livestock plagues and food shortages.

The United States, with a lower density of animals, had not faced any of the major animal epidemics that had periodically swept Europe. The first veterinary college in the country was established in 1862 in Philadelphia.

At the start of the Civil War, dozens of cavalry units were formed, requiring thousands of horses. A War Department General Order in May 1861 provided for one “veterinary sergeant” for every Union cavalry regiment, but listed no qualifications for the post. Only six veterinarians were on the rolls of the Union army.

In the course of the war, thousands of horses, mules, pigs and cows died of disease, battle wounds and overuse.

By mid-1863 both forces began to centralize the collection and distribution of horses. The largest Union depot was at Giesboro Point, in Washington, D.C., with 32 stables and 6,000 stalls. It had a veterinary hospital that could hold 2,650 animals.

Disease among animals could have a devastating effect on the course of a campaign, limiting transportation for food, supplies and artillery. Battles are thought to be won or lost because of numbers, weapons, tactics or courage; not because horses are sick.

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Military Veterinary Medicine in America Through the Civil War

by Dr. John Moss /

Between June 1775 and June 1916—or until Congress created a commissioned Officers Corps of Veterinarians--much of the history of Military Veterinary Medicine must be surmised from the histories of the mounted combat branches, medical and supply services. These histories include references to veterinary affairs which present a chronological picture of the development of military services. The elaborate and modern Veterinary Corps of today’s Army bears little or no resemblance to the Veterinarians’ humble beginnings and trial and error evolution in the military structure of this country.

The birth of Veterinary Military Medicine took place after the formation of the dragoons or cavalry. In 1777 the Continental Army formed the cavalry, but it was not until 1792 that the birth of military veterinarians took place. Congressional legislation of 1792 provided that each of the four units of light dragoons would have one farrier to care for the ailments of horses. The first military veterinarians, therefore, were horseshoers who acted as nurses for the animals. In 1798 the number of farriers in the Army had increased from four to a total of ten. Wages also increased from eight to ten dollars monthly. The cavalry, and hence, farriers, were not a part of the Army from 1802 to 1808. However, in 1808 Congress provided funding for a regiment of cavalry which called for eight farriers. By the year 1812 farriers were included as part of the horse artillery. With the reduction on the mounted troops after the War of 1812, farriers disappeared again from the military until 1833. At this time a Cavalry Regiment was formed which included farriers. In 1836 ten more farriers were added with the addition of a second cavalry regiment.

General regulations for the Army in 1834 and 1835 included a discussion of the Veterinary Department of Cavalry. For the first time the term “Veterinary Surgeon” was used. This term, however, was probably used interchangeably with “farrier” during this era.

In the early 1800’s, throughout the United States, there was a recognized need for better veterinary training. This urge came mainly from prominent physicians like Dr. Benjamin Rush and Dr. James Mease, who saw veterinary medicine as a scientific branch of medicine. It is believed that many human surgeons practiced veterinary surgery concomitantly since the medicines and principles were basically the same. It has not been established if there were any formally trained veterinarians in the Army at this time. No pay scales listed a veterinary surgeon. But there is evidence that the Quartermaster Department considered hiring civilian veterinarians as early as 1837. However, Congress did not appropriate funds for the use of civilian veterinarians until 1849. The U.S. Census of 1850 showed evidence that there were very few veterinarians available at that time. In that census only 46 veterinary surgeons were listed. How many practiced veterinary medicine but listed their occupation as “physician” is unknown. By the eighth Census of 1860, only 392 veterinary surgeons were listed. Regardless of this increase in the fiscal year ending 1861, the Quartermaster’s Department had expended only $168.50 for civilian veterinarians. It is believed that few Military or Civilian contract veterinarians were used until the Civil War had gotten well underway.

The first actual mention of American Military Veterinarians appeared with the beginning of our Civil War. In July 1861, a law was passed which authorized the Union regular Third Cavalry Regiment to be assigned a Veterinary Surgeon to each of the Regimental Battalions. It is presumed that the Veterinary Surgeon supervised farriers with the companies of the battalions. The pay for one surgeon was $17.50 monthly and he ranked as a sergeant in the Cavalry.

The death and morbidity rate of cavalry horses was abominable early in the war. It became evident that a new system and a better level of competence was needed for the care of military animals. An effort to increase the quality of care was made in late 1862. The grade of Veterinary Sergeant was dropped in March 1863, each cavalry regiment was authorized a Regimental Veterinary Surgeon with the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major and was paid $75.00 monthly, equal to that of a Lieutenant. The Secretary of War made the appointments of Veterinary surgeons after the selection by the Chief of the Cavalry Bureau upon the nominations of the regimental commanders. It was believed that the grade and pay increase would provide better-qualified personnel. It probably did little to help.

In spite of the attempts to improve veterinary medical care for the Army there were no fixed standards of education or competence. It is believed that very few graduate veterinarians applied for or received appointments. The Quartermaster’s Department, however, spent $93,666.47 for the hire of Civilian Veterinarians by the end of 1864. These veterinarians were used as contract veterinarians much as the human medical corps used contract surgeons.

It was not until requirements set forth by the Army Regulations of 1861 that all appointed veterinary surgeons with the cavalry were to be graduates of an established and reputable veterinary school or college.

From its meager organization in the Civil War, the Veterinary Corps slowly evolved into an important branch of the Medical Corps. Eventually the Veterinary Corps became elaborately organized in 1916 and blossomed into the extremely valuable branch of medicine we benefit from today.

Dr. John Moss is a veterinarian in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He has been a Civil War reenactor for 20 years, portraying a Civil War surgeon or scout. Dr. Moss has been a board member of the Society of Civil War Surgeons for 12 years and is a regular speaker at their annual convention. He is an experienced researcher of the history of medical and veterinary medicine in the 1860’s.

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