Dropping baggage?

[moarkcav]

As I understand it was common for infantry to drop knapsacks prior to going into battle. Does anyone know if cavalry would take the extra gear off of their saddles?

Thanks,

Chris Talburt

[Tom Craig]

Re: Dropping baggage?

Chris,

Interesting question, but I have never seen any reference to cavalry shedding gear prior to combat. That said I think that they were a pretty lean bunch to begin with. In Fed cav at least bed blankets were often under the saddle, which leaves precious little place to store any extras like what might be stored in a knapsack.

Take care,
Tom Craig

[volcav]

Re: Dropping baggage?

From what I've read, the Eastern Federal Cav was pretty heavily loaded down in the beginning of the war but they learned to do with less as time went on.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Dropping baggage?

Hallo!

"Does anyone know if cavalry would take the extra gear off of their saddles?"

Yes, occcassionally... the rider.

Curt

[Outrider]

Re: Dropping baggage?

In a kind of related but not really vein, I have often wondered how many, if any ,cavalry troopers passing by those dropped /abandoned knapsacks picked one up. They make a dandy waterproof valise if of the soft variety.

Western theater cavalry, as far as I have ever been able to tell, whether by choice or otherwise ,just didn't have much of anything to drop, at any period of the war.

[SeceshCavalry]

Re: Dropping baggage?

I would think that being cavalry with the ability and need to move at great distances, if you dropped anything, it would be something you could do without from that point forward. After a days fighting and movements your unit could be miles from the drop off point and headed farther away. The longer campaigns I participated in, I strictly took what I needed to survive on and foraged or were issued other food stuffs as needed. This would have included canteen, small feed sack, foraged ears of corn or carrots stuffed wherever. Also a Minimum bedroll. Certainly no more and probably less than an infantryman with a knapsack may wish to carry with the exception of the feed sack. Just a thought or two.