Equine Prowess of the Officer's

[OldKingCrow]

Generals In the Saddle - FAMOUS MEN IN BOTH ARMIES WHO WERE GOOD HORSEMEN.

From: UNITED SERIVCE - A MONTHLY REVIEW OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS VOLUME VII NEW SERIES 1897

"Service Salad"

A Few CS:

"General Lee had a very graceful carriage in the saddle. While in motion he sat erect and composed but he seldom rode at a faster gait than a canter. He had a curious habit of laying his hands on the pommel on halting to converse with any one. Leaning gently forward Lee's attitude was at once courteous and engaging. I chanced to meet the great Confederate leader on two occasions. Being a wounded prisoner after the battle of tbe Wilderness, I was lying under a locust tree by the roadside when Lee came slowly riding past. Quietly halting he leaned over me and began asking questions concerning the Federal army. On my politely declining to answer some of his queries the General's face grew sad. He bowed slightly acknowledged my right to refuse and then rode on in deep thought for I had told him that Grant was present and in real command of the Army of the Potomac."

"Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart best known as Jeb from the initials of his name, was a grand horseman. He was the Pleasonton or Sheridan of the Confederate Army. No man could ride better or faster than Stuart. He carried a careless rein gripping the saddle with a knee clasp which prevented bis being unseated. He was always well dressed and as the uniform of a Confederate General was a very handsome one Stuart made a dashing appearance"

Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson was a great horseman He sat the saddle easily, while was a sort of abandon visible which showed his familiarity with horseflesh from boyhood. His seat was very erect and though it had none of the stiffness of the cavalry style, it was very correct. His stirrups were shortened to give a slight bend to the knee and enable him to adjust his body to the movements of his steed without apparent exertion.

"Major General Wade Hampton like all Southerners a graceful rider. Like Sickles the loss of a leg has his horsemanship, but he was not of the loss of useful member by a casualty on the battle field. Wade was dashing horseman rather dandified his attire and somewhat fond of display, but he did good service for his side of the great national quarrel and is deservedly popular among the men of South. One of my comrades who saw him ride over a field while there lay a wounded prisoner tells me Hampton made a splendid figure in the saddle which he sat while on the with rare ease scarcely a swing noticeable despite the rapid pace. He was always magnificently mounted andcould ride like the devil as my friend expressed it."

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Equine Prowess of the Officer's

From the same publication:

A few US Generals

Major General Hancock looked exceedingly well in the saddle. Those who only remember him when his hair became gray, can have no idea of the change in bis personal appearance. During the war Hancock had a swarthy complexion the result of being so much in the open air. His dark hair and huge goatee gave his face a look of sternness, though it was frequently lighted up by pleasant and engaging smile. His was rather slender then which made him seem taller than he really was. He sat on his horse bolt upright, bridle well forward and with scarcely any bend in the knee. He had an unusually tall horse which added to the imposing effect his figure.

Major General Benjamin F Butler could sit on a horse and ride without fatigue but to the eye of a riding master, he would be a source of humor. Not that Butler was a bad horseman, but he was too heavy a man for easy carriage, while the portentous boots he always wore, in the field made him look like a Dirk Halteraick suddenly lifted into a saddle. Whether it was his huge boots or the saturnine temperament of the man, he nevertheless rode as if the horse was a mechanical one and not made of flesh and blood. If he tried a gallop, which was seldom it looked as if rider and steed would soon part company for his body rose and fell violently at every stride. But Butler never prided himself on his feats of horsemanship and active field movement was not his forte.

Major General Custer was the beau-ideal of a perfect horseman. He sat in the saddle as if born in it for his seat was so very easy and graceful that he and his steed seemed one. At West Point he was at the head of all the classes in horsemanship and delighted in being on the tan bark.. It is related of him that he could cut down more wooden heads on the gallop than any other one of the cadets. Unlike most ardent raiders during the war, General Custer seldom punished his horses. It was only when the moment for charging arrived that he loosened rein for a headlong dash.

General Sheridan did not appear to advantage on foot. In the saddle was a centaur. When astride of a horse, the Shenandoah Valley hero gained in height four inches for he was longer in above his sword belt than below it. Sheridan always sat well back unconsciously leaning against the rear of his military saddle. This brought his feet a little in advance of the correct line but it did not deter much from his appearance as a horseman. The fierce bundle of nerves were encased in his small body would not permit General Sheridan to long sit still and he was always on the gallop even when his army was lying idle and the pickets were silent.

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Equine Prowess of the Officer's

late in the evening i left hard times with grant to ride across the peninsula to deshroon's. The night was pitch dark and as we rode side by side, grant's horse suddenly gave a nasty stumble. I expected to see the general go over the animal's head and i watched intently not to see if he was hurt but if he would show any anger. I had been with grant daily now for three weeks and i had never seen him ruffled or heard him swear. His equanimity was becoming a curious spectacle to me. When i saw his horse lunge my first thought was yes. Now he will swear. For an instant his moral status was on trial but grant was a tenacious horseman and instead of going over the animal's head, as i imagined he would, he kept his seat. Pulling up his horse he rode on and to my utter amazement without a word or sign of impatience. And it is a fact that though i was with grant during the most trying campaigns of the war, i never heard him use an oath.

Charles A Dana's Reminiscences