Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

[Forrestcavalryman]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

To add to Mr. Tyler's question. Could "unfit" mean unruly in formation? You know, the precious few who don't like gunfire, or spook when they're put in formation?

[IowaYank]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Just personal opinion here, but I would take unfit as being lame, open sores from ill fitted saddles, etc. Some physical ailment. I wouldn't think unruly horses would be put into that category.

Dan

[Ken Knopp]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Dan is right. Unfit means not be able to perform the tasks of normal duty. That means as Dan suggests, lame, open sores, sheer exhaustion, severe malnutrition, aliments such as sever cases of scratches, etc.



Blair,
The way to interpret this is at face value. Company A has 32 horses considered by the company officers as "fit for duty". Six more were "unfit" to perform duty and, six men were without a horse at all. Total in Company A....38 horses and 44 men.
The term "fit for duty" is naturally relative to how these men interpreted the meaning of those words. But, remember, a horse was a tool to most people of the period- likely far more than most of us fully understand today. For example, riding a horse at a full gallop for miles, riding a horse till he drops from exhaustion or is literaly three (or two) legged, has open running sores and can no longer move forward was all more acceptable then than now. One has immerse yourself in the period, read alot of period material to begin to understand the human/animal relationship in the proper context of the period.
On another thread we discussed this in bit more detail but one thing for sure.....all of us (no one in particular) should be careful here about passing our "enlightened" judgment on these men. It is simply wrong to impose 21st century animal husbandry or animal behavioral sciences on the people of the period (think about the effects of forty years now, of animal rights laws, PETA, horse whisperers, Disney movies, multiple television shows, the PC movement, etc. etc. coupled with advances in veterinariam practices and animal psychology). Believe me, I spent 26 years in the business of professional rodeo and saw this evolution first hand. The human/animal world has changed dramtically just in my life time. Not to digress but right now they teach "Animal Rights' at the Harvard Law School. Where do you think that is going?.......in a hundred years or so it is very likely that your decendents will consider you an inhuman beast for hunting, fishing, owning dogs etc. And those of us that ride horses as "Confederate" well,.......... GOD save our souls!

Andrew, one should also understand that the above mentioned hard riding coupled with the routines of drill (bugle calls) and chronic malnutrition had a wonderful "calming effect" on unruly horses. Fact is, most "cavalrymen" today overfeed our horses with too much high powered feed not available then and perhaps more importantly, dont ride our horses nearly enough to take the edge off of them ...let alone keep them fit. Hell, the cowboys I grew up with would hardly consider most of our horses "broke to ride"!


Just my opinions....man, I gotta take a break!

Ken R Knopp

[Mark Choate]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Dan is dead on with this. Remember, these were men who were from an era and a time when horses were like machinery, not casual pets. If physically fit, they worked. if not, then they would be set aside. An animal that was green or spooked would not be considered "unfit".

Mark

[Mark Choate]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Ha, Ken, we were both hammering in our replies at the same time. Hope the PITA people are reading this!! I'm gonna eat supper.

Mark

[Forrestcavalryman]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Thank you for the information, I have wondered about that before, but never remembered to ask. Ken and Mark, ya'll are absolutely right about the way people are with horses today. My sister's trainer asked me once what I intended to do with Shiloh (my mare) and when I told her that I was going to reenact she said "you mean you're going to shoot off her back? That's just cruel!" I wish I could've taken a picture of her reaction when I told her about using the saber!

[The Egyptian Homeguard]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Andrew, my old Walker cross gelding would actually carry his head like a quarter when a saber was drawn... gee, wonder why he figured that out...

Ken, the shotguns being fitted with a bayonet? I would assume they were singleshots much like a fowler, where a lug could be fitted or would they have been plug type bayonets? I'm pretty ignorant about the generic CS impressions, but I am learning... Still haven't bought that gray coat yet... ;) Z

[Forrestcavalryman]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Zack, they learn to adapt don't they? As to the bayonet question check this out. http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...erate+shotguns
The article shows two different types, both just scream Confederate genius! Hope this helps

[The Egyptian Homeguard]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Mark, thanks for the link, sorry I missed that one first time around... Cool double barrel bayonet conversion! Thanks, Z

[Mark Choate]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Zack,
While you are "welcome" for the link, I did not provide it. It was "young Andrew" (as Trooper Caldwell likes to call him) who gets credit for that bit of information. And a good post it was, too.

Mark

[Old-South]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Someone take a collection up for Z so he can get that coat and ride like a REAL cavalryman!

[Blair]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

I am kind of wondering why any one would think I was referring to the post 1980 Animal Civil Rights Questions on the AC forum?
Thank you all for your various replies, but, this ain't, was not, is not what my reply was about.

[Mark Choate]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Hi Blair,

I don't believe that Ken was comparing your question to the Animal rights lunacy that has gone so overboard in the modern day. There was another post or two that was inquiring as to what might qualify a mount as to being "unfit" for duty. I believe that Ken's response broadened out to drive home the fact that what was considered unfit at that time was certainly a sight different than what might be considered today with all of those PITA watchdogs. Furthermore, I would submit that the assessment of "unfit for duty" was pushed even more to the limits as the war dragged on and functional mounts became more and more scarce.

Thanks for posting

Mark

[The Egyptian Homeguard]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

Oops, my mistake... Sorry Andrew. Really cool shotguns. Made me look though Gun Broker and Guns America for shotguns... I am keeping an eye out for a CD or mystery jacket in my size. Z

Zack,
While you are "welcome" for the link, I did not provide it. It was "young Andrew" (as Trooper Caldwell likes to call him) who gets credit for that bit of information. And a good post it was, too.

Mark

[Forrestcavalryman]

Re: Rare! Fairly complete early war report of western CS cavalry arms, equip and horses....

No need to be sorry, I was fine with Mark getting the credit.