Confederates on Mules

[MuleyGil]

I was wondering if anyone had read any references to Confederates riding mules, other than teamsters. I am aware of some of the Feds that were mounted on mules, due to a lack of horses, but haven't seen anything on the CS side.

MuleyGil aka Gil Tercenio, owner of a fine mule

[cwbelle]

Re: Confederates on Mules

If I'm not mistaken, I believe there's a reference to a confederate, Sam Watkins, riding on a rather stuborn mule (or possibly it was a donkey, though I'm pretty sure it was the latter--it's been awhile since I read it) in his memoirs:Company Aytch: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show and Other Sketches

I don't have the book with me at present but will quote the section tomorrow when I can bring it in with me.

Respectfully,

[ButtermilkRanger]

Re: Confederates on Mules

Gil,

There are several references to Confederate cavalry being mounted on mules in "A Cavalryman's Reminscenses of the Civil War" by Howell Carter. This is a first person history of the First Louisiana Cavalry in the AoT. Not only does Carter mention members of Scott's cavalry mounted on mules, a reference is made to members of that command capturing saddle mules from Federal cavalry at Big Hill, KY before Perryville.

I'm a mule man myself and I believe that mules were probably more common than originally thought.

Larry Morgan

[Charles Heath]

Re: Confederates on Mules

This is one of those many cases where the references bog down in the remembering of reading it somewhere along the line, but it wasn't important enough to take any notes. Turning to the documentation at hand -- thanks for spurring me to open up the ORs on CD and spend about 3 hours enjoying the heck out of those thousands of "mule" hits relating to forts, trains, boats, shipping, artillery, supplies, harness needed, harness ordered, harness tore slam up, forage, condition, farrier work, and so on and so forth. It was fun. Unfortunately, I came up empty handed with what I initially thought would be a few quick-grab references to rebs riding mules; however, I am only halfway through perusing those hits, and they are wonderful reading. The fine book "Sherman's Horsemen" mentions accounts of the federals picking up mules from farms to replace worn out mounts, and it may be worth a rapid re-reading to see if the rebs were equally adept at "mule-napping." It certainly is a good subject for far deeper research.

Love those longears. They sure are smart.

For those who are riding happy saddle mules these days, are you using a crupper, "britchen," or nothing at all to compensate for those relatively low withers and steep terrain downslopes?

Charles Heath

[cwbelle]

Re: Confederates on Mules

Well, I finally managed to unearth the book--and even found the chapter and page--which I had fortunately marked quite well the first time. It's a rather humorous account and one I thought might be enjoyed. Here it is from CSA Pvt. Sam Watkin's memoirs in the book Company Aytch, chapter 2 "Shiloh"

"One fellow, a courier, who had had his horse killed, got on a mule he had captured, and in the last charge, before the final and fatal halt was made, just charged right ahead by his lone self, and the soldiers said, "Just look at that brave man, charging right in the jaws of death." He began to seesaw the mule and grit his teeth, and finally yelled out, "It arn't me, boys, it's this blarsted old mule. Whoa! Whoa!"
On Monday morning I too captured a mule. He was not a fast mule, and I soon found out that he thought he knew as much as I did. He was wise in his own conceit. He had a propensity to take every hog path he came to. All the bombasting that I could give him would not make him accelerate his speed. If blood makes speed, I do not suppose he had a drop of any kind in him. If I wanted him to go on one side of the road he was sure to be possessed of an equal desire to go on the other side. Finally I and my mule fell out. I got a big hickory and would frail him over the head, and he would only shake his head and flop his ears and seem to say, "Well, now, you think you are smart, don't you?" He was a resolute mule, slow to anger, and would have made an excellent merchant to refuse bad pay, or I will pay your credit, for his whole composition seemed to be made up of one word--no. I frequently thought it would be pleasant to split the difference with that mule, and I would gladly have done so if I could have gotten one-half of his no. Me and mule worried along until we came to a creek. Mule did not desire to cross, while I was trying to persuade him with a big stick, a rock in his ear, and a twister on his nose. The caisson of a battery was about to cross. The driver said, "I'll take your mule over for you." so he got a large two inch rope, tied one end around the mule's neck and the other to the caisson, and ordered the driver to whip up. THe mule was loth to take to the water. He was no Baptist, and did not believe in immersion, and had his views about crossing streams, but the rope began to tighten, the mule to squeal out his protestations against such villainous proceedings. The rope, however, was stronger than the mule's "no," and he was finally prevailed upon by the strength of the rope to cross the creek. On my taking the rope off he shook himself and seemed to say, "You think that you are mighty smart folks, but you are a leetle too smart." I gave it up that that mule's "no" was a little stronger than my determination. He seemed to be in deep meditation. I got on him again, when all of a sudden he lifted his head, pricked up his ears, began to champ his but, gave a little squeal, got a little faster, and finally into a gallop and then a run. He seemed all at once to have remembered or forgotten something, and was now making up for lost time. With all my pulling and seesawing and strength I could not stop him until he brought up with me at Corinth, Mississippi."

Respectfully,

[cwbelle]

Re: Confederates on Mules

I guess I have to hand it to the mules--they sure know what they're doing even if we sometimes don't. :)

[AZReenactor]

Re: Confederates on Mules

I did a quick search of my site and came up with the following accounts involving Confederate use of mules.

Diary of Ephraim Shelby Dodd
Member of Company D, 8th Texas Cavalry

April '63

Monday, 13th—My mule taken scratches or something else badly, cannot ride her. Pretty day to-day. Aunt Nancy came over this evening.

Monday, 20th—I leave Mr. Davis this morning for Camp. Go out by Rainey's. I got my cartridge mended and came up to Mrs. Grandstaff’s and got my dinner. Came on to A.; met the Regiment just at Camp, on their way to Lebanon. Our Squadron on picket. Sent after them. As soon as they came Regiment started. Got to Lebanon about 11 o’clock. 'Twas two before the last of the column passed. A train of wagons was along after the Com's. We stopped on street and the train passed on. We picketed all the roads and remained. I slept on street, my head resting on curbstone for a pillow, but one blanket and got very cold before day. At daylight I went down and washed my mule off and warmed in blacksmith shop. Started back and Ferrill being drunk had me arrested. Kyle had me lay off my arms, but soon after Regiment all went to water and I was released. I eat breakfast and went over to Mr. Davis. Cousin Mec and Miss Fannie were at home. Mr. Davis down in town.

Tuesday, 21st—I remained in town some two hours. Went over to Camp, moved my mule to where ‘twould be safe in case of a move and went down to Mrs. Jordon Stokes. I had a good long conversation with her. Got a paper from her and just as I was leaving Kyle came in. I loaned him the paper and went over to Cousin Mec's to take dinner. Hank Sullivan came in after dinner. Fox Trammel and Jim Davis came for dinner. The Miss Thompsons, sisters, came in. I went into the parlor with Hank and was introduced to them. We then had some music. An hour or two passed rapidly. We took leave. I promised to call again in the evening. I went over to Mrs. Stokes and after making addition left a letter which she kindly promised to send to Nashville and mail for my Father. I got some more papers. She and Mrs. Muirhead, her mother, tried to make a proselyte of me to Lincolnism or Unionism, as they would term it. Commenced ramming. We left soon after I got back; came out near Cherry Valley and camped. I was on picket; the Reserve in a barn; the Videttes in a blacksmith shop; a good time of it.

Wednesday, 22nd—Rain ceased; bright and clear this morning. We came on to Alexandria. I spent the evening working with my mule’s feet. After supper I went over to Lodge to assist in conferring some side degrees. I took 1001; staid till 11 o’clock. Came back and went to bed. In a few minutes ordered to saddle up. Yanks coming down on us like thousand of brick from Liberty, Snow Hill and all around. We marched all night. I and Jack and Bill Kyle got together. Couldn’t keep up with Regiment. Stopped at daylight, got breakfast, fed horses and traveled on. Crossed river—nearly swimming. Came out three miles and camped.

May '63

Saturday, 2nd—Went to Granville. I rode Jimmy’s gray horse and left my mule with his boy. Staid all night with Capt. Trousdale; had to paddle over the river in a canoe and swim our horses.

November '63

Saturday, 21st—Jim went to the Com. this morning. I had an offer for my mule this eve and sold him.

Letter from Rome, GA on Oct. 20, 1863
R. F. Bunting,Chaplain, Terry’s Texas Rangers

It now only remained for them to surrender or have a running fight. It was a merry chase for over a mile. Both parties were mingled together, the Yankees calling upon the Rangers to surrender and shooting; the Rangers refusing and shooting in return as they ran. It was a perfect cloud of dust, and many a Yankee tumbled from his horse. Some of our boys were mounted on mules and slow horses, and they were captured or compelled to take the bushes for safety. E. M. Steen, Co. I, was here wounded and captured. Capt. J. K. White and S. D. Calhoun, Co. E; G. O. Golder, N. W. Chatham, Thos. Williams, and D. Mitchell, Co. K, and several of Company I are missing from this chase.

Some Texas Rangers (Part 4) by Tom Burney
Groesbeck Journal - 1910

I have said enough about outsiders, so will say something about our own doings. We crossed the Savannah river at Sisters Ferry, not a great way above Savannah, traveled up toward Augusta, and after spending a night in that city, we turned our faces eastward until we struck Sherman's columns again and began to experience a little danger. The people were nearly all in good circumstances, and the Yankees were not slow finding it out, from the number of spoons, knives, forks, and all kinds of silverware. We had gotten ahead of some of them and found that we were all mixed up and would have to fight or run, so we did a little of both. We were first attacked by a part of Kentucky cavalry and had a considerable skirmish before they were whipped, and in running away one fellow, riding a bug sorrel mule, turned in his saddle and shot at me not more that 20 yards away and wounded my horse badly so that I could not ride it anymore then but I rode that mule out of there until I could do better, which I did pretty soon. We found we were nearly 30 miles inside their lines and me on a mule didn't suit me at all. We stayed in the woods and the people fed us until we could get out without running too much risk. I think we must have captured as many as 20 men at one house as they would straggle in there to get a meal or to abuse the people for being rebels. We rode from one hose to another through the woods and we would find a prowler at nearly every house. We soon had quite a lot of prisoners, and as luck would have it, the first Confederates we men were willing to take our prisoners off of our hands.

Reminiscences of the Terry Rangers by J. K. P. Blackburn
Southwestern Historical Quarterly - October 1918

Some time in October news reached us that one hundred wagons, loaded with provisions for Rosecrans army had started from Nashville to Chattanooga to feed his army. Provisions had become very scarce, and the railroad was torn up so they could get nothing over it. Hence it was necessary for them to use wagons to transport their supplies. A brigade of cavalry was organized at once consisting of the 8th Texas, which was our regiment, the 11th Texas, 3rd Arkansas, and 4th Tennessee regiments and placed under command of General Joe Wheeler. General Forrest was ordered to turn over his command to General Wheeler. This order aroused the wrath of Forrest, who contended that he should be in chief command. General Wheeler started on a raid through middle Tennessee to capture and destroy that wagon train and to do the enemy any damage he could otherwise. We met the wagon train in Sequachie Valley, all loaded heavily, with four good mules to each wagon. We burned the train, while the guards with the train deserted it for safety in the mountains close by.

We killed most of the mules, amounting to hundreds, only saving a few to take the places of some wornout horses in our commands and other needs we might have on the trip, such as substitutes for ambulance work and for artillery service when it became necessary to make such changes. This destruction of the train was a great waste of food and other army supplies, but we felt it was but just punishment for the invaders and destroyers of our country. We moved into middle Tennessee.

[10nycav]

Re: Confederates on Mules

Here's a story that involves both a mule and a gaited horse. Sounds like the soldier would have been better off with the mule.

"Once I met an old man going to the mill with a sack of corn on a gray mare, I asked him how he would trade. I put the sack on [my] mule and I mounted the gray mare. He got much the best of the trade: the gray could pace: nice saddle animal: I thought I was well mounted. . . . My old gray mare could move along very easy and slowly but was not a success, when swift movement was necessary, so she stumbled and fell down and caught my right leg under her body and I could not get from under: the other horses, many of them would jump clear over us. My old gray only grunted and layed very heavy on my leg, on this very hard macadamized road. At last four boys stopped and pulled old gray off."

—John Weathered, 9th Tennessee Cavalry

I have seen accounts of cavalrymen riding mules here and there and my impression is that they were pressed into service when necessary. Being generally smarter and more opinionated than horses, mules were more likely to either balk or bolt when put into a battle situation. On the other hand they were more hardy and easy-keeping than horses, a great way of getting from point A to point B. In the 1850s Kentucky was known as the "great nursery of the mule." Not only did they arguably breed the finest saddle-horses in the US, they also bred what were probably the finest saddle mules in the country. In the Northern states not much attention was paid to the quality of jacks servicing the mares but in Kentucky fine Maltese jacks were used and the quality of the mules was correspondingly better. Missouri was also known for its high-quality mules.

Ken Morris
10th Regt of Cavalry NYSV