Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

[RJSamp]

Robert Forse Scott's "The Story of a Cavalry Regiment" (specifically the 4th Iowa) has a nice quote about Brice's Crossroads......they dismounted the Brigade and the boys left their sabers AND spurs behind on the led horses.

[mtvernon]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

I imagine this is one of the ways my Great-Great-Grandfather (an artilleryman) may have come by the cavalry saber that my uncle currently possesses.

[csabugler]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Geez RJ, the "discount cav" would hate to read that. That would mean leaving them at the car!

[Rev]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Too funny!! :)

[Slouch]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

in this day and age, we must be careful when talking about groups of individuals. We must be P.C. So, keeping this in mind, please refer to this group as "Horseless Cavalry". After all, its hard to dismount if you have nothing to mount to begin with.

Thanks,

Mike

[CJSchumacher]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Why not base it on historical fact?

Julius Franklin Howell of the 24th VA cavalry told the story of most of his unit who were, in his words, "mostly de-mounted at the time" being transferred to Ewell's command and marched to Dinwiddy County, VA before being captured at Saylor's Creek.

[1st Maine Trooper]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Why not base it on historical fact?

Julius Franklin Howell of the 24th VA cavalry told the story of most of his unit who were, in his words, "mostly de-mounted at the time" being transferred to Ewell's command and marched to Dinwiddy County, VA before being captured at Saylor's Creek.

This just prooves that horseless cavalry is nothing more than infantry with an attitude.

Dave Myrick

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

in this day and age, we must be careful when talking about groups of individuals. We must be P.C. So, keeping this in mind, please refer to this group as "Horseless Cavalry". After all, its hard to dismount if you have nothing to mount to begin with.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike,

I thought the correct rem was "Equine Challenged"?

Jim Butler

[Mike Nickerson]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Please kind Sirs, show the proper respect due.

It's:
“Equine challenged with elevated self-esteem levels introspective of the infantry for which they are or should be” or to abbreviate: “Dismounted Cavalry”

Mike Nickerson

[paulcalloway]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Robert Forse Scott's "The Story of a Cavalry Regiment" (specifically the 4th Iowa) has a nice quote about Brice's Crossroads......they dismounted the Brigade and the boys left their sabers AND spurs behind on the led horses.

How about sharing that quote with the rest of us?

[RJSamp]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

How about sharing that quote with the rest of us?

Sorry, I'm headed off to Outpost without computer, or the thick book.

In the book (as in MANY others) they specifically refer to the non horse carbine toters as Dismounts, Dismounted, etc...... Not equine challenged, nor horseless .... and the #4's with the 1-3's mounts are referred to as the 'led' horses.

Personally I always wear my spurs to bed.....never leave them on the horse.

[paulcalloway]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

RJ -
You seem to do this a lot... quote sources without really quoting them.

Lets get the actual quotes on here with proper citations when you get back. It's important to the discussion - otherwise its little more than hearsay aka second-hand information.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

RJ -
You seem to do this a lot... quote sources without really quoting them.

Lets get the actual quotes on here with proper citations when you get back. It's important to the discussion - otherwise its little more than hearsay aka second-hand information.

Totally agree.

The book's online here: http://books.google.com/books?id=isZ...C&pg=RA1-PA240

The quote from the page at that link (p. 240) says: "The two other battalions and the Third Iowa were led six hundred yards out on the Guntown road, dismounted, the horses sent to the rear, and a line formed across the road, in a very thick growth of the small black oaks... Not only all the men, but all the officers except Winslow and Noble, were dismounted. Sabres and spurs had been left with the horses, which were held in mass in the field east of the creek."

Also, on p. 451, there's this: "The First and Third battalions of the Fourth Iowa, with Company C of the Second Battlaion, being intended for a special service, as will be described, are dismounted just in front of the Shackelford house and directed to remove their sabres and spurs. They are later to be formed on the left of the Tenth Missouri, and to be the left of the whole line of attack. The men are directed to make coffee, as there appears to be time enough for that valuable bit of preparation for work... Only one man in eight has been left behind with the horses..." Link to that page: http://books.google.com/books?id=isZ...C&pg=RA1-PA451

Hope those links work; it's restricted view so you may need to register a free account to see them.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[DaveGink]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

In addition, a couple references showing "horseless" (dead or sick horses) troopers referred to as "dismounted".

• "The exhausted men of the Ninth (Pennsylvania Cavalry) reached Nicholasville on Jan.13 1863 with two thirds of the men dismounted!"

• "The Ninth had endured some hard fighting and needed fresh horses after Perryville. So about half of the troopers were dismounted and they headed back to Louisville for fresh horses and equipment."

• "Way’s Provisional Brigade, made up of dismounted men from the Ninth Pennsylvania, 9th Ohio and 5th Kentucky camped in front of Morganton rd. In the early morning hours the Rebels charged on horseback, firing their pistols and giving the “Rebel Yell” Union troops taken by surprise scattered into the swamps. Kilpatrick escaped in his nightclothes, leaving behind a very pretty female companion. The Union troops regrouped at the edge of the swamp and put up a sustained fire from their Spencer carbines. Under this intense volley about 20 confederates died in the first few minutes..."

Yankee Cavalrymen - Through the Civil War With the 9th PA Cavalry
Author: Rowell, John W.
Publisher: Univ of Tennessee Press; 1971;


---------


letters of C.P. Goodrich of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry. He writes his wife about men being "dismounted" due to dead or sick horses...

Head Quarters 1st Wis. Cav., Cleaveland, Tenn., March 13, 64

Yesterday our Division marched from Calhoun to this place, a distance of 12 miles. I, with about 300 of our Brigade who were dismounted, came down on the cars. I am not quite dismounted, for I have the same horse I have ridden ever since the fight at Dandridge, but he was pretty poor when I got him, and hard service has not improved him. To make it easier for the horse, and also having an eye to my own comfort, I let one of the boys lead him while I was drawn along over the crookedest railroad I ever saw by a horse that never tires, at the surprising rate of 10 miles an hour.

Head Quarters 1st Wis. Cav., Acworth, Ga., June 19th, 1864

On the night of the 17th, our Brigade, except two companies of our Regiment, came back to this place. Heavy cannonading is now going on to the east of here. Cavalry horses have fared very hard on this campaign, sometimes going three days without eating - in consequence they have more than half of them 'played out'. The men thus dismounted are sent back to guard trains or the railroad or as nurses in hospitals. Our Div. does not number 2000 mounted men present & the horses we have are poor & weak.

Head Quarters 1st Wis. Cavalry, Cartersville, Ga., August 15th, 1864

...Our Division had become so badly used up by the long and hard campaign, and, to wind up with the disastrous raid, that we were no longer of much use to the front, so we are sent here to the rear to guard the communications of the army.

The First Brigade are at Kingston, dismounted, the remnant of their poor worn out horses being given to the Second Brigade. We have plenty to do here - scouting and picketing, for the country is infested with bands of rebels and bush whackers who imporve every opportunity to 'come down' on the railroad.

[csabugler]

Re: Sabers and Spurs left behind: Dismounted Cavalry

Ok, just a quick tally here, no promises of correctness. 10 reference to "dismounted cav"

in 2 cases they left spurs and sabers with horses
in one case they got captured
in one case they were "headed back to Louisville" for fresh mounts
in one case they were in a "provisional" assignment, s&s not mentioned
in one case the dismounted were on railroad cars
in 2 cases the dismounted were sent to the rear as guards, etc.

That's 7 out of 10 that seem to indicate dismounted cav did not fight with spurs and sabers, 1 inconclusive.
Do I see a trend here?

By the way, my old crippled broken a-- will be trying to avoid dismounting at all this weekend!