Equus Ad Salutem

Private Watkins

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Apr 12, 2014
Location
Oklahoma
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This struck me as an exceptionally clear quarter tintype of horse and man... little to no movement during exposure, nice tinting, quite a beautiful image I think.

Would love to see other photos of horse and man that you might like to share...

(P.S. - thread title derived from Psalm 32:17 Vulgate...)
 
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I'm sorry I didn't think of this earlier, but as further tribute to our new Regimental Quartermaster, @War Horse, another period photograph of a real war horse might be in order, such as this quarter tintype; perhaps the other three horsemen of the apocalypse wait just outside of view in that blue and red sky...
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The man was not a Regimental Quartermaster but he is a Medal of honor recipient.
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Culpeper, Virginia. Lt. [Edward B.] Williston and horse. U.S. Horse Artillery. LOC - #03759

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 2d U.S. Artillery. Place and date: At Trevilian Station, Va., June 12, 1864. Entered service at: San Francisco, Calif. Birth: Norwich, Vt. Date of issue: April 6, 1892.
Citation:
Distinguished gallantry.
 
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Not nearly the quality of the the other photos, but a bit of controversy. Posted as "Very rare photo of mounted Confederate Trooper. John Bowman 2nd. Tennessee Cavalry". That was an east Tennessee unit, so that got my attention. Turns out they had no John Bowman. I did find a John A. Bolin or Boline of Company B, Union, 2nd Tennessee Cavalry. He's described as "age, 22, 5'4", dark eyes, dark hair, fair complexion, a farmer from Blount County, (east) Tennessee. oooops !
 
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Not nearly the quality of the the other photos, but a bit of controversy. Posted as "Very rare photo of mounted Confederate Trooper. John Bowman 2nd. Tennessee Cavalry". That was an east Tennessee unit, so that got my attention. Turns out they had no John Bowman. I did find a John A. Bolin or Boline of Company B, Union, 2nd Tennessee Cavalry. He's described as "age, 22, 5'4", dark eyes, dark hair, fair complexion, a farmer from Blount County, (east) Tennessee. oooops !
Very interesting... thanks for sharing. If I didn't know anything about it I'd say he looks more like a Reb trooper than a Union cavalryman, (the bearded glare, the hat & uniform...) but no science behind that really, just a 21st century hunch.
 
Great thread, @Private Watkins. :smile: I have a soft spot for animals, and horses are high up on the list. It's so nice to see these images.

I believe I've read that both Grant and Longstreet really liked and understood horses. Makes me like those two individuals even more.

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photo source
Now that's a warhorse! Yes, Grant especially has always had close to "horse whisperer" status in my mind (despite the New Orleans thing)... perhaps such term was not used back then, but I have a suspicion that in the mid 19th century there were more than a few who had a special magic with (& love for) horses.

Although the steam engine undoubtedly had a major impact on the supply, logistics, and certain large troop movements in the Civil War, to me it's still fascinating to think that in so many respects ground transportation was no different then than it was in the time of the Roman legions... by hoof or by foot.
 
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Here's a photo of Gen. Rufus Ingalls on horseback. This one came from Photographic History of the Civil War and was, I think, taken somewhere around City Point in 1864. I'm not posting it because either horse or rider is magnificent (although the horse looks to be a pretty good one) but because Ingalls is in a classic military seat of the Civil War era. I looked at a lot of these for my Stonewall Jackson book
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(advance copies have arrived!) but I'll put that on another thread. Jackson, of course, had nothing near a classic military seat.
 
Here's a photo of Gen. Rufus Ingalls on horseback. This one came from Photographic History of the Civil War and was, I think, taken somewhere around City Point in 1864. I'm not posting it because either horse or rider is magnificent (although the horse looks to be a pretty good one) but because Ingalls is in a classic military seat of the Civil War era. I looked at a lot of these for my Stonewall Jackson book View attachment 110854 (advance copies have arrived!) but I'll put that on another thread. Jackson, of course, had nothing near a classic military seat.
It's a magnificent horse...
 
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Not nearly the quality of the the other photos, but a bit of controversy. Posted as "Very rare photo of mounted Confederate Trooper. John Bowman 2nd. Tennessee Cavalry". That was an east Tennessee unit, so that got my attention. Turns out they had no John Bowman. I did find a John A. Bolin or Boline of Company B, Union, 2nd Tennessee Cavalry. He's described as "age, 22, 5'4", dark eyes, dark hair, fair complexion, a farmer from Blount County, (east) Tennessee. oooops !
Thanks for the possible clarification on this photo. Seen it before labeled as a Confederate trooper, but very well could be a Unionist Tennessean. The western Federals often looked much more roughhewn than their eastern counterparts, slouch hats and all.

Here's a good one of a few Rebel troopers in the 1st Mississippi Cavalry:

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Sitting on the horse is Pvt. Alonzo Greer, Company G, 1st Mississippi Cavalry. The regiment saw extensive service in the Western Theater under Van Dorn, Wheeler and Forrest. Also note the battleshirts, which may be part of their early-war company uniform. Further description here: http://confederatesaddles.com/cswp/?page_id=722&pid=258

Edit: Here is Pvt. Alonzo Greer's memorial on Find A Grave:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...rel=all&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=6834383&df=all&
 
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Great thread, @Private Watkins. :smile: I have a soft spot for animals, and horses are high up on the list. It's so nice to see these images.

I believe I've read that both Grant and Longstreet really liked and understood horses. Makes me like those two individuals even more.

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photo source
Liked them too much sometimes. Around the time of the siege of Chattanooga Grant took off on a fractious horse that ended up falling and landing on his side which laid him up for a time.
 
Liked them too much sometimes. Around the time of the siege of Chattanooga Grant took off on a fracti
ous horse that ended up falling and landing on his side which laid him up for a time.

Grant had liked them for a long time :

Described this way by Civil War historian, William C. "Jack" Davis. According to his research a 9-10 year-old Ulysses was allowed by his father to ride a horse basically anywhere. As a early teen his father entrusted not only a horse, but a team of horses and a buggy or wagon to travel several miles to deliver or purchase goods pertaining to his tannery business. As far south as Louisville,Ky. and north to St Paul Minnesota. Davis estimates by age 17, Ulysses had traveled by his self, some 1500-2,000 miles !


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Grant had liked them for a long time :

Described this way by Civil War historian, William C. "Jack" Davis. According to his research a 9-10 year-old Ulysses was allowed by his father to ride a horse basically anywhere. As a early teen his father entrusted not only a horse, but a team of horses and a buggy or wagon to travel several miles to deliver or purchase goods pertaining to his tannery business. As far south as Louisville,Ky. and north to St Paul Minnesota. Davis estimates by age 17, Ulysses had traveled by his self, some 1500-2,000 miles !


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Reminds me of a funny story Grant told in his memoirs. When he was about that age--9 or 10--he wanted to buy a horse so his dad gave him something like $50--don't remember exactly--and was told to offer the man $35 but if he didn't take it to offer 40$ up to $50. So Grant went up to the man and said: "I'll give you $35 for the horse and if you don't like that I'll give you $40, and if that's not enough, you can have $50." The man took the $50. :smile:
 
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