Traveller was the war horse of General Robert E. Lee. Traveller was ridden by General Lee thoughout most of the Civil War. The iron grey horse was born in 1857 in Greenbrier County, in what is now West Virginia. He was first named Jeff Davis by Andrew Johnston, who bred him. He was renamed Greenbrier by the next owner, Captain Joseph M. Broun. Lee bought the gelding from Capt. Broun for $200 in 1861 and renamed him Traveller. The horse weighed around eleven hundred pounds and stood 15.3 hands high. He was not only iron grey in color, but iron in constitution, and was Lee's favorite mount. The horse was steady no matter how fierce the noise of battle or the crush of fighting, surefooted with great stamina, and had easy gaits to ride. Some think the horse was an ambler (like a Tennessee Walking Horse), but no facts exist to prove that. His conformation does seem to resemble the Plantation Horse, which had an ambling gait. General Lee gave Traveller a rest now and then and rode other horses, but Traveller was always his favorite mount.
In 1870, after General Lee died of a heart attack, Traveller was led behind the General's hearse. He outlived General Lee, but only for a short time. Not long after Lee's death, Traveller stepped on a rusty nail and developed lockjaw. There was no cure, and he was shot to relieve his suffering. Traveller was only 13 years old. He was buried next to the Lee Chapel. In 1907 his remains were disinterred and displayed at the Chapel for a while before being reburied outside the Lee Chapel.
In a note written to Markie Williams, who wanted to paint a portrait of the horse, Lee said of Traveller, "If I was an artist like you, I would draw a true picture of Traveller; representing his fine proportions, muscular figure, deep chest, short back, strong haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead, delicate ears, quick eye, small feet, and black mane and tail. Such a picture would inspire a poet, whose genius could then depict his worth, and describe his endurance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat and cold; and the dangers and suffering through which he has passed. He could dilate upon his sagacity and affection, and his invarible response to every wish of his rider. He might even imagine his thoughts through the long night-marches and days of the battle through which he has passed. But I am no artist Markie, and can therefore only say he is a Confederate grey."