Bears and Chickens and ‘Gators (and more) of the Civil War

[John Hartwell]

Here’s a brief anthology of threads about three of the less-renowned of our four-footed (mostly) friends, and their Civil War experiences.

The Three Bears

We’ve only had a few threads about Smokey’s kin, in both the army and the navy. Young bears are both amusing and tractable. But, as they age, they tend to become insubordinate, and were usually given their discharge,

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/general-shelbys-pet-battery-and-their-pet-bear.139875/#post-1680424

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/a-...enlistment-on-uss-wabash.140876/#post-1701942

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wh...prising-series-of-events.159692/#post-2086317

A few Nervous Chickens

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/dick-chicken-of-the-regiment.172806/#post-2253666

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/two-bears-two-goats-and-a-chicken.160124/#post-2092805

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/biddy-the-chicken-goes-to-war.144274/#post-1779168

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/nellie-general-lees-chicken.134052/#post-1528719

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/rooster-in-the-ranks.9252/#post-106191

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/william-mckinleys-two-footed-friends.134742/

And, mustn’t miss one of Annie’s marvellous photographic extravaganzas, featuring multiple chickens:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/we...red-and-less-fluffy-love.137338/#post-1614388

And, very briefly, Alligators

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/alligator-fever.142629/#post-1744141

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/puppy-pig-and-gator-pets-of-the-47th-new-york.141200/

[That photo, btw, is from another of Annie’s great photo essays: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/pu...goat-and-oh-good-heavens.128096/#post-1407985]



How about couple of more critters of the cold-blooded persuasion:

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/union-the-turtle-of-the-26th-ohio.140785/#post-1699974

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/unusual-pets-of-famous-civil-war-figures.156436/ (“Braxton Bragg had a pet reptile, that drank from a bowl of milk, commonly said to be a rattlesnake.” Seems appropriate.)



More examples of all of these can also be found in one or another of the many posts in our Four Footed Friends forum that offer stories or just brief mentions of the almost limitless range of critters that were mascots, pets, helpers, heroes and, yes, victuals of our Civil War. Just a few of these are listed below:

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/two-bears-two-goats-and-a-chicken.160124/#post-2092805

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/pu...goat-and-oh-good-heavens.128096/#post-1407985

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/th...and-an-owl-named-minerva.151281/#post-1919888

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/we...furred-feathered-and-less-fluffy-love.137338/

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/era-children-and-pets-changes-never-too-dear.113901/

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-critters-of-the-79th-new-york-“highlanders”.141109/

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/puppy-pig-and-gator-pets-of-the-47th-new-york.141200/

So, take a look, they're fun and informative!

 

[John Hartwell]

Just for fun, I'll add:

Squirrels, and Bunnies, and "a brave Little Gophur"

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/an-ohio-soldier-bunny-and-old-abe-again.141197/#post-1709212

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/secesh-the-squirrel.140783/#post-1699937

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/an-unnamed-squirrel-goes-home-after-the-war.141158/#post-1708455

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/thumper-survives-malvern-hill.140979/

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/an-ohio-soldier-bunny-and-old-abe-again.141197/

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-brave-little-gophur-of-pea-ridge.143636/

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-gopher.160122/

A Camel:
Of course, everybody’s heard of the famous Douglas, last of the “U. S. Camel Corps” experiment of the 1850s. He wound up carrying supplies for the Confederacy. A total of six threads tell, and re-tell his story, in over 150 individual posts

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/douglas-the-camel.149009/#post-1874959

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ol...-story-told-this-weekend.128572/#post-1418730

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/camels-used-during-the-civil-war.104054/#post-949696

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/douglas-the-confederate-camel.73451/#post-478628

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/jefferson-daviss-camels.71477/#post-439939

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/old-douglas-the-confederate-camel.23701/#post-297246

Cats
Now, there have been a surprising number of threads about Civil War cats. I say surprising because the feline species is generally far too sensible to become involved in so disreputable an enterprise as a war. They leave that to less enlightened creatures, like dogs and men. So, what we mostly hear about are those living with famous personages of the age, military and otherwise.

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/henry-ward-beecher-on-cats.172876/#post-2254838

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/josh-billings-on-cats.158371/#post-2061058

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/mark-twains-cats.144821/#post-1790814

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wade-hamptons-cat-tom.149579/#post-1887162

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/did-cats-serve-in-the-confederate-artillery.161247/#post-2111403

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/fightin-felines-and-other-civil-war-cats.153868/#post-1971171

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ships-cat-finds-his-way-home.151438/#post-1922973

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/cat-breeds-of-the-civil-war.150211/#post-1898476

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-myth-of-cat-soldiers.143031/#post-1752466

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/he-is-but-an-old-gray-cat.134976/#post-1551330

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ro...om-the-nipper-and-tom-tita.89490/#post-716199

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/tom-cat-the-confederate-mascot.26402/#post-327988

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/kitten-at-the-battle-of-greenbrier.92570/

 

[donna]

Wonderful you have these all organized. I was checking the whole forum out yesterday. So many great stories and pictures.