Ferd454231
Private
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2017
Sometime in 1863 a former infantry training site was converted to a horse rehabilitation on the then outskirts of Hamilton Ohio (just to the north of Cincinnati). Local historian, the late Jim Blount, found evidence for the camp in local newspaper of the time. The camp housed as many as 1000 horses. Fresh water was pumped into a reservoir and throughout the camp, including the stables. Dead horses were disposed of at the north end of the camp. The vets on duty were allowed to sell the horse hides and keep the money! According to the articles Jim found local boys were allowed to race the horses for exercise later in the horses' rehabilitation. The camp continued for a while after the war as the government was trying to recoup the expense by selling the horses off. After the war the horse boneyard was used by a local man to grind the remains and sell if off as fertilized. Part of the site was converted into a distillery. The 1913 flood cause the river banks to be heightened as a levee. Warehouses were built on the site in the early 20th century. In fact I worked as a janitor in the brick faced warehouse one summer in 1967 never guessing what it had been. Not a stirring Civil War site but one that certainly served the Northern war effort. H