Horses, probably the last thing that should be on a battlefield.

Great post Watterloo50, It is my understanding that the primary job of cavalry was to be the eyes of the Commander. Basically they did the job of an observation balloon. Their secondary job was raiding supply lines. The massed cavalry charge was the exception.
That all depends on which theatre of war you’re thinking of, during the Napoleonic wars the role of the cavalry was to smash into and out flank but the problem especially for the British was the way in which they attacked, if for example, you take a standard British charging formation, it would ordinarily consist of two ranks with riders lined up knee to knee, the basic cavalry line would extend to about 1800ft with the officer leading from the front, some of the Napoleonic cavalry charges were made over great distances and when those charges were made over undulating terrain the very end of the line could be as much as a third of a mile away, the officers had very little ability to control the formation and even less chance of maintaining a cohesive formation especially during a melee. A great example of sloppy Brit cavalry attack is best demonstrated by the famous charge made by the light-brigade.

The Charge of the Light Brigade
BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
 
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Imho, the massive and amazingly daring cavalry charges of Europe were rarely possible in the US. Could have been done on the plains! But the use was different - especially by people like Forrest. He would come out of nowhere with half the men his opponent had, sweep into the center to 'get the bulge on 'em' then swing to the flank and get in the rear...then he was gone. This tactic did one of two things - the enemy decided to withdraw pronto, or they became so confused they believed he had two or even three times the number of troops they had. He confused his own men, too - more than a few of them thought he was either a fool or crazy...or both!
 
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As for driving down the road an encountering horses, I do it all the time on rural county roads, but I recently learned the horror of driving a truck with a loaded trailer on busy roads in Missouri and coming over a hill going 70 mph, to see a wagon immediately in front of you in the middle of the road. Them Amish folks need to be more careful! Unlike most people they throw caution to the wind where horses are concerned and act like they own the road far too often.

I see you've met some of our Amish!
There's a large community of them living about 10 miles south of town and everytime I drive down to visit my sister's family I drive through their community and you do have to be careful about driving up on them on the roadway. But the Amish are very good about letting you know that their buggies on on the road. They've trained their horses to drop "Road Apples" on the road. You know what they are, don't you? They sort of look like small piles of mud strewn down the road. If you see the Road Apples, you know that there's a good chance of a horse and buggie in front of you on the highway. I don't know how they trained their horses to do this, but it's very effective.

I don't know much about horses but I grew up on a hog farm and those animals are smart and very trainable. I'm thinking that someone missed a huge opportunity by not training hogs for war. Imagine a hurd of hogs tearing into a regiment of infantry or cavalry. War Hogs! Not only would They' kill you, but they would eat you too. Yes, a missed opportunity.
 
I see you've met some of our Amish!
There's a large community of them living about 10 miles south of town and everytime I drive down to visit my sister's family I drive through their community and you do have to be careful about driving up on them on the roadway. But the Amish are very good about letting you know that their buggies on on the road. They've trained their horses to drop "Road Apples" on the road. You know what they are, don't you? They sort of look like small piles of mud strewn down the road. If you see the Road Apples, you know that there's a good chance of a horse and buggie in front of you on the highway. I don't know how they trained their horses to do this, but it's very effective.

I don't know much about horses but I grew up on a hog farm and those animals are smart and very trainable. I'm thinking that someone missed a huge opportunity by not training hogs for war. Imagine a hurd of hogs tearing into a regiment of infantry or cavalry. War Hogs! Not only would They' kill you, but they would eat you too. Yes, a missed opportunity.
The military writer Polyaenus and Aelian, both writers reported that Antigonus II Gonatas siege of Megara in 266 BC was broken when the Megarians doused some pigs with a combustible pitch, crude oil or resin, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy’s massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming, squealing pigs, often killing great numbers of their own soldiers by trampling them to death.

So...not only do you get to drive your enemy away with your burning war pigs, you also get to finish up with a hog roast, it’s a win win situation.
 
First off, I have to admit that I know very little about horses, I’ve never owned one and I wouldn’t know how to ride one either. If I was to be totally honest I’d have to say that they always strike me as unpredictable animals that could cause serious injury to themselves and the rider especially if they are not controlled properly.

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Whenever I’ve come into contact with horses they always seem very skittish, it seems to me that it takes very little to frighten them which brings me to my point. Today I was riding my motorcycle down a very twisty and narrow country lane when I happened upon a couple of people riding their horses, whenever I see a horse on the road I always stop and cut my engine because I know that my motorcycle is quite loud and the sound of it can cause a horse to panic, today, I didn’t have time to stop and cut my engine and the result was that the two horses became a little bit lively, one of the horses slipped on the wet road as it tried to bolt through a hedge, in fact the rider really looked like she was struggling to get the horse under control, everything was okay though and luckily both horse and rider were okay.

Today’s incident with the panicked horse made me wonder how horses can be trained to ignore the loud noise of a battlefield, Ive seen horses freak out at the most simplest of things, I’ve seen a horse run when a small bag was blown across the road, every sudden movement appears to frighten and unsettle them.

I believe I’m correct in saying that many of the horses that served in the cavalry (both sides) were privately owned which probably means that those horses had never been trained to be in a battlefield environment, how was a horse trained or was it a case of wait and see how the horse reacted under fire. Finally (I did say I know nothing about horses) was there a particular type/breed of horse that the cavalry had a preference for? I’m really hoping that you horse types can educate me.
I can guarantee the last horse any cavalry guy, Reb or Fed, would want is this extremely SMART horse!:bounce:
 
As far as reenactments go, too many times I have seen that the horse is the more intelligent one of the pair. we were just at the Battle of Wildcat reenactment, Cav started to go between our *Loaded* cannons ( we had implements upright on the hubs), we started yelling at them to get back. One of the guns at the end of the line fired, the horse spooked, and then the rider was cussing at us... ( the rule is if we have our implements upright on the hubs or crossed, it means stay away, we're loaded)
 
There was definitely a bond. Forrest's horse, Roderick, was shot four times at Thompson's Station. Forrest took his son's horse and Roderick went to the rear to get tended, but he broke loose and ran to catch up to his master. Being a beautiful racing horse, he caught up and was shot fatally just behind Forrest. The general was furious with the handlers for letting Roderick get away from them, but when he heard the whole story he was overwhelmed and cried. That horse had a lot of heart. King Philip died of colic safe at home, having been shot up and slashed up a number of times, and that brought tears also. However, both horses saved Forrest's life in combat. At Parkers Crossroads, Roderick got Forrest across a dangerous and slippery ridge under fire, and just before Selma King Philip made a very remarkable leap over a supply wagon and saved Forrest.

War horses were popular at the soldiers' reunions - almost more than the generals who rode them! The men would go to great lengths to preserve them, as in the strange case of Baldy, Meade's horse. Baldy died but they saved his head - well, the skin of it around a plaster cast...! Little Sorrel was always exhibited for the people to see, having outlived Jackson by a good many years. Even when he got too old to stand up they would hoist him up to stand - which is how he came to die. One hoist too many - the poor old guy's back broke. So they stuffed him and he's still there today. These horses were special to the men - they served to locate the commander and ascertain movements on the battlefield. Not to mention inspiration. The sight of Forrest mounted on Iron Grey (their name for King Philip) always raised a rebel yell!

Roderick.jpg
 
I ridden one or twice as a kid … I wish I was around them more should have been a cowboy .. lot of work but the rewards … The loyalty at times are like dogs.. Beautiful animals ..
I was born and raised in a town that hosts one of the most famous horse races in the world, just about everything in my home town was named after famous race horses or winning jockeys. I watched my very first race from a place called Tattenham Corner, it was the corner where Emily Davidson the suffragette walked onto the track and threw herself in front of the kings horse, I’ve always believed that she intended to kill herself, nobody in their right mind would stand in the way of a bunch of charging horses. I’ve seen, felt and heard what horses are like at full gallop, it’s impressive but terrifying.

I have no idea how soldiers could maintain the line when facing a full on cavalry charge, I’ve only ever experienced horses moving in large numbers at races but what I did notice was that when a large number of horses gallop at full speed the ground literally shakes, witnessing charging horses is like waiting for the apocalypse to arrive, I can only imagine the terror soldiers must have experienced when witnessing a full on cavalry charge. You are of course right, they are beautiful animals but if it’s all the same to you I’ll watch them from a distance.
If your interested, there’s a short clip filmed in 1913 of Emily Davidson walking onto the track and being struck by the kings horse, some say that it was an accident and that she never intended to die, I’m thinking the opposite is true.
 
This demo by the 2nd US Cavalry at Gettysburg was very impressive and it only involved about a dozen troopers . I can't imagine having a whole regiment charging at me .

View attachment 330982

View attachment 330983
I’m impressed, they are riding knee to knee which is no easy thing at the charge. I know that Napoleonic cavalry formed up knee to knee but I didn’t realise that the same thing happened during the CW, I’m guessing that those particular re-enactors are very experienced horsemen.
Edit: I’ve just spotted a couple of women in those pictures so I should say ‘very experienced horse people’.
 
I’m impressed, they are riding knee to knee which is no easy thing at the charge. I know that Napoleonic cavalry formed up knee to knee but I didn’t realise that the same thing happened during the CW, I’m guessing that those particular re-enactors are very experienced horsemen.
Edit: I’ve just spotted a couple of women in those pictures so I should say ‘very experienced horse people’.
I think there was over 20 re-enactors . At least 6 were women . The person who explained the various tactics explained the knee to knee attack that formed a wall of horses . It was very impressive having them charge directly at the spectators . The also did pistol and carbine firing .
 
Funny story about riding knee to knee, stirrup to stirrup in a charge.
You can feel the other person's leg, knee to ankle pressing against yours. With all the movement and jostling my left stirrup was pulled off my foot. As the charge went on I had difficulty getting my foot back in. Finally I looked down to see my buddy's right foot in my stirrup ! We completed the charge as usual, no big deal.
 
Funny story about riding knee to knee, stirrup to stirrup in a charge.
You can feel the other person's leg, knee to ankle pressing against yours. With all the movement and jostling my left stirrup was pulled off my foot. As the charge went on I had difficulty getting my foot back in. Finally I looked down to see my buddy's right foot in my stirrup ! We completed the charge as usual, no big deal.
Sounds like the cavalry missed a trick, perhaps you should have placed your left foot in your buddies right stirrup, forget knee to knee riding, you guys just invented stirrup to stirrup riding. 👍
 
It may be of interest that in this area there are many rescued race horses. The stories of their traits are sometimes fascinating. One I know of would go out every morning and run around his paddock for an hour and then go back into his stall and stand there for the rest of the day.
Most of our horses were retired harness racers, mostly from Delaware, if memory serves. They came to us used to people, light harness, close quarters and some noise. It made integrating them into our unit much easier. They were grand animals, much loved and missed now they are gone.
 
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