Mule Tales

[John Hartwell]

Over the years, the "Four Footed Friends" forum has brought you a good many threads dedicated to the Army Mule of the Civil War[*]. All of those threads were rooted in period sources of one sort or another; all were informative; many entertaining and/or humorous. I thought I'd add a couple of more of the latter, that I don't think we have seen before. Together they illustrate the peculiarly keen brand of fun, not to mention "horse sense" (please pardon the expression) of this noble and valuable animal. The first story comes from Personal Recollections of the Civil War (1918, p.179), by James Madison Stone, late private in the 21st Massachusetts Infantry, and based on his wartime diary. It occurred sometime about the 20th of June, 1864, during the early stages of the siege of Petersburg:

"An amusing thing happened the other night over a little way to our left where they were using pack mules for working squads. A mule loaded and bristling with shovels, picks and axes, broke loose from his company and, with fearful clatter, went charging fearless and alone. The Rebs, believing they were being charged upon by our cavalry, were for an instant in confusion, but got into their works and opened fire on our friend with long ears. The mule not liking that kind of a reception whirled about and came cantering back to his comrades again. As the mule came prancing back, it dawned upon the Johnnies what had really happened and they began to laugh, our boys hearing them joined in and for an instant a perfect roar of laughter and shouts rang along both lines."​

Our second anecdote derives from page 88 of The History of the 72nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry of the Mounted Lightning Brigade (1882) by Benjamin F.McGee. It takes place at a Kentucky locale known as Bear Wallow ("a mere sign of a crossroad town") on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.

"On this very evening of January 1st, 1863, near night, when firing was heard north of us and the report came that Morgan was passing around our right flank, Col. Wilder, anxious to give chase, attempted to mount a lot of men on the team mules of the division. The mules were brought out in great haste, each one shaking his tail as if he knew there was extra duty demanded. Not more than one mule out of six had even had a man on its back, and never wanted to have. The order to mount was given, and the bold men and officers each leaped upon his mule: each mule gave a bray, brought his head between his forefeet as his heels flew high into the air, and each man also flew high into the air and flopped down in the mud. The mules wiggled their tails, shook their heads, and became as demure as Quakers. The brave men picked themselves up out of the mud and each went for his mule again, and sprang upon their backs.The mules turned a hand-spring as before, sending the men tumbling into the air. Scarcely a man stuck except those that got on to the saddle mules.

"Soon the mules seemed to understand the game and began to jump on to each other's backs, some of them climbing on behind the men that had stuck and knocking them off; some ran under the bellies of other mules and hoisted them from the ground, and in a minute they were as badly tangled as a den of snakes, braying piteously, shaking their tails and kicking up and down, right and left. In vain those holding the bridles while others tried to mount shouted, "Whoooa!" with a chorus of mill dams, coffer dams, and all sorts of dams. It was worse than a battery of grape and canister, and the mule line had to be abandoned, upon which they untangled, shook their tails, and were soon at their respective wagons eating hay as solemnly as hypocrites. The Seventy-Second had no part in this farce except to do the laughing. The 17th did the swearing."​

[*] see:

A Guide to the Army Mule of the Civil War at CivilWarTalk | Four Footed Friends

A pert young mule is a Thing of Beauty [https://www.nps.gov/choh/meetthemules.htm] A decade threads from our "Four-footed Friends" forum: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/dumb-mules-or-are-they.16309/#post-191144...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Borderruffian]

My friend had an unmatched pair of sorrel mules a Jenny and Jack they drove and rode but they had particular game they liked to play. The Jenny would get a dog to chase her , she'd run in front of Jack who would thump the dog with a fire hoof . I can't swear to it but think they laughed, those dogs never did learn.