Stuffed Horses

[major bill]

Visiting the favorite mounts of some Civil War officers was a common tourist destination after the Civil War. This did not necessarily stop when the horse died. Some horses were stuffed and put in to museums. For example Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel at VMI.

I am not sure about seeing a stuffed horse, it is kind of morbid. I guess it is better than some one stuffing the officer after they died and putting the stuffed officer in some museum. What is you opinion of stuffed Civil War horses? Abe the bald eagle is another example of a stuffed tourist attraction.

 

[huskerblitz]

No. I do find it morbid.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Certainly not to my taste but the Victorians were absolutely faddish about this. They had no problem killing all sorts of little birds and then remounting them under big glass covers poised in flight. They killed and poised small mammals in wild like settings or dioramas for home decorating.

So I don't imagine they had any problem with large mammals only it wasn't typical for home decoration.

 

[major bill]

If I had my favorite dog stuffed would that be different? I do know some people freeze day their pets.

I kind of this doing this to a loyal pet or loyal Civil War mount is a bit morbid.

 

[diane]

It seemed to me, in the case of the war horses, that the horse was associated with the commander. At the reunions of Forrest's men, they always wanted to see the general on his horse. Often, in describing something or other they would say along the lines of I looked around and there was Iron Grey, with the general mounted on him. The horse was the first thing they used to identify if the general was on the field. If all they happened to see in the smoke was the horse in a charge, that was a morale boost. (With Forrest's highly spirited war horse, he really was just about the only one who could ride him!)

 

[WJC]

Visiting the favorite mounts of some Civil War officers was a common tourist destination after the Civil War. This did not necessarily stop when the horse died. Some horses were stuffed and put in to museums. For example Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel at VMI.

I am not sure about seeing a stuffed horse, it is kind of morbid. I guess it is better than some one stuffing the officer after they died and putting the stuffed officer in some museum. What is you opinion of stuffed Civil War horses? Abe the bald eagle is another example of a stuffed tourist attraction.

Taxidermy of one's animal friends must have been popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, maybe even more recently. I can recall as a child going with my cousins during a family reunion at a great uncle's farm home to see a stuffed horse he kept.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Taxidermy of one's animal friends must have been popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, maybe even more recently. I can recall as a child going with my cousins during a family reunion at a great uncle's farm home to see a stuffed horse he kept.

Good grief! Imagine leaving that for your kids to get rid of at the yard sale.

 

[huskerblitz]

Sheridan's horse at American History Museum.
https://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=821

I just find these older taxidermy specimens creepy. I could never do that to a pet of mine.

 

[mofederal]

I've seen both Little Sorrel and Winchester (Rienzi), and when I saw them, they both looked very good. They have to be kept up, cleaned and in a good environment for display. I've never seen what's left of Old Baldy or Keogh's Horse, only pictures. I had nothing wrong with that, I've seen a lot of weird stuff in museums. So no problem with me. I should have seen Trigger and Bullet while they were in the state. Freeze drying is the better method. Hey it beats seeing cobra's and mongoose's fighting. I've seen those too. They were pretty popular with Nam vets. I've also seen some from WWII.

 

[WJC]

Good grief! Imagine leaving that for your kids to get rid of at the yard sale.

Thanks for your response.
I have no idea whatever happened to it. I don't know what the market is even now for taxidermy items. A lot of things that were widely accepted at one time no longer are. For example, I recall helping a neighbor clean out a home after a death and coming across old framed photos of an ancestor who died in the late 1930s. Not so strange, right? Except these were professional photogaphs of the family member in her coffin at the funeral!

 

[mofederal]

I've seen a lot of post mortem photos, they still that. rom pre Civil War to modern. I don't care for it, but some people do. I have family members who take them. I've got a good memory, I don't need them.

 

[WJC]

I've seen a lot of post mortem photos, they still that. rom pre Civil War to modern. I don't care for it, but some people do. I have family members who take them. I've got a good memory, I don't need them.

Thanks for your response.
To each his- or her- own....

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I don't know. Stuffing horses seems so- unrealistic. Like we're trying to hold on to something that is just plain gone, already. They always look a little sad and tawdry- you can press a rose between the leaves of a book with a reasonable belief it's just fine to keep a memory contained in it. Not an entire horse, I'm sorry.

We avoid posting post mortems- they were taken for various reasons, all of them by families in the throes of finding ways to cope with loss. It's so private. Seems terribly intrusive to dig them out now just for the ' kick ' of saying " Oh look, a dead person ".

 

[donna]

I don't care for them. It is creepy and morbid. A photo of animals or loved ones is best. I mean a photo while they were alive.

I guess in this category could be stuffed fish and hunter trophies. I have many relatives who had their prize fish mounted or the head of a deer. I never liked them either.

 

[Carronade]

Certainly not to my taste but the Victorians were absolutely faddish about this. They had no problem killing all sorts of little birds and then remounting them under big glass covers poised in flight. They killed and poised small mammals in wild like settings or dioramas for home decorating.

So I don't imagine they had any problem with large mammals only it wasn't typical for home decoration.

I understand society women sometimes had stuffed birds in their hats!!