Horses and the Civil War

Since the release of the movie "War Horse" there has been a lot more attention given to the role of horses in wartime.

On a tour of the Brandy Station battlefield last summer I learned that for every man killed during the Civil War (around 625,000), three horses died. It is also estimated that about 800,000 pounds of forage and grain were needed daily to feed the war's horses and mules.

Anyway, some horses that served during the Civil War are more famous than others, but I thought I'd create a list of the ones I could find. If you are aware of any others, please let me know!

King Philip - One of the more well known warhorses of General N.B. Forest.

Traveller - Probably the most famous horse of the war, he was a big gray gelding that served Robert E. Lee throughout the war and after. Traveller died in June 1871, almost one year after his master's death. He is buried outside of Lee Chapel on the grounds of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Visitors still leave apples and treats on his grave.

Virginia and Skylark - Two of the more famous warhorses owned by Gen. J.E.B.(Jeb) Stuart. (I think Maryland was another one).

Little Sorrel - Warhorse of General Stonewall Jackson. Jackson was riding Little Sorrel when he was shot by friendly fire at Chancellorsville. Little Sorrel survived and was eventually returned to Gen. Jackson's widow.

Frantic- Roonie Lee's war horse.

Cincinnati - Big warhorse ridden by General U.S. Grant.

Dixie - E.Porter Alexander (and Col. Alexander Hunter in the historical fiction novel, Noble Cause)!

Magic -William Blackford.

Grey Eagle - John Buford, the Federal hero of the first day at Gettysburg.

Charlamayne - Joshua L. Chamberlain of 20th Maine and Little Round Top. After the war he gave the local children rides around the neighborhood on his beloved Charlamayne.

Lancer, Don Juan, Harry, Roanoke - Civil War horses of General G.A. Custer.

Dixie - Henry Kyd Douglas.

Roderick - Another of the great warhorses ridden by old N.B. Forrest.

Red Eye-Dick Garnett. Red Eye survived Picket's Charge. General Garnett did not.

Fanny - John Gibbon.

Milroy - John B. Gordon.

Captain - Wade Hampton.

Pretty - David McM. Gregg.

Billy - Frank Haskell.

Dan - Alexander Hays.

Jeff Davis - John B. Hood.

Faugh-a-Ballagh - Patrick Kelly.

Old Spot - Judson Kilpatrick.

Nellie Gray - Fitz Hugh Lee.

Lucy Long - The forgotten warhorse of the beloved General Robert E. Lee,who served him ably throughout the war.

Hero - James Longstreet. Hero saw it all and survived the war.

Old Baldy- George Meade.

Slicky - Alfred Pleasonton.

Prince - John F. Reynolds, one of the Union Army's finest horseman. He was riding Prince at Gettysburg when he urged the Iron Brigade forward into McPherson's woods on the first day. Reynolds was killed by a rebel sharpshooter. Prince was returned to his family in Lancaster, Pa.

Firefly - Robert Rodes.

Renezi - Phil Sheridan. I just saw his stuffed remains at the Smithsonian. His name was changed to Winchester after the famous ride from that town.

Handsome Joe - John Sedgewick.

Tammany - Dan Sickles.

Jinny - Issac Trimble.

Old Jim - Strong Vincent.

Billy - Charles Wainwright.

Fleetfoot - Walter Taylor.

Sheridan - Warhorse of James Harrison Wilson. He fondly referred to his horse in letter's home as "The Prince of Horses."

Old Bench Legs -Warhorse of Benjamin Grieson.

Chief - The last living cavalry horse of the U.S. Cavalry.

Birthday of a Southern hero

“I have fought against the people of the North because I believed they were seeking to wrest from the South its dearest rights. But I have never cherished toward them bitter or vindictive feelings, and have never seen the day when I did not pray for them.”

- Gen. Robert E. Lee

While the nation honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., three states celebrate the birthday of another man as well. In Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi, the slain civil rights leader shares a state holiday with Robert E. Lee, commanding officer of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee was born at “Stratford ” in Westmoreland County, Va., on Jan. 19, 1807. His father, "Light Horse" Harry, was a hero of the Revolution and served as Governor of Virginia.

Lee graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1829, second in his class and without a single demerit. Two years later, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, (grandson of Martha Washington and the adopted son of George Washington).

Since Mary was an only child, she inherited Arlington House, which lies across the Potomac from Washington, and is now home to Arlington Cemetery.

In 1838, with the rank of captain, Lee fought valiantly in the War with Mexico and was wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec. He was appointed superintendent of West Point in 1852 and is considered one of the best superintendents in that institution's history.

General Winfield Scott offered Robert E. Lee command of the Union Army in 1861, but he refused, saying, “I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children.” Instead, he served as adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and then commanded the legendary Army of Northern Virginia.

In the fall of 1865, Lee was offered and accepted the presidency of troubled Washington College in Lexington, Va. The school was later renamed Washington and Lee in his honor. Lee died on Oct. 12, 1870, at Washington-Lee College. He is buried in a chapel on the school grounds with his family and near his favorite horse, Traveller.

President Theodore Roosevelt described General Robert E. Lee as "the very greatest of all the great captains that the English-speaking peoples have brought forth." And President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was criticized for displaying a portrait of Robert E. Lee in his office, said, "Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by this nation."

Robert E. Lee was the hero of the Southern people and admired both North and South of the Mason-Dixon Line. This Christian-gentleman's last words were, "Strike the Tent."

Thanks to Calvin E. Johnson Jr., speaker, writer, and author of the book, “When America Stood for God, Family and Country,” who contributed information on Robert E. Lee.

Civil War & Southern Literary Awards Contest

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

For those who wanted a signed copy of Noble Cause and didn't receive one from Santa, I have a great opportunity for you!

The Military Order of the Stars and Bars, a fraternal organization made up of descendants of Confederate officers, is giving away copies of all of their 2011 Southern Literary Award winners.

All you have to do to enter is visit their website and leave a comment between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15.

This is your chance to win your choice of the 2011 winners of the MOS&B Southern Literature awards. The winners include my Civil War novel Noble Cause (the John Esten Cooke Award); My Old Confederate Home by Rusty Williams (the Douglas Southall Freeman Award); and One of Morgan's Men by John Porter (the Basil Duke Award).

The organization will be randomly selecting four names from among those who leave a comment on the page. Please include which book is your first, second and third choice.

If you love books on the War Between the States and Southern History, make sure you stop by and enter to win!

Happy New Year everyone!
Jessica James

Magical Holiday History Tour Winner!

Congratulations to Jonette Ferris for winning the signed copy of Noble Cause in my Magical Holiday History Tour! Thanks, Jonette! Hope you enjoy!

Christmas Spirit - A Note from the Past

Since this is the last day of my Magical Holiday History Tour, I thought I'd post a clipping my sister ran across from the Catawba College student newspaper that was written by my grandmother in the 1920s.

She went on to become a teacher, and passed her love of English and writing to me. Christmas memories in my household are not complete without thoughts of my grandparents whose anniversary was on Christmas Eve. It was a special day, full of love, and will forever serve as a reminder of what Christmas is all about.

Christmas Spirit

By Anita Rouzer Lower

Just a few more days and we’ll all be leaving Catawba (College) for the holidays. Some of us will hurry to our homes, anxious to see the folks again and be with them. Others will go to visit friends and exchange the Christmas spirit. Still others will spend part of the time on a basketball tour, winning more laurels for Catawba and themselves.

But what is Christmas? The merriest day, the saddest day, the day that you are happiest over all you have had, the day that your heart aches most for all that you have missed or have had and lost——that’s Christmas. The day that rouses in you all that is generous and tolerant and kindly, the day that wearies you with sentimentality and disappointment and despair——that’s Christmas.

It is the time when you take pleasure in receiving and rejoice in giving gifts. But there are those who, in order to show their love and appreciation, do so much more than their pocketbooks can afford. They measure their ability to be generous in dollars, whereas there are a hundred things any of us would prefer to the most expensive jewels; the promise of a hundred smiles throughout the year to come, the pledge from a chronic worrier to stop fretting, the assurance from a secretive person that he will share the troubles that otherwise might lead to a baffling, tormenting behavior.

These are not gifts for Christmas? No, I’ll grant you they cannot be wrapped in gay papers and tied with tinsel cord, but they will outlast any material human hands can create and occasion deeper joy than the most precious article that ever was displayed in a shop window. Of course, they cannot be conferred with one grand gesture on Christmas day. They must be delivered on appropriate occasions during the year. But might not that be an excellent way of easing up on the intensity of this one great fling of giving which so often engulfs us?

What a Christmas this would be for the whole world if every one of us would wrap up that secret worry, that canker of resentment, that bit of black depression, that impatience, malice or hatred which we have carried around, willingly or unwillingly, with us for so long. And, having wrapped it up, that we should place it at the feet of the Christ Child and go away and leave it there to be transformed into a priceless offering of self-sacrifice and self-abnegation. And if in that same secret altar place of our heart we should lay down the bits of patience, kindness, and gentleness we should like to pass on to others all this year that they too may be magnified and glorified by contact with our highest sense of good.

To do this would be a celebration worthy of the one whose anniversary day it is. To do this would bring to ourselves joy and satisfaction and peace. For Christmas is to each of us just what we make it.

______

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the Virtual Book Tour for my historical fiction novel, Noble Cause. I will announce the winner of the signed copy of Noble Cause and the $25 B&N Gift Card tomorrow.

-- Jessica James

Gone with the Wind anniversary is big business

If you have a loved one who is a Gone with the Wind, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a gift for them!

In addition to anniversary edition books and DVD's, I found everything from music boxes, to slippers, figurines and snow globes. There are Christmas ornaments, reproduction photos of the cast, collector plates, calendars... and my favorite, this movie poster.

This poster is the epitome of romance and the grandeur of the Old South. I love it! (Hint, Hint)

Despite this Civil War novel's popularity, (it sold more than a million copies in six months), most people know very little about its author, Margaret Mitchell.

Born in 1900 into a wealthy and politically prominent family, Mitchell was a lifelong resident of Atlanta, Georgia.

Her grandfather, Russell Crawford Mitchell, enlisted in the Confederate States Army in July 1861, and was later severely wounded at the Battle of Sharpsburg. After the Civil War, he made a large fortune in real estate and timber lands. Her grandfather on the maternal side also fought for the Confederacy.

On summer vacations, Mitchell would visit her maternal great-aunts, Mary Ellen ("Mamie") and Sarah ("Sis"), who still lived at the family's plantation home in Jonesboro. Mamie had been twenty-one years old and Sis thirteen when the American Civil War began in 1861. Mitchell recalled her childhood was spent, "on the bony knees of veterans and the fat slippery laps of great aunts," who had lived through the war.

She was ten years old before she learned the Confederacy had not won.

It is said that an image of the South was fixed in Mitchell's imagination when at six years old her mother took her on a buggy tour through ruined plantations where she witnessed "Sherman's sentinels," the brick and stone chimneys that remained after William Tecumseh Sherman's "march" through Georgia.

Tragically, Margaret Mitchell was struck by a speeding automobile as she crossed a street in Atlanta while on her way to see a movie on the evening of August 11, 1949. She died at Grady Hospital five days later without regaining consciousness. The driver was an off-duty taxi driver who was arrested for drunken driving. It was discovered that he had been cited 23 times previously for traffic violations.

I can't help but wonder what else Mitchell could have written had her life not been cut short. She certainly left a legacy with the imagery she created with Gone with the Wind.

Jessica James

Anniversary of Civil War favorite Gone with the Wind

On to Plan B:
Due to a computer crash, I won't have the posts I was planning to have about historic houses in Virginia. If you're visiting as part of the Magical Holiday History Tour though, feel free to leave a comment about Gone with the Wind.

“There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind...”

When you see images of Civil War soldiers, ladies in hoop skirts, dashing gentlemen on horseback, and the South in all of its nineteenth century glory, what comes to mind? For me, it's Margaret Mitchell and her renowned novel Gone With the Wind.

This Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of Gone With the Wind. Fans of the novel and the movie that came just a few years later, will have plenty of opportunity to commemorate the anniversary in the Atlanta area, including Gone With the Wind tours that offer several different venues to explore.

I would love to go on the Gone With the Wind Epic Experience Tour, which includes a visit to the Road to Tara Museum, dinner and a tour at Stately Oaks Plantation.

Another tour is the "Frankly, My Dear" Experience. This includes the Road to Tara Museum, Stately Oaks Plantation, Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta History Center, and Atlanta Cyclorama.

Anyone who loves historical romance and adventure should enjoy taking part in these tours and the other interesting events that have been scheduled as part of the anniversary.

If you live near Atlanta, visit the Margaret Mitchell House for more information.


Jessica James