Author(s): Duncan Forer

Animals

Heroic Horses tells the tale of a number of military horses and their contributions in a range of wars and conflicts across the globe from the Napoleonic era to the Korean War. The book recounts the stories and exploits of some famous war horses and some far less well-known, along with those of their riders, and in so doing describes the history of those wars and campaigns.

The theme is the heroic nature of the horses' service and how different breeds have made varying contributions, based upon the breed characteristics and the individual nature of the mounts concerned. The breeds of horses which feature include; Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Basuto Ponies, Mustangs, Australian Walers, South African Boerpeerds, Hunters, Appaloosas, and even a Mongolian Pony, along with mentions of numerous others.

The objective is to tell the war story from the horse's perspective and hence understand the campaigns from an equine perspective. This is the first book that will tell the stories of many equine heroes, rather than of a particular horse, and the first to base the history not only around the war concerned but also around the breed.

The first chapter focuses on the life of the Duke of Wellington's Thoroughbred, Copenhagen, who carried him through the Peninsula and the 100 Days of the Waterloo Campaign. The descendant of one of the most famous racehorses of all time, Eclipse, through Copenhagen we learn of the early development of the Thoroughbred racehorse and then of the Duke of Wellington's military career, culminating at Waterloo. Finally, we enjoy Copenhagen's years of fame as an equine superstar.

Next the book considers the Crimean War. Despite his many flaws, it took great courage for Lord Cardigan to lead his cavalry into the Russian guns at Balaclava. We hear his story from the perspective of the incredibly honest and brave Thoroughbred, Ronald, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade. We hear of Ronald's life, the Crimean War and also the story of another Thoroughbred who charged that day, Sir Briggs. An ex-Steeplechaser owned by Lord Tredegar, through Sir Briggs we learn something of the early development of the sport of Steeplechasing.

Turning to the United States, we discuss the remarkable career of the Mustang, Tartar, from surviving the winter snows of the Utah campaign against the Mormons in 1857/8 and on through the entire Civil War. The stories of other equine battlers of the war are also told, including General Meade's horse, Old Baldy, who saw action in nine major battles, before we move back out west to discover how, after the Fetterman Massacre at Fort Phil Kearny, John "Portugee" Phillips rode Dandy for three days and nights through snow drifts and sub-zero temperatures to raise help from Fort Laramie. They arrived on Christmas day but the effort was too much for poor Dandy who collapsed dead of exhaustion on arrival.

Staying in the west, we discuss possibly the most famous military Mustang of all, Comanche, the only survivor of Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The mount of Captain Myles Keogh, through Comanche we retell the story of both Keogh and Custer and in so doing learn much about the Mustang breed and Indian Warfare on the Great Plains. Finally, despite his many wounds it is a story with a happy ending as Comanche enjoyed a celebrated retirement as mascot for the 7th Cavalry.

A year after the Little Bighorn the peaceable Nez Perce tribe of Idaho who were provoked into conflict and gave the US Army a consummate lesson in mobile mounted warfare. Accomplished horse breeders, they had developed the spotty Appaloosa from native stock into a hard sure footed breed of great endurance and adaptability. Throughout 1877 on their Appaloosas they were to out run the US Army over 1700 miles of Idaho, Wyoming, Yellowstone and Montana for 113 days, defeating the soldiers on numerous occasions despite being outnumbered. We discover the hist