As McClellan finally decided to move the troops, he seemed to fixate on taking them in by water to a point east of Richmond. I am amazed as I read about this move. Whether by land or river, the move must have been a logistical nightmare of a challenge. Quartermaster- General Meigs was asked to organize and prepare to move 400 ships, over 100,000 men, 300 cannon, 25,000 animals and mountains of equipment.
Now I've been on a few trips to the high mountains on horseback and a few cattle drives of our rather small herd and I can not even comprehend how one would gather and care for that many animals, let alone move them. They would need food and water and they get cranky and some even get mean when in the company of so many other animals. And where in the heck did they come from and what were the people who are without them doing for animals in their absence? Did you notice the mention of the death of so many horses at Gettysburg? I have heard about the horses used in World War I -how hard they worked and suffered and died.
I guess it is kind of a delicate subject, but last week a fox was hit by a car on my walking road. A fox is actually a very tiny animal, especially compared to a work horse or donkey or cow. The smell of the poor little decaying animal was enough to cause a change of direction for my morning walks. I cannot imagine those battle fields. Well enough of that subject!
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I watched a documentary a while back called Horses of Gettysburg, It was narrated by Ronald Maxwell, the director of the movie Gettysburg. It told about how both the North and the South acquired the nearly 72,000 horses and mules. We will be seeing many of the statues and monuments when we visit the Gettysburg battlefield on the last day of our tour. This documentary also detailed those monuments. One of them was even made by the same person who made the Lincoln Memorial--I can't remember which one right off hand. The documentary also talked about Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveller. He lived until he was 29 years old and is buried near where Robert E. Lee is buried. Anyway, it makes a person appreciate the beasts of burden and how they helped America become what it is today, not just in the wars, but also in the settling of the territories. I appreciated your insights about moving animals on a cattle drive and their behavior. I also can't imagine the stench from the dead animals after the battles.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your knowledge and insight. I would love to see that documentary. Can't wait for Wednesday!
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