June 2, 1863, The New York Herald
THE UNION AND REBEL CAVALRY COMPARED.
The superior efficiency of the Southern cavalry over the Northern has been repeatedly asserted, and until very recently it was almost impossible to gainsay the fact. The well mounted light horsemen of Morgan have swept like a hurricane over the fertile regions of Western Kentucky, plundering and destroying the property of Union loving citizens, and easily evading every attempt to capture them by their superior activity. In the North we have had repeated evidence of the same fact in the dashing raid of Stuart and his cavalry into the State of Pennsylvania, and the futility of the efforts made by our slower and worse mounted troops to cut them off while thus engaged in their predatory excursions. It is true that a great change has been effected in this arm of the service, still it is worth while devoting a portion of our attention to an investigation of the cause of such inferiority in this important arm of our military service. It is most certainly not in the material of our soldiers; for in the qualities of bravery, coolness and the capacity to endure fatigue our Union troops have proved themselves to be fully equal, if not superior, to their rebel opponents. We must therefore look a little further for the source of the former Southern superiority, and we think, it will not be difficult to arrive at the actual cause.
THE CAUSE
Previous to the breaking out of the present unhappy war, a long continuance of profound tranquillity led us to naturally indulge in a feeling of national security, and a relaxation of that vigilance which is asserted to be the inevitable price of liberty. We had totally ignored the old maxim, “In time of peace prepare for war.” One of the effects of this mistaken policy is now visible; for in consequence of our neglect we find ourselves almost entirely without that breed of horses which is best adapted for cavalry purposes. This is to be attributed in a great measure to the decline, in the Northern States, of racing as a national pastime, and, as the necessary consequence, the loss, in our breed of horses, of the speed, courage and endurance which are the characteristics of the thoroughbred races – the highest and most perfect development of the species. The affections of our people became centered in trotting instead of racing, and the North became flooded with a breed of horses that are utterly valueless in time of war, either for cavalry or artillery, however valuable they may be for the pursuits of peace. Such a class of horses can never be got to face the fiery front of cannon, or to charge the serried ranks of glistening bayonets. “Blood will tell,” and they would recoil and run away in such circumstances where the stock of the thoroughbred would stand firm, and, like the rider, defy the whistling storm of death.
Recently some isolated attempts have been made to remedy the evil by the importation of some of the best blood of Great Britain into the Northern States. But sufficient time has not yet elapsed for any effects of such enterprise to be perceptible. Even now the number of such thoroughbred sires in the North does not exceed a dozen, while in the South they have been sown broadcast for the past century. There racing has long been an institution flourishing and prosperous, and the effect is seen in their cavalry being so much better mounted. “Wherever the enemy wanted to advance their cavalry opened the way for them. Whenever they wanted to escape they did escape, because we had no cavalry able to follow them.” When the guerilla John Morgan made his raids into Kentucky, he seized and mounted his followers upon the highly bred stock which cover the surface of the Blue Grass region of that State, the progeny of such world renowned racers as Wagner, Grey Eagle, Boston, Vandal, Glencoe, Albion, Yorkshire and others. But the majority of Southern horses are either half-bred or three-quarters bred stock – the very best adapted for cavalry, combining alike speed, size, endurance and intelligence in a high degree. The superiority of the cavalry horses furnished by Southern States in the Mexican war over the Northern was universally remarked, owing to their greater speed and a capability to withstand fatigue and travel. The same superiority is still found to prevail.
HOW GOVERNMENT HORSES ARE BOUGHT.
When war broke out and the government issued notices of its readiness to receive tenders for cavalry and artillery horses, one hundred and fifty dollars per head was the standard contract price. The horses first supplied the government at this price – which was a fair and equitable one – were of a much superior quality to any that have since been furnished; but from the very commencement that blighting system of corruption which seems to throw its […..] shade over every department of the administration was experienced by those whose business brought them into connection with this peculiar department. Before the horses could be passed by the official inspector at Washington (which originally was the sole authorized place of inspection), it was tacitly understood that a certain percentage on the contract price was expected by that official. If this was agreed to, then no difficulty was experienced in passing the majority of the lot inspected, if not the whole of them. If any objection was raised by the contractor to such a system of black mailing, on the ground that the horses furnished were well worth the price, demanded, and only fairly remunerative of the seller’s trouble and labor, he quickly found many of his horses rejected and thrown upon his hands without any justifiable cause. In many cases this was owing to the incompetency of the official inspector, who was not sufficiently well qualified for his position. We have heard of instances where horses have been rejected on the ground of overage which were actually two and three years under the standard, and which were actually sold for more money than the price demanded of government.
In the North the majority of the government contracts for horses are taken by New York dealers, the sphere of whose operations is centered in that part of the city in Twenty-fourth street between Third and Fourth avenues and which is known throughout the country as “Bull’s Head.” Most of these dealers are leagued together, and in putting in their contracts a thorough understanding exists as to the price fixed upon. The difference in this respect, in the tender of prices, whenever government is in the market for horses, rarely exceeds two dollars a head at the outside, and to whichever party the contract is awarded the others share in it proportionably. If the contract is for two thousand horses it will be divided into four or five parts, each dealer furnishing four or five hundred horses, as the case may be. This mode of […..] the contracts” makes things pleasant to the parties interested, and does away with one of the evils of competition – the reduction of prices. The dealers have already experienced the effects of opposition in this respect. At the commencement of the war the government contract price was $150. It is now reduced to $125. As this reduction curtails the contractor’s profits, who has now to pay an advanced price for his horses in consequence of their scarcity – the natural result of the vastly increased demand – he is compelled, in self-defence, to adopt a course of proceeding which shall bring up his profits to the previous standard.
Having obtained his contract, the dealer, at once commences operations by despatching his agents (who are necessarily good judges of horses, both as to their physical condition and formation, and their monetary worth,) over the country, with plenty of funds, to buy all and every thing in the shape of horseflesh their judgment approves. Sometimes the contractor travels himself. Some travel through the interior parts of Pennsylvania, others Ohio, and others again scour the horse breeding regions of Michigan. The prices they give vary according to the quality of the animal – running as low as $40, but averaging from $75 to $90. All kinds of horses, with the exception of really good ones, are to be seen in one of those lots when they arrive in New York, and are taken to the contractor’s stables at Bull’s Head. The country has been scoured for horses, the agents thinking that anything on four legs, as long as it has no palpable blemish or fault, will do for government. Stage and railroad car horses, draught horses too much worn out for farm work, cart horses, the veriest screws and weeds, are here represented. A person wishing to see the class of horses palmed upon the government, for mounting our cavalry, should visit Bull’s Head and walk through the stables there in which they are temporarily located. The standard height fixed by government for cavalry and artillery horses is fifteen and a half hands, for ambulance horses, sixteen hands; standard age, from five to eight years. Frequently a promising, likely horse is brought in among the lot; but such a one is considered “too good for government” by the contractor, and he is set aside to be sold, in most cases, for more than the government price. Many horses, whose miserable appearance is too palpably glaring to pass even a cursory inspection, are kept a while in the contractor stables until they get into a sufficiently presentable condition for passing the ordeal.
THE INSPECTING SYSTEM.
Formerly all horses destined for the service were obliged to be taken to the headquarters at Washington for the official inspection. Now, however, the contractors have induced government, and justly so, too, to establish a bureau of inspection in this city. As soon as a lot of horses arrive at the contractors’ stables the official is notified of the fact. Entering the premises, the doors are immediately closed, and the public rigidly excluded from witnessing how the process of inspection is managed. It is by no means a protracted one – a hurried, cursory examination of each horse, and the immediate branding of the letters U. S. on his near shoulder, with a hot iron follows, if the animal is approved of. The belief that an understood arrangement exists between the contractor and inspector as to the passing of the horses shown seems to prevail universally among the denizens of the locality of Bull’s Head. We, however, are not prepared to endorse the truth of such an impression. That the contractors have realized and are realizing immense fortunes by their operations cannot be denied. That numbers of the horses passed by the inspector quickly turn out utterly useless, unsound and valueless, experience has proved. That government have been obliged to pay the regular price for such animals is also true. We have heard that many of our leading contractors are by no means easy in their boots, fearing a thorough governmental investigation into the entire system under which they have grown wealthy.
As soon as the horses have received the brand of “Uncle Sam” they are regarded as his distinct property, and, if not immediately despatched off, remain in the stables of the contractor at the government expense. The usual rate, we are informed, is sixty-five cents a head per day, and it sometimes happens that at this figure they occasionally remain long enough to […..] their heads off.” Instances are alleged to be plentiful as blackberries where horses that have once passed the ordeal have subsequently been weeded out, repurchased by the same contractor or his colleagues, and resold again to government and again passed. The concealing of the original brand, it is alleged, can now be effected by causing the growth of the hair again on the place where the branding is not sufficiently deep to destroy the reproductive powers of the epidermis of the horse. We give these statements for what they are worth, leaving to others the task of estimating their truth.
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF INSPECTORS.
To be properly qualified to discharge the onerous and responsible duties of government Inspector of army horses, the possession of a thorough knowledge of the physical structure of the horse, his internal economy, and power to detect any external blemish or malformation, would, we should naturally judge, be as indispensable as honesty and integrity of character. Government, however, does not see the necessity of the possession of such knowledge on the part of the inspector. Instead of appointing a clever, honest, well qualified veterinary surgeon to the post, political influence is allowed to step in and make the award. That men appointed in such a manner can be expected to detect those hidden and minute systems of disease, blemishes or malformation to which horseflesh is heir, cannot be supposed. No wonder, then, that the public money is recklessly squandered away by millions in consequence of the dishonesty and incapacity of those who have the surveillance of this particular department. Contractors grow fat and wealthy under the system we have described; but a day of reckoning will surely come, however indefinitely protracted it may at present appear.
We will now trace the career of the horses which have been certified by the proper official to be qualified in every respect to enter the cavalry ranks of the United States army. No attempt is made to ascertain if the horses can be ridden before passing the inspection; and it is well known many horses have never been broken to the saddle, and are therefore useless for cavalry purposes in consequence. There is no system of training adopted with them, no riding school or […..] ride,” to teach both the horse and his rider their respective duties sent off in that direction where cavalry horses are required, their first lesson is a hard one. A bridle with a heavy Mamoluke bit is placed upon them, whose mouths probably have never felt anything but the plain snaffle. Unaccustomed to the unusual strain of such a bit, and the rider equally as green as the horse, the power of control over him cannot be expected. The consequences which may ensue, in case of actual engagement, from such a combination of circumstances, can easily be imagined. The lives of many promising cavalry soldiers – officers and privates – have been sacrificed by being mounted on unruly, unbroken brutes, which have not, to use a technical phrase, […..] mouth.” The ill results attendant on having artillery and ambulance horses as raw and unbroken as just described can readily be conceived.
RAISING THE GOVERNMENT PRICE.
The most effectual stop that government can take to raise the quality and class of the horses they purchase for the army is to fix the standard price at the original rate, viz: one hundred and fifty dollars. For this sum they can depend on being supplied with a better class of animals than the wretched screws that now pass muster, and which are dear at any price. But a thorough revision of and investigation into the inspecting and contracting systems must precede such a course, else the evil will be increased by affording a still larger field for plunder and corruption. The appointment of properly qualified and experienced veterinary surgeons as government inspectors is also indispensably requisite in reforming the system.