Old Sam the Artillery Horse monument

A monument that may be unique is the monument to Old Sam, the artillery horse. 

Monument Stone

Another of the monuments in monument square of Coldwater, Michigan, it is dedicated to a beloved artillery horse from the local battery, Loomis. The battery monument itself will be detailed in another post.



Detail of plaque

Given the rate of horse casualties during the Civil War, Old Sam's survival was a rarity. The monument itself describes the terrible losses among the animals in the battery.  It is estimated that over three million horses and mules, the prime movers of most armies in the black powder era, died during the four years of conflict. Much like the humans they served with, most died of disease or overwork.  In combat, the artillery horses were considered valid targets for concentrated fire. If the team was dead, the guns couldn't be moved and were easier to capture.

Gibson's Battery of horse artillery, near Fair Oaks, Va. 
Old Sam could have been in a photograph like this

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Unfit for service. Artillery caisson and dead mule.

While the second picture shows a dead mule by the artillery limber, it serves as an example of the dangers involved for the teams in combat.


In the Coldwater Cemetery there is indeed a headstone for Old Sam.

-Corporal

Library of Congress photographs citations:


Barnard & Gibson, Copyright Claimant, Gibson, James F, photographer. Gibson's Battery of horse artillery, near Fair Oaks, Va. Fair Oaks Henrico County United States Virginia, 1862. [June] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2014646906/. (Accessed January 28, 2018.)



Gardner, Alexander, photographer. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Unfit for service. Artillery caisson and dead mule. United States, 1863. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/cwp2003004687/PP/. (Accessed January 28, 2018.)