Famous Confederate Horses from the Civil War

Many a fighting man had one or more favorite mounts, entitled to bountiful corn and fodder, careful grooming, and a name of its own. Horses prized by some Confederates were:

Beauregard: who survived until 1883, was ridden to Appomattox by Capt. W.I. Rasin.

Fleeter:ridden by spy Belle Boyd.

Black Hawk:mounted by Maj.Gen. William B. Bate.

Dixie:battle steed killed at Perryville while being ridden by Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne.

Rifle:cherished by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell.

King Phillip:possibly the favorite horse of Forrest, who also owned and rode Roderick and Highlander.

Old Sorrel:formerly a Union officer's mount, was acquired by Stonewall Jackson at Harpers Ferry when she was about eleven years old. Because the mare was so small that Jackson's feet nearly dragged the ground, she was often known as Little Sorrel. Little Sorrel Lane in Somers, Conneticut, commemorates the animal Jackson was riding when he was mortally wounded.

Joe Smith:owned by Brig. Gen. Adam R. Johnson.

Fire-eater:a splendid bay Thoroughbred ridden by Gen. Albert S. Johnston when he was killed at Shiloh.

Nellie Gray:Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's mare who was numbered among the dead at Opequon.

Traveller:by all odds this best-known horse of the war was Robert E. Lee's favorite. Earlier he owned and rode Richmond, Brown-Roan, Lucy Long and Ajax. Traveller is the purported author of a ghost-written volume that depicts the Civil War as seen through equine eyes.

Old Fox:ridden by Col. F.G. Skinner, First Virginia Infantry.

Virginiacredited with having prevented the capture of Maj. Gen. Jeb Stuart by jumping an enormous ditch. In addition to the mare, Stuart frequently rode Highfly.

Sardanapalus:favorite mount of partisan M. Jeff Thompson of Missouri.