• UNION SOLDIER: Jerry Whitfield, Madison
• Re-enactor for 12 years
• 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, Co. D
MONTICELLO - During the Civil War, horses were an important commodity.
"Lincoln once said he could replace a cavalryman quicker than he could replace a horse," Jerry Whitfield said.
He didn't hold the comment against President Abraham Lincoln because the horses were crucial to the war effort. The Union imported horses from other countries to make sure there were enough for the Union cavalry, Whitfield said.
Besides his horse, every cavalry soldier had a saddle and a blanket.
"You were lucky if they gave you a poncho," he laughed.
The cavalry's role in the United States Army changed as the war progressed.
"For the first two years the cavalry was used to guard wagon trains, for picket duty or used a couriers," he said.
The first cavalry units were organized by states and the leaders were local citizens who were highly regarded by local officials. As the war dragged on, however, the early cavalry leaders were replaced by more experienced or better trained officers. The cavalry units were organized into brigades, Whitfield said, and they learned how to stand up to the Confederate cavalry. The Union cavalry had more success in the last two years of the war.
Life in the cavalry was a glorious adventure, he said.
But it was never easy.
Cavalry units could ride 20 miles a day. Sometimes, if they were in pursuit of the enemy or had to get to a battlefield, they could ride 35 miles a day. That was rare, however. There were times when the soldiers slept in their saddles because they were so tired. At other times they slept on the ground holding their horse's reins.
Whitfield's unit, the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, fought in the war's western theater.
"We were assigned to the Army of the Cumberland," he said.
His unit was one of the two cavalry commands that helped capture confederate President Jefferson Davis in May 1865.
"We got a bounty for that," he smiled.
• Re-enactor for 12 years
• 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, Co. D
MONTICELLO - During the Civil War, horses were an important commodity.
"Lincoln once said he could replace a cavalryman quicker than he could replace a horse," Jerry Whitfield said.
He didn't hold the comment against President Abraham Lincoln because the horses were crucial to the war effort. The Union imported horses from other countries to make sure there were enough for the Union cavalry, Whitfield said.
Besides his horse, every cavalry soldier had a saddle and a blanket.
"You were lucky if they gave you a poncho," he laughed.
The cavalry's role in the United States Army changed as the war progressed.
"For the first two years the cavalry was used to guard wagon trains, for picket duty or used a couriers," he said.
The first cavalry units were organized by states and the leaders were local citizens who were highly regarded by local officials. As the war dragged on, however, the early cavalry leaders were replaced by more experienced or better trained officers. The cavalry units were organized into brigades, Whitfield said, and they learned how to stand up to the Confederate cavalry. The Union cavalry had more success in the last two years of the war.
Life in the cavalry was a glorious adventure, he said.
But it was never easy.
Cavalry units could ride 20 miles a day. Sometimes, if they were in pursuit of the enemy or had to get to a battlefield, they could ride 35 miles a day. That was rare, however. There were times when the soldiers slept in their saddles because they were so tired. At other times they slept on the ground holding their horse's reins.
Whitfield's unit, the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, fought in the war's western theater.
"We were assigned to the Army of the Cumberland," he said.
His unit was one of the two cavalry commands that helped capture confederate President Jefferson Davis in May 1865.
"We got a bounty for that," he smiled.