I’ve always loved horses.
If you were to visit me, you’d find a dozen framed photos and posters throughout my house. I have no idea where my equestrian streak stems from, but it’s there, ignited at a moment’s notice, bringing me to an assortment of Americans, and their mounts, as they’re reverently called.
Where shall I start? With Caroline Kennedy’s pony, Macaroni, a gift from Vice President Lyndon Johnson when she was 3, 
or her mom’s first mare, named Danseuse, she often called Danny.
JFK didn’t like horses much since he was allergic to them, passing it on to his namesake, John Junior, who didn’t ride either.
So, let’s begin with Theodore Roosevelt’s Little Texas 
he majestically rode up San Juan Hill.
When you go to Sagamore Hill, his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island, Little Tex is buried in its pet cemetery.
Teddy killed everything that moved, but when it came to his horses, all bets were off, so to speak.
While in the White House, he had Bleistein, imported from Sagamore Hill along with the rest of TR’s beloved family.
U.S. Grant during the American Civil War, favored Cincinnati, the son of Lexington, the fastest four-mile thoroughbred in the country at the time. He also had a secondary horse called Jack, and another, Jeff Davis.
Not to be undone, we mustn’t forget Traveller, Robert E. Lee’s gray colored stallion that never left his side during that same war.
His backup horse was called Lucy Long, a gift from General J.E.B. Stuart, a favorite of Lee’s who was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in 1864.
When Lucy was captured during the Second Battle of Winchester in 1863, Lee, after the war, out of sentiment for Stuart, paid a vast amount to get her back. That tale always warms me, that he cared so much.
As for Traveller, dying not long after his master in 1871, his colt, as Lee called him, is buried alongside him at Lee Chapel on the grounds of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Abraham Lincoln’s horse was called Old Bob he trotted around Washington looking almost as if Bob were a pony, Abe being 6’4 and all, his feet almost touching the ground.
George Armstrong Custer’s, Comanche, was a mixed-breed who survived the Battle of the Little Bighorn (June 25, 1876) though his master did not.
Whenever I see a riderless horse at a funeral, I think of Comanche coming home alone…
a riderless horse without a rider, boots reversed in the stirrups symbolizing the fallen.
Blackjack at JFK’s funeral, November 25, 1963.
Staying with Civil War Generals and their 4-footed friends…
William Tecumseh Sherman had Dolly, then Duke, he rode during his famous March to the Sea.
James Longstreet’s main horse was Fly-By-Night, a gift from Robert E. Lee, but was on Hero, during the Battle of Gettysburg.
George McClellan favorited Kentuck, with Black Burns and Daniel Webster as secondaries.
Thomas Stonewall Jackson only had Little Sorrel, whose bones are buried at the Virginia Military Institute Museum in Lexington, by a stature of Jackson.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Union hero of Gettysburg’s Battle of Little Round Top, rode Charlemagne he himself bought for $150.
J.E.B. Stuart had Skylark, Highfly, and My Maryland, but rode a mare named Virginia during the Gettysburg campaign. Not too surprising being the ladies’ man that he was.
And last but not least, Union General, Philip Sheridan’s Rienzi, later renamed Winchester after his famous ride at the Battle of Winchester, who, if you’re interested, is stuffed and on display at The Smithsonian Museum of National History in Washington D.C..
Well, it’s of tremendous interest to me. 🙂
SB
I enjoyed the photos and liked the names chosen for their steeds. My favorite has to be Caroline’s Macaroni. Now I can’t get Yankee Doodle out of my head.
I completely understand each general’s attachment to his mount since a horse was an extension of the man back then.
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Never thought of it that way. And they were and are, massive beasts. I just love the lore. Eat it for breakfast. Thanks for reading and contributing to it. Susannah
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Thanks a lot, Skinny… Now I am singing it!
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It sure is catchy.
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Of ear worm proportions.
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It’s one of my favorite movies also. That Jimmy Cagney as George M Cohan who wrote it. I think it launched my avid patriotism when I think about it.
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Super post, Susannah. You did a fair amount of research on the various mounts of the famous producing a terrific amount of information. The love of and fascination with horses is something I experienced when my daughter turned three. She started with pony rides in the park and eventually graduated through four mounts. She was jumping fences taller than she while still in high school. (With my heart stopping at each one) I have lovely memories of her relationship with her beloved horses. Your post brought a number back.
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She was 3, like Caroline, when she got Macaroni. Love that John. 🙂
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It wasn’t my choice. We stumbled onto a pony ride thing and the rest was history. She got her first when she was seven.
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I Remember my first pony ride. It was the biggest cat I ever did see. Couldn’t understand why I couldn’t bring him home. 😊
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Hahahaha. I could see a pony in the kitchen.
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Purring…:)
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😀
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Love your historical sharings of subjects of all sorts!
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I’ll admit, it’s an acquired taste.
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Nah… ya think?
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Most people couldn’t care less about a stuffed warhorse. I’m over the moon knowing that hide, if it could talk, wow! 🤔
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We’ve already determined you’re not most people.
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I take that as a compliment. 👍
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I should bloody well hope so!
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The fact that Chamberlain paid retail on a horse tells me everything about how important and revered these magnificent creatures were for the time. Mysticism and practicality . . combined. Makes for quite the history.
Love your ride back in time, SB.
I give this piece four hooves. 🙂
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That was a lot of money back then, and he bought her from the U.S Government no less. You’d think fighting for the cause, would have gotten him a freebie. Cheap Cheap!!!
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You ain’t kidding! That was a midsize with all the options.
Uncle Sam has always been a bottom line feller.
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He’s cheap, plain and simple that Sam. Probably went Dutch everyplace he went. I know the type. At 70, they still have their bar mitzvah money.
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Yep. And I don’t for a minute believe that hat he totes around was made here.
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China…in a little locked sweatshop so 8 year-old Chang can’t escape. sigh
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It’s the American way.
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I’m singing 🎤 the Star Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrick style. Wish I had a white suit to wear.
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And you need a scarf. Color?
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Red , white and blue of course…with spangles. 🙂
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You knew the answer before the question was even posed. Killer!
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Oh, she’s such a little historical opportunist, she is.
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Which is why she’s my Chief of Staff . . .
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Yes, that would make sense, now wouldn’t it.
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Total.
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Hendrix. Sorry Jimi. Had a slip.
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I assume the slip is white, in keeping with the dress. Which means the scarf has to really pop.
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You’re Valentino now I see. Or maybe more Tom Ford. He’s very handsome by the way.
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And you wonder why I call you cheeky . . .
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There’s that word again.
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You really have to get a shirt.
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Yes…a big cheek with a tongue in the side pocket. I’d like that.
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That’s perfect.
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Incidentally, I was in the East Village the other day, and walked by Electric Lady, his old recording studio he sired not long before he died…at 29…YIKES…and stood there for a second taking in its history and longevity. When you think how ephemeral New York is, it’s truly amazing it still stands, and proudly I might add. 🙂
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Damn proudly, you’re right.
It’s a live in museum, NYC . . .
Editor’s Note: Sire and ephemeral are in the file.
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When you think how arbitrarily things are knocked down these days to make way for the ugly, ornate new, Jimi still rocks.
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Full disclosure since you’re my Chief of Staff. I’ve got Jimi as my ring tone.
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I love that. What’s that Jimi? You do too!!! 🙂
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Rock on chica.
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You call all your women chica, so please don’t call me that.
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How does amiga woik? 🙂
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A girl wants to feel special after all, Mr. Imma…not part of a harem.
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I do not doubt it, SB. Not for a hot New York minute.
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I enjoyed reading about these historic people and their horses.
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That’s because you’re married to a Historian named John. 🙂
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I wonder if John would have recognized the horses. I’ll bet he would.
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Traveller and Macaroni, without a doubt. I love the names. 🙂
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