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About
Traveller
We would be remiss not to include
General Lee's famous war-horse, Traveller, in our travel
section. Following are some excerpts from a from Major Thomas
L. Broun that appeared in the Richmond Dispatch on August
10, 1886. Follow the link above to read the entire text.
"When General Lee took command of the Wise legion and
Floyd brigade that were encamped at and near Big Sewell
mountains, in the fall of 1861, he first saw this horse,
and took a great fancy to it. He called it his
colt, and said that he would
use it before the war was over ... My brother then offered
him the horse as a gift, which the General promptly declined,
and at the same time remarked: 'If you will willingly sell
me the horse, I will gladly use it for a week or so to learn
its qualities ... He then sold the horse to General Lee
for $200 in currency, the sum of $25 having been added by
General Lee to the price I paid for the horse in September,
1861, to make up the depreciation in our currency from September,
1861, to February, 1862 ... The horse was high-spirited,
impatient and hard to hold and pulled the General down a
steep bank and broke his hands. For a time he found it necessary
to travel in an ambulance ...
Following is an excerpt from the Southern
Historical Society Papers,
Vol. XIX. Richmond, Va. 1891.
Several years after the death of General Lee, 'Traveller,'
who was turned out for exercise and grazing during the day,
accidentally got a nail in one of his fore-feet; this occasioned
lockjaw, from which he died despite of every effort for
his relief. He was buried in the grounds of Washington and
Lee University.
Lee himself wrote this description of Traveller to Mrs.
Lee's cousin, who intended to paint a portrait of the famous
war-horse:
"If I was an artist like you, I would draw a true picture
of Traveller; representing his fine proportions, muscular
figure, deep chest, short back, strong haunches, flat legs,
small head, broad forehead, delicate ears, quick eye, small
feet, and black mane and tail. Such a picture would inspire
a poet, whose genius could then depict his worth, and describe
his endurance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat and cold; and
the dangers and suffering through which he has passed. He
could dilate upon his sagacity and affection, and his invarible
response to every wish of his rider. He might even imagine
his thoughts through the long night-marches and days of
the battle through which he has passed. But I am no artist
Markie, and can therefore only say he is a Confederate grey." |
