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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."


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