Old Baldy (horse)
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Old Baldy (ca. 1852 – December 16, 1882) was the horse ridden by Union Major General George G. Meade at the Battle of Gettysburg and in many other important battles of the American Civil War.
Baldy was born and raised on the western frontier and at the start of the Civil War was owned by General David Hunter. His name during this period is unknown. It is said that he was wounded anywhere from five to 14 times during the war, starting at the First Battle of Bull Run, where he was struck in the nose by a piece of an artillery shell. Soon after, in September 1861, he was purchased from the government by Meade in Washington, D.C., for $150 and named Baldy because of his white face.
Despite Baldy's unusual, uncomfortable pace, Meade became quite devoted to him and rode him in all of his battles through 1862 and the spring of 1863. The horse was wounded in the right hind leg at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and at Antietam, he was wounded through the neck and left for dead on the field. At Gettysburg, on July 2, 1863, Baldy was hit by a bullet that passed through Meade's right trouser leg, entering his stomach. He staggered and refused to move forward, defying all of Meade's directions. Meade commented, "Baldy is done for this time. This is the first time he has refused to go forward under fire." Baldy was sent to the rear for recuperation. In 1864, having returned to duty for the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg, he was struck in the ribs by a shell at the Weldon Railroad and Meade decided that Old Baldy should be retired.
Baldy was sent north to Philadelphia and then to the farm of Meade's staff quartermaster, Captain Sam Ringwalt, in Downington, Pennsylvania. He was later relocated to the Meadow Bank Farm, owned by a friend of the Meade family, where he remained for several years. He was moderately active in retirement and Meade was able to ride him in several memorial parades. His last parade was as the "riderless horse" in the funeral procession of his master, in November 1872. Baldy lived another 10 years. He was euthanized on December 16, 1882, at the age of 30, when he became too feeble to stand. On Christmas Day of that year, two Union Army veterans (Albert C. Johnston and H.W.B. Harvey) disinterred Baldy's remains and decapitated him, sending the head to a taxidermist.
Today, Baldy's head is mounted on a plaque in a glass case, under the care of the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table, on exhibit in the Meade Room of the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Magner, Blake A., Traveller & Company, The Horses of Gettysburg, Farnsworth House Military Impressions, 1995, ISBN 0-9643632-2-4.
- General Meade Society website
