Old Baldy (horse)
Encyclopedia
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
George G. Meade at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and in many other important battles of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life and Civil War service
Baldy was born and raised on the western frontier and at the start of the Civil War was owned by Maj. Gen. David HunterDavid Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
. 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
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
, 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.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, 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
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, and at Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, he was wounded through the neck and left for dead on the field. At Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, 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
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
and the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
, he was struck in the ribs by a shell at the Weldon Railroad
Battle of Globe Tavern
The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under...
and Meade decided that Old Baldy should be retired.
Retirement and death
Baldy was sent north to PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and then to the farm of Meade's staff quartermaster, Captain Sam Ringwalt, in Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,891. Downingtown was settled by English and European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings and structures.-History:The town was...
. 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.
Baldy's remains
Baldy's head was mounted on a plaque in a glass case and displayed by the Grand Army of the RepublicGrand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
Civil War Museum and Library in Philadelphia. In 1979, his head was loaned to the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table, which paid for its restoration and placed it on exhibit in the Meade Room of the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia
Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia
The Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, claims to be the oldest chartered American Civil War institution in the United States...
. The latter museum closed in August 2008, pending a relocation, and most of its artifacts were distributed to other museums, including the visitor center at Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
. Attorneys for the two museums reached an agreement under the auspices of the Philadelphia Orphans' Court
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania
The First Judicial District is the judicial body governing the county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of the Court of Common Pleas, the Municipal Court, and Traffic Court for the jurisdiction of Philadelphia....
in December 2009 to return Old Baldy to the GAR museum on Griscom Street. Ceremonies marking the resumption of public display of Old Baldy at the museum were conducted on September 26, 2010.