A Bridled Veteran's Forgotten Story

Dick, a Bridled Veteran of the Civil War

An old, wooden file cabinet, its surface worn and weathered by time, found its way to the Concord Township Historical Society in Glen Mills, PA. Inside, amidst the yellowed papers and curious artifacts, a forgotten story awaited discovery. Among the items was a cabinet photo of a regal-looking horse, and on the back of the cardboard surface was a name and a description.

Frederick Cushman Newhall—the "F.C. Newhall" whose words have immortalized the legacy of this 'splendid horse'—was a former lieutenant colonel with the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment - known as "Rush's Lancers" - during the Civil War. He served as an adjutant to Phil Sheridan and was also an author. It is through Newhall's accounts that we delve into the remarkable story of this Civil War horse.[1]

Although Dick was just one of the three million "bridled veterans" that served in the Civil War, he rubbed shoulders with several of the war's famous equines - Phil Sheridan's Rienzi, U.S. Grant's Cincinnati, and even Robert E. Lee's Traveller.

Dick saw combat in all the major battles of the eastern theater, including the Peninsula Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Stoneman's Raid, Brandy Station, Gettysburg, and the Shenandoah Valley. His only wound was received a few days before the surrender in 1865, as Lee tried one final time to break through the tightening Federal noose near Appomattox.

His remarkable military journey, however, didn't end with the war. A month after the surrender, Dick and Newhall accompanied Major General Philip H. Sheridan on his assignment to the Texas area of the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Sheridan was tasked with ensuring the security of the US-Mexico border against any possible incursions by the French puppet government under Emperor Maximilian.

On August 13th, 1883, Newhall reflected on Dick's life and his own experiences, writing:

"Dick! Taken August 13th, 1883. He is 27 years old this spring. He was raised in New Jersey, and is of the 'May-Day' stock [local lineage perhaps?].

I bought him August 1861 upon entering the Army, and rode him all through the war. He was in many cavalry engagements, and in all the principal battles of the Army of the Potomac, except Chancellorsville, at which time he was with me on the Cavalry expedition known as the 'Stoneman Raid,' [*] which occurred while the battle of Chancellorsville was going on. I rode this horse also in Gen’l Sheridan’s campaign in the Shenandoah Valley [1864], and in the last campaign against Gen’l Lee — which terminated in Virginia; in this campaign, he was wounded in the leg, in battle.

On the day of Lee’s surrender, after the Rebel flag of truce was displayed, I went on this horse to find Gen’l Grant and conducted him to Appomattox Court House to meet Gen’l Lee. In May 1865, I took the horse with me to New Orleans, and after the termination of hostilities in that region, I resigned from the Army and brought the horse home with me.

F. C. Newhall

He is in all respects a splendid horse."[2]

Dick and Newhall mustered out of the service about a year later and returned to Pennsylvania. Dick passed away in the 1880s, leaving behind a legacy intertwined with the history of a nation.

In every sense, Dick was not just a horse, but a living testament to the bravery, resilience, and enduring spirit of the 'bridled veterans' of those turbulent times.

This was one of the millions of forgotten stories from the Irrepressible Conflict.

Mac

═══ ⚔ 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒔 ⚑ ═══  

[*] Stoneman Raid in 1863 was a cavalry operation led by Union Major General George Stoneman during the Chancellorsville Campaign. The raid took place from April 13 to May 10, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. 

For 27 days, Stonemen's troopers remained on the move. The weather and resulting conditions were such that the plight of the horses became a nightmare. A lack of food, rest, mud, swollen creeks and rivers crippled and killed animals to the point that captured mules were distributed to the men whose horses had gone lame. By the end of the raid, men fell asleep in the saddles of their emaciated, sore-backed horses. The entire raid was an exercise in deprivation and endurance but accomplished very little militarily. [3]

Works Cited

[1] Historical Society of Pennsylvania website. Retrieved March 2, 2025. Newhall was the author of How Lee lost the use of his cavalry before the battle of Gettysburg (Philadelphia, 1878), and he was the subject of a 2002 book edited by Eric J. Wittenberg: Lt. Col. Fredrick C. Newhall, Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry. With Sheridan in the Final Campaign against Lee. (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.)

[2] "Dick! The Story of a Civil War Horse" Concord Township Historical Society website. Retrieved March 2, 2025.

[3] "Stoneman's 1863 raid". Wikipedia.org. Retrieved March 2, 2025.