DESCRIPTIONS ABOUND of military actions in which cavalry have played a major part. Tactics, the names of regiments, the men involved, their arms and uniforms - all these are covered in detail in countless books, films and articles. Yet little is said about the horse, without whom very little would have been achieved in the military sphere, in any era. This may be because, with rare exceptions, military historians are not horsemen or women, and the latter are seldom military historians. Ann Hyland is both of these things. In this latest volume in her acclaimed Warhorse series, she gives a comprehensive account of the horse in war from the beginning of the 17th century to the end of the American Civil War. The modern era saw a period of tremendous transition for the warhorse which began with the change from the accepted, but erroneous, concept of the medieval Great Horse, whose body mass was not always so great, to the better bred, more mobile, speedier animal that evolved from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Many changes hinged on four breeds of horse: the Arabian, the Barb, the Andalusian, and the English Thoroughbred. All influenced the cavalry of the era, particularly when crossed onto each country's native mares. Using many eyewitness accounts by those who took part in these and other campaigns, as well as official sources, Ann Hyland gives us a moving picture of the sacrifices demanded of - and made by, with so little complaint - this most noble of creatures. In the midst of dreadful carnage and in often appalling conditions, we catch glimpses of the bond which existed between these horses of war and the men who rode and cared for them. The Warhorse in the Modern Era is a fascinating and readable book which will appeal to both military history buffs and horse lovers alike.
| ISBN | 1907212027 | | Pages | 260 | | ISBN13 | 9781907212024
(What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 714 | | Publisher | Black Tent Publications | | Published in | Stockton On Tees | | Imprint | Black Tent Publications | | Height (mm) | 254 | | Format | Hardback | | Width (mm) | 178 | | Publication date | 01 Dec 2009 | | Spine width (mm) | 16 | | DEWEY | 357.109 | | Academic level | General | | DEWEY edition | DC22 | |
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Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction 1. Britain's Equine Base 2. Germany 3. Austria and Hungary 4. Russia 5. France 6. Cavalry Equitation 7. Essential Services 8. Bonaparte and the Horse 9. The Peninsula and Waterloo 10. The Crimean War 1854-1856 11. India 12. India's Equid Heritage 13. Cavalry in Action: Wellesley and Lake 14. The Mutiny 15. The Americas 16. Early Indian Acquisitions 17. Across the Borders 18. Spanish Decline and US Expansion 19. The Move to Independence and Early American Cavalry 20. The American Civil War 1861-1865 21. Raiding 22. Vignettes from North and South 23. The Peninsula Campaign 1862 24. Antietam (Sharpsburg) and Chancellorsville 25. The Gettysburg Campaign 26. Southern Decline Postscript Glossary Notes Bibliography Index
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