Lewis Powell

[L Verge]

(09-22-2018 10:08 AM)JMadonna Wrote:  Considering that over 1 million horses died in the war, mainly between the ages of four and nine, I can imagine that the remaining stock were either army rejects or handicapped in other ways.

Powell must have had good horseman skills to have ridden with Mosby -- and most Southern boys knew how to control a horse. I suspect that the dark, unfamiliar terrain over which both Powell and Booth galloped contributed to their falls. In the case of Booth, I think his injury at Ford's Theatre may have contributed to uneven weight distribution once on the horse also??

Since the horse that Powell used (the one bought previously from Mudd's neighbor) was blind in one eye, I think that would also affect its depth perception in trying to leap an embankment. Was the horse even used to galloping or leaping? I have always perceived it to be a work horse or team horse on the farm.

Jerry is correct that good horses were in short supply -- especially on farms in Southern Maryland, where Yankee patrols raided farms and stole anything that they wanted for four years. Mr. Gardiner, the original owner of the one-eyed horse, was probably delighted to actually receive money for him...