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A part of the
Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of Quartermaster Corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...
, the U.S. Army Remount Service provided
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s (and later mules and dogs) as
remount Remount referred to the provision of fresh horses, particularly for military purposes. The word encompasses both the animals themselves and the means by which they were provided. In many cases, remounts were horses provided to replace those killed ...
s to U.S. Army units. Evolving from both the Remount Service of the Quartermaster Corps and a general horse-breeding program under the control of the Department of Agriculture, the Remount Service began systematically breeding horses for the
United States Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one ...
in 1918. It remained in operation until 1948, when all animal-breeding programs returned to Department of Agriculture control.


Early history

The Remount Service had its roots in the expansion of the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
during the first days of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. It was determined that the Federal Government would provide horses for all cavalry and artillery units. This was in direct contrast to the
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
practice of making each cavalry trooper provide his own horse. Once implemented, the existing system of regimental purchasing boards was quickly overwhelmed and unsuited for dealing with newly raised regiments. In response, the Quartermaster Corps created two different organizations, one for field artillery and another for cavalry, to purchase the large number of horses needed to equip both Regular Army units and state-raised volunteer units. The Quartermaster General's Office oversaw the purchase of
draft horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...
s and mules, while the newly created Cavalry Bureau did the same for all cavalry remounts. The new Cavalry Bureau encountered a number of problems from the very beginning. Inadequate staff, poor leadership, and corruption on the part of many horse dealers and buyers combined to halt the flow of remounts to regiments. Command stability was a major issue. During the almost nine months of its existence (late July 1863 through mid-April 1864), the Bureau had no fewer than four commanders. Of those four, only
James H. Wilson James Harrison Wilson (September 2, 1837 – February 23, 1925) was a United States Army topographic engineer and a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War. He served as an aide to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Maryland Cam ...
could be considered successful—and he held the office for less than 60 days. The first commander, General
George Stoneman George Stoneman Jr. (August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a United States Army cavalry officer and politician who served as the fifteenth Governor of California from 1883 to 1887. He was trained at West Point, where his roommate was Stonewall ...
, had led the Cavalry Corps of the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...
prior to his posting. General
Kenner Garrard Kenner Garrard (September 21, 1827 – May 15, 1879) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. A member of one of Ohio's most prominent military families, he performed well at the Battle of Gettysburg, and then le ...
, his successor, "held the post for less than a month." There was also confusion as to the role of the Bureau when it came to training horses, providing cavalry equipment, and serving as rest and recuperation points for horses turned in as unserviceable. Many problems were never resolved before the end of the war because the Cavalry Bureau had ceased functioning in a real sense before 1865. By mid-April 1864, the Quartermaster's Department regained control of horse purchasing for cavalry, while the Bureau's equipment procurement and inspection duties fell to "a cavalry officer especially assigned to that duty". That officer, in turn, reported to General Halleck, who assumed "the duties of chief of the Cavalry Bureau". The Army's first experiment with centralized purchasing and organization for cavalry forces ended before the conclusion of the Civil War. In spite of its many organizational challenges, leadership issues, and brief existence, the Cavalry Bureau is noteworthy for what it did accomplish. Central remount depots were established at Giesboro Point, near Washington DC, and near Saint Louis, Missouri. Intended to serve mounted regiments in the Eastern and Western theaters of the War, respectively, the depots were supplied with horses purchased at markets in nine major locations. Each depot could handle between 10,000 and 16,000 horses, with General Stoneman suggesting the construction of a third depot during his time as Bureau commander.


After the Civil War

Although the Cavalry Bureau ceased to function before the end of the War, the need for remounts did not end with
Lee's surrender The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was the final engagement of Confederate General in Chief, Rober ...
in 1865. With 10 cavalry regiments in the Regular Army, the decision was made to return to the contract system to obtain remounts. The Quartermaster's Department conducted the actual purchasing. Although required by Army Regulations, this system did little to remove the dual problems of quality control and corruption. During the
Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
period, this often took the form of boards of officers who traveled to various horse markets and made purchases on a local level after inspecting the stock on hand.


The 20th century

Although the need for some sort of remount bureau or office had been recognized since the end of the Civil War, formal steps were not taken, or funding made available, until the first decade of the 20th century. In 1908, the Remount Service was officially activated as part of the Quartermaster Corps with Purchasing Boards set up in Boise, Idaho; Front Royal, Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; Sheridan, Wyoming; San Angelo, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Sacramento, California. These Boards were intended to take the place of the earlier regimental boards. In May of the same year, the Quartermaster Corps took the next logical step and set up the Fort Reno Quartermaster Depot as a "processing/distribution center for military horses and mules". There was also a determined attempt to engage professional
horse breeders The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
in the Remount Service, beginning in 1918 with the approval of a breeding plan for cavalry horses that combined the efforts of the Remount Service with the Bureau of Animal Industry. A 1921 issue of the ''Cavalry Journal'' contained an update from the "American Remount Association" calling for owners of "high-class registered
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
s" to add their stallions to the program. The author also mentioned a reduced-cost registry for "half-breed" Thoroughbreds. The number of horses involved in the program remained high even into the final years of the Remount Service. As late as 1945, between 450 and 500 stallions owned by the government and over 11,000 civilian-owned mares produced 7,293 foals. Thoroughbreds predominated in the stallion rolls, although a few Morgans,
Arabians The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
, and
Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...
s were also used. The number of Arabian stallions increased greatly in 1943 with the addition of the Kellogg Arabian Ranch (renamed the Pomona Remount Depot) to the program. In 1942, the Remount Service (then called the Remount Division) printed a breakdown of its breeding program in the ''Cavalry Journal.'' According to the article, the primary breeding horse was the Thoroughbred (17,983 mares and 688 stallions), followed by Arabians (375 mares and 16 stallions), followed by Morgans, Saddlebreds,
Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made betw ...
s, and the
Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation ...
(trailing with eight mares and one stallion). Of the foals born in 1941, 11,028 of the 11,409 reported were Thoroughbreds.


List of remount depots and areas

As noted above, the location of both remount depots and areas changed over time, expanding and contracting based on the needs of the Army and general development of the system. Significant remount depots included: *
Fort Robinson Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and now a major feature of Fort Robinson State Park, a public recreation and historic preservation area located west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20 in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska. The fo ...
, Nebraska * Aleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot,
Front Royal Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become ...
, Virginia *
Fort Keogh Fort Keogh is a former United States Army post located at the western edge of modern Miles City, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is situated on the south bank of the Yellowstone River, at the mouth of the Tongue River. Colonel Nelson A. Miles, ...
, Montana * Fort Sam Houston Remount Station #1, Texas * Fort Reno, Oklahoma * Pomona Quartermaster Depot (Remount), California * Fort Sill, Oklahoma * Camp Plauche Animal Remount Station, Louisiana


Remount areas

In 1944, six remount areas (reduced from seven in earlier years) were functioning. These areas served to control both the breeding programs and purchasing functions of the Remount Service and worked in conjunction with the depots. The Areas had headquarters at Front Royal (Virginia), Lexington (Kentucky), Colorado Springs (Colorado), Sheridan (Wyoming), San Angelo (Texas), and Pomona Quartermaster Depot (California).Waller, Anna. ''Horses and Mules in the National Defense''. Office of the Quartermaster General, 1958. Online at http://www.qmfound.com/horse.htm#Location%20of%20Remount%20Depots


See also

*
United States Army Cavalry School The United States Army Cavalry School was part of a series of training programs and centers for its horse mounted troops or cavalry branch. History In 1838, a Cavalry School of Practice was established at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, which in ...
* Cavalry (United States)


Notes

{{short description, US agency that bred horses for the US Army Quartermasters Warhorses