General Ulysses S. Grant and War-Horse Cincinnati - Cold Harbor, June 1864

3D red/cyan anaglyph created from stereograph courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, at: npg.si.edu/portraits

 

NPG Title: Ulysses S. Grant

 

Date: June 1864

 

Photographer: NPG attributes to Mathew Brady

 

Notes: A stereoscopic portrait of General Ulysses S. Grant, with his ever-present cigar, and his favorite war-horse Cincinnati, taken at Cold Harbor in June 1864. This appears to be a direct contact print off the original negative, and is much clearer than other cropped versions found on the web.

 

Link to stereograph at NPG: npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.87.38

 

For some background information on both Grant and Cincinnati, below are transcribed four articles; the 1st is by an unidentified "Officer of His Staff" who writes of Grant's overall character, the 2nd relates how Grant acquired Cincinnati and how the horse died; the 3rd tells of Grant's reaction upon a soldier beating a horse; and the 4th gets into some specifics of Cincinnati's size and speed and mentions Lincoln riding Cincinnati at City Point.

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(1) The National Magazine, Volume 18

September, 1903

Personal Recollections of General Grant's Life in the Field

By an Officer of His Staff

 

I think that I know as much about the real character of the great soldier as any man living today, for I saw him under many different circumstances, and at the closest personal range - in the privacy of his own camp life, when "off duty," as well as in the storm of battle, or in conference with his most trusted lieutenants. I have again and again gone into the general's quarters at the dead of night to deliver a message and found him smoking and thinking about his own vast plans of military operations.

 

In camp life General Grant was very unassuming and democratic. He was easily approachable and always pleasant and gentlemanly. The most natural and friendly manners prevailed about the headquarters and everybody was allowed the fullest liberty consistent with duty. But all members of the general's army household had something to do. There were no sinecures about the camp.

 

In the presence of strangers Grant was a trifle diffident, lacking a certain self assurance which gives the quality of ease and dash to the bearing of some great soldiers. He was never undignified in deportment, but his thorough modesty and unselfishness made him appear less consciously at ease before the public than some other officers who perhaps never commanded a division of men in battle.

 

As a soldier Grant did not like display. He dressed very plainly, and his staff followed their chieftain's example in this respect. It was well known at headquarters that some brigade commanders had more baggage than General Grant.

 

While not apparently concerned about the observance of the forms of military courtesy toward himself, no officer was more certain to recognize the salutation of the humblest soldier. He was a very keen observer and always saw what was intended for his eyes in the way of army usages.

 

......It was a saying about headquarters that the general had never been known to exhibit any angry feeling except on one occasion, when a soldier was discovered robbing a lady's wardrobe. He was one of the most imperturbable men I ever saw. Passion seemed to have no place in his life. He could pass through trials touching the deepest emotions in human nature, see the "dice of war" thrown for the greatest stakes of the battle-field, and yet betray to his most intimate associates no sign of excitement. Yet with his great strength of will, the man was sensitive and gentle, incapable of a cruel thought. Those who thought that General Grant was unmindful of the welfare of his men or regardless of the value of human life, knew nothing of the real nature of the man.

 

In his habits I never saw one sign of dissipation, and if Grant ever tasted liquor of any kind during the war, it was not in my presence, and I had the best position possible for observing his habits.

 

It was a rare thing to find General Grant asleep, even late at night. I suppose no man ever needed less sleep than he seemed to require, when directing the operations of the war. I went into his quarters at all hours, and can hardly remember seeing him asleep one time, from Vicksburg to Appomattox.

 

He smoked almost incessantly. After it became known that he liked good cigars, every mail and express brought the finest brands to headquarters. Boxes of choice cigars were sent by hundreds of admirers, from all parts of the country. The general often passed around a box of cigars and had everybody take a handful before he stopped. We usually took one at first, but the general would say: "Take more, take more," until the box was empty.

 

…..There were many generals under Grant whom he regarded as soldiers of great ability. I have heard him speak in very high praise of several who are hardly ever mentioned now. He never sought to deprive any man of his merited honor, and was apparently without military jealousy. A more magnanimous man never lived.

 

General Grant's courage was supreme. No man could face danger with greater composure. He did not seem to know the meaning of peril when duty called him to risk his life. At one time I saw the general escape death by a very slight margin. We were breaking camp at Spottsylvania Court House, and under the fire of a Confederate battery. All of the headquarters equippage had been removed except a camp stool, and on this the general was sitting, while the shells of the enemy's guns shrieked over our heads. A shell passed just over the general, not missing him, apparently, more than a few inches, and struck the ground about thirty feet away. Without showing the slightest nervousness, he called to me to "Get the shell," saying: "Let's see what kind of ammunition that battery is using." I went and picked up the shell, which was a sixpound spherical case, and the general examined it as coolly as if there was not an enemy's gun within a hundred miles of him.

 

I did not go out to see the surrender of General Lee. I remember well the event of General Grant's return after the surrender. I think there were not more than three persons present when the general came in and took a seat at a table to write. He looked up with some expression of animation, and remarked: "More of Grant's luck!" This was an allusion to the newspaper critics who had been in the habit of calling his success luck. This little comment on the surrender of Lee was the only word of exultation I ever heard from the victorious soldier. It was a very slight expression of triumph to follow such a stupendous achievement-but wholly characteristic.”

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(2) Religious Telescope, Volume 67

William R. Rhinehart, 1901

 

General Grant's "Cincinnati.”

 

In an article on "Famous War-Horses," General James Grant Wilson tells how carefully General Grant looked after the welfare of his famous steed Cincinnati. The horse was a gift from a namesake of his own, a man in no way connected with him.

 

After his victory at Chattanooga General Grant was ordered to Cincinnati to meet the Secretary of War. While there he received from a confirmed invalid of his own name an urgent request that he would call at his house. The sick man met him with the words: "General Grant, I have not long to live, and I wish to present you with my most valued possession, a horse that has no superior in the United States. There is a single condition attached to the gift— that you will always treat him kindly and never part with him."

 

Grant accepted the horse, and called him Cincinnati. He was a superb, spirited animal of great endurance, and the general rode him almost constantly in the Wilderness campaign. On one occasion, when mounted on Cincinnati and accompanied by a staff officer, he said:

 

"Babcock, I wish you would dismount and see what is the matter with the bay's leg."

 

"I think, general, that looking after Cincinnati had better wait," replied the officer. "It is simply murder for us to sit here."

 

"Very well," said Grant. "If you do not want to see to it, I will." Dismounting, he quickly untwisted a piece of wire that had begun to eat into his charger's flesh, and as he moved forward he remarked to the colonel:

 

"When you have a horse that you value, never take any risks with him. Had that wire been left there a little longer, Cincinnati would have been ruined for life."

 

All this time they were under a hot and deadly fire, but fortunately escaped.

 

Grant rarely permitted anybody but himself to mount Cincinnati. Two exceptions were recalled by the writer. The late Admiral Ammen, who saved Grant from drowning when a lad, rode the horse when he visited City Point...The admiral's comment upon the steed was, "I have never seen his equal." "Nor have I," replied Grant.

 

After Lee's surrender Cincinnati was retired, and enjoyed many, years of rest and comfort at Ammendale, Maryland. The end came through an accident. The horse stepped into a blind ditch, and in extricating himself broke a fore leg. The intense pain caused him to limp round all night in a circle. It was deemed best to shoot him, and he was buried where he fell."

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(3) General Grant and His Favorite Horses,

by George F. Paul, published January, 1927

 

Among the famous leaders of the Civil War times, few were better horsemen than General Ulysses S. Grant. Sheridan, on his black charger "Rienzi," was more spectacular, but as a real lover of horses and as a genuine friend to them, Sheridan did not surpass his commander-in-chief.

 

In Grant's campaign in the Wilderness he rode a spirited pony that was called "Jeff Davis." It was given that name because it had been captured in Mississippi on the plantation of Joe Davis, a brother of the Confederate president. General Grant took a fancy to the pony because it had a remarkably easy pace. This enabled the General to make his long daily rides with much more comfort than when mounted on inferior horses. Soon "Little Jeff,” as he was affectionately called, won a place for himself in the Virginia campaign......

 

General Grant had a peculiar way of mounting his horse. He used his hands but little to aid him. He placed his left foot in the stirrup, grasped the horse's mane near the withers with his left hand, and rose without making a spring by merely straightening the left leg until his body was high enough so that he could throw his right leg over the saddle. There was no jerky movement. In an instant he was in the saddle.

 

Mistreatment of horses aroused the General's ire as quickly as anything. In the Wilderness campaign General Grant came in sight of a teamster whose wagon was stalled in a swampy place. He was beating his horses brutally in the face with the butt end of his whip and swearing viciously. Putting both spurs to Egypt's flanks, General Grant dashed toward the teamster and, raising his clenched fist, called out to him, "What does this conduct mean, you scoundrel? Stop beating those horses!"

 

The teamster replied coolly as he struck another blow, "Well, who's a-drivin' this team anyhow, you or me?"

 

By this time Grant was thoroughly angered. "I'll show you," he cried, as he shook his fist in the man's face. "Here, officer, take this man in charge and have him tied up to a tree as a punishment for his brutality."

 

At West Point Grant excelled all others in his class in cavalry drill. He took great delight in mounting and breaking in the most unmanageable of the new horses that were brought in from time to time and put in the squad. He succeeded in this not by punishing the animal that he had taken in hand, but by patience and tact. He had great skill in making the horse understand what he wanted it to do. When Grant's turn came, the soldiers in attendance would, at a signal from him, raise the bar a foot or two higher than usual, and he would generally manage to clear it.

 

One of the best known of General Grant's horses was "Cincinnati," a large bay well fitted for campaign duties. He was a half brother of "Asteroid" and "Kentucky," the famous racers, and was of excellent blood.

 

This horse carried Grant on his perilous night ride near the close of the war when, with a small escort, he set out to find Sheridan. It was about midnight when Grant and his officers encountered Sheridan's pickets. The cavalry were sleeping on their arms, and as the little party picked a way through their ranks, and the troopers woke up and recognized the General in the moonlight, they made many comments. One would say, "Why, there's the old man Boys this means business”; and another, "Great Scott! the old chief's out here himself. The rebs are going to get busted tomorrow, certain"; and a third, "Uncle Sam's joined the cavalry sure enough. You can bet there’ll be lively times in the morning."

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(4) The Century Magazine

May, 1913

War-Horses of Famous Generals

by James Grant Wilson

 

".....As far as I am aware, no great commander ever possessed so valuable charger as "Cincinnati," General Grant's favorite during the fourth year of the Civil War, and after his great victory at Chattanooga, during which he rode "Egypt," another of his six war-horses. A few weeks later, when in Cincinnati, Grant received the gift of the noble steed, which he named after that city. He was a son of "Lexington," with a single exception the fastest four-mile thoroughbred that ever ran on an American race-course, having made the distance in 7:1934 minutes. The general was offered $10,000 for the horse, as his record almost equaled that of his sire and his half-brother "Kentucky." He was a spirited and superb dark bay of great endurance, Grant riding him almost daily during the Wilderness campaign of the summer of 1864, and until the war closed in the following spring. "Cincinnati" was seventeen hands, and, in the estimation of the illustrious soldier, the grandest horse that he had ever seen, perhaps the most valuable ever ridden by an army commander from the time of Alexander down to our own day.

 

The general very rarely permitted any person but himself to mount him. Only two exceptions are recalled by the writer, once when Admiral Daniel Ammen, who saved Grant when a small boy from being drowned, visited him at his headquarters at City Point on the James River, and when, a little later, President Lincoln came to the same place from Washington to spend a week with the general. On the admiral's return from a two-hours' ride, accompanied by a young aide-decamp, Grant asked how he liked "Cincinnati."

 

Ammen answered, "I have never backed his equal."

 

"Nor have I," said the general.

 

In his "Personal Memoirs" Grant writes:

 

Lincoln spent the last days of his life with me. He came to City Point in the last month of the war, and was with me all the time. He lived on a despatch-boat in the river, but was always around headquarters. He was a fine horseman, and rode my horse "Cincinnati" every day. He visited the different camps, and I did all that I could to interest him. The President was exceedingly anxious about the war closing, and was apprehensive that we could not stand another campaign.

 

Soon after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee and his army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, in April, 1865, "Cincinnati" was retired from active service, thereafter enjoying almost a decade of peace and comfort on Admiral Ammen's Maryland estate near Washington until the end came in September, 1874, and he then received honorable burial."

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Red/Cyan (not red/blue) glasses of the proper density must be used to view 3D effect without ghosting. Anaglyph prepared using red cyan glasses from The Center For Civil War Photography / American Battlefield Trust. CCWP Link: www.civilwarphotography.org/

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