Fort Pulaski on the Savannah River

From isolated military posts to actual fortresses, there are literally hundreds of old forts across our great nation. While some are in ruins more remembered than recognizable, some have been restored and there are others which are still serving as active duty posts. Many old forts established by fur trading companies and those built to protect pioneers are long gone, but there are still dozens of forts that still stand today.

Forts in our history can be traced long before we became the United States of America. And here's a bit of trivia for my readers, Thomas Paine used the pen-name "Republicus" when writing about things such as liberty which would have surely gotten him hanged for treason. On June 29, 1776, Thomas Paine is believed to have been the very first person to make the first public declaration which called our new nation by the name "United States of America".

If you don't think he risked being hanged, please don't kid yourself. He and others who worked for American Independence were considered traitors in England. The feeling of wanting retribution against them did not end with the American Revolution. During the War of 1812, after years of Thomas Jefferson expounding his dread of America having a standing army, the British saw us as easy pickings and tried to retake this land -- especially since the British really saw America as rightfully theirs for years after the American Revolution.

During the Revolutionary War, forts were built by both sides. Many were coastal installations. Those built by American Patriots were known as "Patriot batteries". After we gained our independence in 1783, our coastal defense fortifications which were mostly in the East actually fell into disrepair because people at the time saw our security as last on a list of priorities.

It wasn't until eleven years later that our Congress created a combined unit of "Artillerists and Engineers" to design and build and garrison forts. So in 1794, believe it or not, a committee was setup to study coastal defensive needs. Congress then appropriated funds to construct a number of fortifications. Their effort of coastal defense become known as the First System.

All in all, thirteen harbors were chosen as locations for 20 fortifications. While those were low walled structures with low sloped earthworks, the concept behind their construction was that soft earth would deaden the effect of cannon fire of the walls being protected. And as for the low walls, well that was so there would be less of a target for naval cannons. Most of the First System installations were poorly funded, small, and never completely. 

The Second System of coastal defense went into effect using American engineers instead of European engineers. While that was a positive change, most projects went unfinished, and really did very little to defend the United States against the British in 1812. Fact is, coastal defensive positions was fragmented and pathetically weak when the British arrived and actually burned down our nation's capital during the War of 1812. 

Lessons were learned in the War of 1812. As a result of what took place, a new coastal defense system was designed. The new defense system was an attempt to protect our coasts. Because of what took place in the War of 1812, Congress appropriated over $800,000 in funds right after that war to install a coastal defensive system. That defensive system became known as the Third System. 

Initially, in 1821, early reports suggested that 50 sites would be needed to repeal an invasion. These locations stretched along the East coast, onto locations in the Gulf of Mexico, and up the Pacific coast. By 1850, nearly 200 locations were chosen for fortifications. As for armament, those Third System designed forts were intended to have 42-pounders which are 7-inch (178 mm) guns. But, because of shortages of those guns, 32-pounders which are 6.4-inch (163 mm) guns, 10-inch (254 mm) and 8-inch (203 mm) guns were used instead. 

The defensive works were larger structures then the First and Second System attempts with their guns mounted in taller very thick masonry walls, with layers of low masonry walls. Most Third System fortifications had two tiers of cannons versus the one tier cannons used in the First and Second System. Of course, it should be noted that while several towers and lone batteries were also built as part of the Third System, forts that were built for the First and Second System were also renovated at that time. Many of those older forts saw their small cannons replaced with larger cannons. 

Among the 42 forts started by the Army Corps of Engineers during that time, I believe only 30 were finished. The last one was actually finished after the Civil War in 1867. 

One of those Third System fortifications was Fort Pulaski in Savannah, Georgia. While I have been to a few of the forts, including Fort Point and Fort Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay, and the Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston, South Carolina, I was amazed at Fort Pulaski. It's also a National Monument. But it is more in that it's probably one of the best, if not the best, preserved fortifications of that period.

Keep in mind that close to 200 forts were seen as being needed to guard the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Besides my visiting Fort Pulaski back in the early 1990s, why do I find it so important to write about. Well, that specific fort is significant because it changed how Americans looked at such fortifications. In fact, because of what took place at Fort Pulaski during the Civil War, many of the other forts that were in the works were never completed .

Fort Pulaski is today a National Monument located on Cockspur Island between Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. In 1862 during the early part of the Civil War, the Union Army successfully used rifled cannon in combat. Fort Pulaski was the target. What took place at Fort Pulaski demonstrated that rifled cannons rendered brick fortifications obsolete.

As I said before, after the War of 1812, President James Madison ordered a new system of coastal fortifications to protect the United States against foreign invasion. Construction of a fort to protect the port of Savannah started in 1829. The work was being directed by U.S. Army Major General Babcock. One of his officers there was Second Lieutenant, and a recent graduate of West Point. His name was Robert E. Lee.

After graduating from West Point, 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee was in charge of designing the series of canals and earthworks that drained excess water from Cockspur Island. That was absolutely necessary to provide an adequate foundation for the fort's construction. Later during the Civil War, it's said that General Lee inspected the fort and was pleased to note that the dike system had worked as planned many years earlier.

In 1833, actually while construction was still ongoing, the fort at the mouth of the Savannah River would be named in honor of American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski. He was a Polish soldier who fought in the American Revolution under George Washington. Brigadier General Pulaski was a cavalryman who is said to have played a huge role in training American troops, and in fact inspired heroism on the field of battle. Among other battles, he took part in the sieges of Charleston and later Savannah.

On October 9th, 1779, at the young age of 34, General Pulaski commanded cavalry made up of both French and American troops during the siege of Savannah. It's said that he was trying to rally fleeing French troops when he was struck down by grapeshot. The young general was carried from the field of battle and taken aboard the South Carolina merchant brig privateer Wasp. He never regained consciousness and died two days later. He was truly admired by American Patriots.

It took from 1829 to 1847 to build Fort Pulaski. During those 18 years, a labor force under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included laborers, military servicemen, skilled masons, carpenters, and engineers. Some say skilled slaves also worked on building the fort. All of those men fought the humid Southern heat as well as mosquitoes during that huge undertaking. It should be noted that conditions were so horrible that construction on the massive two story fort was stop and go. If anyone has been in Savannah, Georgia, in the summer, then they know how rough the  humidity and heat can get. In the 1800s, it was no different and conditions were so bad in the summer that work had to stopped and personnel had to be replaced.

How about 25 million bricks? Yes, more than 25,000,000 bricks were used in it's construction. Much of the bricks were locally made in Savannah. Those brick were known as "Savannah Grey" because of their color. To supplement those bricks, more bricks were also shipped in from Maryland and Virginia. It's said the red bricks from Baltimore, Maryland, were harder than the Savannah Grey bricks. And also, believe it or not, granite and sandstone blocks were shipped in from New York and Connecticut.

One huge problem was that the muddy soft ground would not support the weight of the 25 million brick fort. So construction started with seventy foot long pilings being driven into the mud to provide stability for a wooden sub-floor which was made up of two layers of timber. This is what ended up providing direct support for the brickwork and granite blocks.

Fort Pulaski's walls average between five and eleven feet thick of solid brick. The fort's walls are 22 feet high inside, and 32 feet up from the outside moat. Yes, a moat. Fort Pulaski's moat averages seven to eight feet deep. The parade ground on the inside of Fort Pulaski stretches out over two acres.

The completed two tier structure is a truncated hexagon that faces east. All in all, the United States government spent nearly $1,000,000 in construction costs to build the fort. That was a huge amount of money back then. Imagine this, $1,000,000 in 1847 is equivalent in purchasing power to $30,696,585.37 in 2019. And for that money, it is said that in 1848 when the fort was completely armed, that the more than thirteen-thousand people of Savannah felt safe from foreign invasion.

Fort Pulaski was thought to be impenetrable except by only the largest land artillery. Smoothbore cannon of the time had a range of about a half mile. At the time, it was understood that beyond a distance of 700 yards smoothbore cannon and mortars would have little chance to break through heavy masonry walls. It was believed that beyond 1,000 yards, there was no chance at all of that taking place. Since the nearest point of land is Tybee Island which was a mile or more away, the fort was thought invincible to enemy attack. The fort was completed in 1847 and is said said to have had 48 guns to defend the Savannah River.

Lt. Robert E. Lee is believed to have remarked that "one might as well bombard the Rocky Mountains as Fort Pulaski".

In 1860, there were more civilian workers from nearby Savannah working in Fort Pulaski then there were Union administrators at the outbreak of the Civil War. In reality, the fort was under the control of only two caretakers. Why would that be the case? Who knows? I've never been able to find out why it wasn't garrisoned with regular troops.

It was at that time that Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown ordered the state of Georgia militia to take Fort Pulaski. Not long after the governor's order went out, a steamship carrying 110 Georgia militiamen from Savannah seized the fort for state of Georgia. A few months later, Georgia seceded from the Union in February of 1861 and joined the Confederacy. Right after that Confederate troops moved in to occupy the fort.

Five companies of Confederate troops formed the garrison of Fort Pulaski. Company B of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, the German Volunteers, the Washington Volunteers, and the Montgomery Guards were members of the 1st Regiment of Georgia Volunteers. The Macon Wise Guards was accredited to the 25th Regiment of Georgia Regulars. The total strength of the garrison was 385 officers and men. In command was Colonel Charles H. Olmstead of the 1st Volunteer Regiment.

The fort had 48 guns distributed evenly to command all approaches of the Savannah River. On the ramparts facing Tybee Island were five 8-inch and four 10-inch columbiads, one 24-pounder Blakely rifle, and two 10-inch seacoast mortars. In addition bearing on Tybee Island were one 8-inch columbiad and four 32-pounder guns. In batteries outside the fort were two 12-inch and one 10-inch seacoast mortars. The remaining guns were mounted to command the North Channel of the Savannah River and the sweeping marshes to the west of the river.

During the Confederate occupation of 1861, General Robert E. Lee visited the fort. He is said to have stood on the parapet of the fort with Colonel Olmstead, and pointed to the shore of Tybee Island. General Lee is said to have remarked, "Colonel, they will make it pretty warm for you here with shells, but they cannot breach your walls at that distance."

What was maybe the shortest siege during the Civil War took place at Fort Pulaski. It was in reality the only battle to take pace there. It took place from April 10th and lasted until the next day, April 11th, 1862.

In December of 1861, Union General Thomas Sherman sent Capt. Quincy A. Gillmore (later promoted to Brigadier General) to begin construction of batteries along the beaches of Tybee Island about 1 to 2 miles away across the Savannah River from Fort Pulaski. The island was thought to be too isolated and of no use to the South, so it was abandoned by Confederate forces. That was a bad move because that allowed Union forces to build batteries along the beaches of the island. It was from there that Union forces were able to blockade and then lay siege of Fort Pulaski. 

On January 28th, 1862, the fort's Confederate occupiers received a 6 month supply of food which was believed to last for a while longer with rationing. This meant starving them out would be a long drawn out affair that General Sherman did not want. He wanted a quick resolution to Fort Pulaski and the capture of the city of Savannah.  

It's said that while Copperhead Democrats who were supporting the Confederacy in the North were attacking President Lincoln and pushing for reconciliation with slavery kept in place in their newspapers, other Northern newspapers screamed for action against the South. 

A surprise to the Confederates occupying the fort came on the morning of February 13. That morning, a Confederate supply ship, Ida, came down the Savannah River on her regular trip to the fort. Unbeknownst to the supply ship was that Union forces had constructed a battery of heavy guns on the beached of Tybee Island. The Union forces opened up on the Ida. 

It's said that "the old sidewheeler ran the gauntlet under full steam with shots splashing in her wake. Luck was with her, for the Federal guns, after firing nine shots, recoiled off their platforms. It was the Ida's last trip to Pulaski. Two days later she slipped her moorings, ran down the South Channel under the guns of the fort, rounded the point at Lazaretto, and returned to Savannah through Tybee Creek and the Wilmington Narrows."

On February 14th, the United States Army ordered that an expeditionary force be expended with the mission of taking Fort Pulaski. It was at that same time that Union forces destroyed the telegraph line between Savannah and Cockspur Island. After February 15th, it's said that the only communication between Savannah and the fort was by couriers who made their way through the marshes in the dead of the night -- the whole while having to swim to avoid Union pickets.

It soon became evident that neither supplies nor reinforcements would arrive at the fort. It was a case of surrender or die since the Confederate troops were also cut off from escaping to the mainland.  

To most military professionals at the time, a long-range bombardment would merely serve to pave the way for a direct assault by troops. Capt. Gillmore saw things differently. As an engineer, he was familiar with the test records of a new weapon, a rifled cannon which the Army had begun to experiment in 1859.

So, on December 1st, 1861, when put in charge of establishing batteries on Tybee Island, he broke with traditional military professionals and requested rifled guns. So on the northwest shore of Tybee Island facing Fort Pulaski, he had erected 11 batteries for guns and mortars. 

It's said that their job was even more difficult because the last mile of the shore, which seven of the  batteries had been established, was just an open marsh. A marsh that was in full view of the fort and within effective range of its guns. Reports said that the work there was actually performed at night, and the men were not allowed to speak above a whisper because they knew noise traveled so much more at night. Instead they were guided by the notes of a whistle. Just before dawn, the Union troops would camouflage any evidence of their night's work.

Once the batteries were ready, each heavy gun was moved across the marsh on sling carts. The guns were so large and heavy that 250 or more Union troops were harnessed to the carts to pull them into place.

While the Union forces were busy preparing for an attack on Fort Pulaski, the Confederate occupiers worked long hours to prepare for the bombardment. It's said the "men were weary and apprehensive, but followed their orders" to prep for battle. In accordance with the instructions of General Robert E. Lee himself, the Confederate troops "tore down the light veranda in front of the officers' quarters and replaced it with a traverse or covered passage made of timbers and earth. They piled sandbags between the guns on the ramparts and dug rat holes in the terreplein for the protection of the gunners. To prevent round shot and shell from rolling, they cut the entire parade ground into wide traps and trenches."

Then there's the story of Blind Tom Wiggins. 

If you've never heard of Blind Tom, his story is something out of the ordinary in the South in the 1800s. Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins was born on May 25th, 1849, a black slave. By the Civil War, he was one of the best-known pianists in the nation. Today he is regarded as an autistic savant.

Blind at birth, he was sold in 1850 along with his enslaved parents, to a Columbus, Georgia, lawyer, known as General James Neil Bethune who was considered "almost the pioneer free trader" in the United States. Bethune was the first newspaper editor in the South to openly advocate Secession.

Because Tom was born blind and subsequently could not do the work normally demanded of slaves, his original owners wanted to kill him since he had no economic value to them. But, instead of killing him at birth, he was allowed to live on the Bethune plantation. Tom showed an interest in the piano after hearing one of Bethune's daughters playing a piano. By age five, Tom is said to have composed his first tune, The Rain Storm. 

Recognized by General Bethune for his skill, Tom was permitted to live in a room attached to the family house. He was given a piano, and Tom began to echo the sounds around him. By the age of four, Tom was able to repeat conversations up to ten minutes in length but was barely able to adequately communicate his own needs, resorting to grunts and gestures.

Bethune hired out "Blind Tom" from the age of eight years to concert promoter Perry Oliver, who toured him extensively in the US, performing as often as four times a day and earning Oliver and Bethune up to $100,000 a year which was an enormous amount of money at the time. Of course, Bethune's family made a fortune estimated at $750,000 at the hands of Blind Tom. Bethune hired professional musicians to play for Tom, who could faithfully reproduce their performances, often after a single listening. Seen as freak of nature by some, he was either compared to a genius or a baboon depending on the newspapers.

In Savannah, on the night before the battle of Fort Pulaski, a large audience, all of which were completely unaware of what was taking place on Tybee Island and at the fort, was actually being entertained by Blind Tom Wiggins. The famous black pianist played his original composition, "The Battle of Manassas" for his Confederate supporters. 

On the morning of April 10th, 1862, Union forces sent a messenger to the fort under a flag of truce. The messenger offered a note from Union Capt. Gillmore asking for the surrender of the Fort to prevent the needless loss of life. Confederate Colonel Charles H. Olmstead rejected the offer. He is actually said to have laughed at the request. The Confederates in the fort all believed that they had little to fear from the Union guns.

After the messenger returned, 10-inch and 13-inch mortar shells exploded in the air and fell short outside the fort. The few that made it into the fort dropped on the parade buried themselves in the ground of the wide traps and trenches. When they exploded, they were said to throw up "harmless geysers of mud." 

The walls of the fort were a different story. It's said that "whenever a ponderous solid shot from a columbiad landed squarely on the wall, the whole fort quivered and shook."

About 2 hours after the battle began, a solid shot entered an embrasure and dismounted the casemate gun. Several members of the gun crew were wounded. It's said one was so severely wounded that it was necessary to amputate his arm right them and there. 

At 11 o'clock that morning, the halyards on the flag pole were cut by shell fragments. The Confederate flag slit down within the fort. A few minutes later, "Lt. Christopher Hussey of the Montgomery Guards and Pvt. John Latham of the German Volunteers sprang upon the parapet and carried the flag under fire to the northeast angle where they raised it again on the ramrod of a cannon."

By noon, Union guns inflicted 47 holes on the fort's southeast face. By afternoon, cannon fire from both sides lessened. After sunset on April 10th, not more than 7 or 8 shells an hour were fired. That's the way it was until daylight the next morning. 

It is said that the fort, notwithstanding its holes and scars, didn't look too bad considering what it had been through. Among the Union troops, there was a feeling that the first day didn't accomplish a lot. Of course, since no one had been hurt in the Union batteries, many soldiers were not unhappy with that fact.

As for the fort, as stated, looking at the outside, the fort was still in pretty good shape. What they Union troops did not know is that the inside of the fort was in shambles. After all of the shelling, nearly all of the barbette guns and mortars leveled on Tybee Island and the Union position had been dismounted. Only two of the five casemate guns were in working order. At the southeast angle of the fort, the whole wall from the crest of the parapet to the moat was blown away to a depth of from 2 to 4 feet.

On Friday morning, April 11th, the bombardment increased on both sides at daylight. The Confederates in Fort Pulaski worked throughout the night to repair some of their guns. The Union troops resumed slamming into the fort. Their work to breach those thick walls became almost immediately apparent. Two embrasures on the left of the southeast face of the fort were seen almost immediately after the firing started. 

Fort Pulaski's fire was neither accurate or effective as the Union batteries were nearly all masked behind a low sand ridge and protected by heavy sandbag revetments. Most of the Confederate shot and shell buried themselves in the beach or traveled completely over the Union batteries and trenches. 

Soon that morning, other Union guns opened up on the fort. Union gunboat, USS Norwich began firing at the northeast face of the fort but the range was too great and her shots struck only glancing blows on the brick walls. A battery on Long Island opened up at long range from the west, and shots were landing on the south wall from guns located on a barge in Tybee Creek.

By noon, Union fire was concentrated on the guns on the ramparts of the fort and within half an hour these guns were silenced. By now, two great holes had been opened through the walls and the inside of the fort. It was at that time that Union forces were ordered to prepare to take Fort Pulaski by direct assault.

Meanwhile, Union projectiles from the rifled gun batteries were by then passing completely through the breach and across the parade ground. Those rounds were striking against the walls of the north magazine in which 40,000 pounds of powder was being stored. Seeing that was the situation, and knowing that the live of those there were to be lost, 25-year-old Confederate Colonel Olmstead made the decision to surrender. 

Private Landershine, who was at this time discussing the state of affairs with his comrades, wrote in his diary, "About 2-1/2 p. m. I seen Col. Olmstead and Capt. Sims go past with a rammer and a sheet, we all knew that it was over with us and we would have to give up."

The Confederate flag was lowered half way and a final gun was fired from a casemate. Then the flag was hauled down and the white sheet took its place. The Third System coastal fortifications had seen its only battle. And it, as the usefulness of such forts had come to an end.

When the Union troops saw the white flag, they danced together on the beach, shook hands, and cheered their commander. General Gillmore arrived at the fort under a flag of truce. He met Colonel Olmstead who was waiting at the entrance. They immediately drew up the unconditional surrender of the fort. After a cursory inspection of the fort, General Gillmore left after put Maj. Charles G. Halpine in charge of carrying out the logistics of taking over. 

Colonel Olmstead's officers gave up their swords. Their weapons were laid on a table, and each officer, according to his rank, advanced in turn, mentioned his name and title, and spoke a few words. When Colonel Olmstead stepped forward, he said, "I yield my sword, but I trust I have not disgraced it."

The men of the garrison were formed by companies on the parade, stacked their arms, and marched to quarters for the night. The Stars and Stripes was then raised over the ramparts, and Pulaski again became part of the possessions, as well as the property, of the Union. Terms of the surrender were .

Within six weeks of the surrender, Union forces repaired the Fort and all shipping in and out of Savannah ceased. The loss of Savannah as a viable Confederate port crippled the South's war effort. With the Fort securely in Union control, General David Hunter, commander of the Union garrison issued Gen. Order Number Seven, which stated that all slaves in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina were now free. 

President Abraham Lincoln quickly rescinded the order, but later issued his own Emancipation proclamation in 1863. Over time, Fort Pulaski was actually made a final destination on the Underground Railroad as slaves throughout the area were freed upon arrival on Cockspur Island.

In the newspaper at the time:

T  O  –  D  A  Y  ‘  S     N  E  W  S .
_________________________

F o r t   P u l a s k i   C a p t u r e d !

A  GALLANT  ACHIEVEMENT  !

BALTIMORE. April 15.—The Savannah Republican of the 12th announces the unconditional surrender of Fort Pulaski on the previous day.  Seven large batteries of parrott guns at King’s Landing, and all the barbette guns on that side, and three casemate guns were dismounted.

Colonel Olmstead, the rebel commander signaled the day previous to the surrender, that our fire was so terrible that no human being could stand upon the parapet for even a minute.

Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island, Commanding the Entrance to the Savannah River and City of Savannah, from “The Soldier in Our Civil War” 

FORTRESS MONROE, April 14.—A flag of truce went to Craney Island  this afternoon, and brought  back two Norfolk papers.  They were taken to headquarters and although containing the important information of the unconditional surrender of Fort Pulaski, an effort was made in accordance with the policy that prevails here to keep even good news from the representatives of the press.  I am however, able to give you the substance of the glorious news as published in the Savannah Republican.

The Republican says substantially that it learns with deep regret that after  a gallant defense against guns vastly superior that Fort Pulaski surrendered at two P.M. yesterday the 14th.

Corporal Law of the Pulaski Guards who did not leave Fort Thunderbolt until after the flag was hauled down brings the intelligence of the successful event.

The surrender was unconditional. Seven large breaches were made in the south wall by the federal battery of eight Parrott guns at King’s Landing.

All the barbette guns on that side were dismannered, and also three of the casemates, leaving but one gun bearing on that point.  A clear breach was made in the magazine.  The balls used were connical [sic], and were propelled with such force that they went clear through the walls at nearly every fire.

A Richmond paper contains an editorial exhibiting considerable fear for the safety of the city.  It intimates that the Monitor, Naugatuck and Galena, all armed vessels might easily come up James river and by their invulnerability and powerful guns, take and keep possession of the city.

To prevent such a result it proposes that the channel of the James river shall be obstructed by stone, which it says  is abundant for the purpose and should be used at once.  The Merrimac has not come out and nothing has been seen of her to day.  The tide had been low and this may have kept her in.

It is interesting to note that at the Battle of Fort Pulaski, Capt, Gillmore was breveted a Brigadier General and later he became a Major General of volunteers. In the two days of battle, there were 5,275 shot and shell fired against the fort. For the two-day battle, only two soldiers, one Confederate and one Union, were injured. Also, it's interesting that 100 sailors from the USS Wabash were landed on Tybee Island to man a Parrott cannon.

The Parrott cannon was invented by U.S. Army Captain Robert Parker Parrott. Parrott cannons were manufactured with a combination of cast and wrought iron. The cast iron made for an accurate gun, but was brittle enough to suffer fractures. Because of that flaw, a large wrought iron reinforcing band was overlaid on the breech to give it additional strength. By the end of the Civil War, both sides were using this type of gun extensively.

Union troops occupied Fort Pulaski from April of 1862 used as a military and political prison until the end of the Civil War. And from 1864 to 1865, the rooms that were once the southwest powder magazine where used by the Union troops to hold some Confederate officers in what was called "dark confinement."

There is another thing, what some might not recognize is that when the Confederate troops abandoned Tybee Island, they actually relinquished Fort Pulaski to its fate. If they had not given Union forces the only possible battery site, the fort may have survived.

So why was what happened at Fort Pulaski so significant?

As for the Civil War, taking Fort Pulaski enabled the Union blockade directed against the South to be extended. After the surrender, Union troops occupied the fort and commanded the entrance to Savannah which was the principal port of Georgia. Its occupation helped cutoff the commerce that funded the South's war effort. It's capture helped to cutoff the economic lifeblood of the South.

As for the bigger picture, Union General Hunter declared in his report to the Secretary of War, "The result of this bombardment must cause a change in the construction of fortifications as radical as that foreshadowed in naval architecture by the conflict between the Monitor and Merrimac. No works of stone or brick can resist the impact of rifled artillery of heavy caliber."

The fairly quick reduction of Fort Pulaski took the world by surprise at the time. The battle changed cannon technology and military strategy. The battle of Fort Pulaski demonstrated that the use of rifled artillery rendered stone fortifications obsolete.

Tom Correa

Geronimo's Death 1909

For many of us growing up in the 1950s and '60, we heard constant references to Geronimo. In most cases it was a scene where someone is talking about the "Apache Chief." Of course one of the things about those old movies and television westerns, they placed the Apache and Geronimo in places and situations that they were never in.

Also, while very well known as a Chief, Geronimo was not a Chief among the Mescalero-Chiricahua or any other band of Apache. He was a medicine-man and leader for the the Bedonkohe band of Apache. He's considered a great warrior, who led anywhere from 30 to 50 Apaches men and women on raids. But no, he was not considered a Chief. He had a following because he was smart and understood how to conduct raids and wage war against sheriff's posses and the U.S. Army.

Raids were a way of life for the Apache. They raided the Spanish when they were in power, and they raided American civilians after they arrived. They used raids as a way of conducting war, but mostly as a way of survival. During raids, they stole cattle and horses, as well as other livestock. No, it was not out of the question for a raiding party to go off with a pig or chickens. They would also rob their targets of food, supplies, clothing, and anything else they saw worth stealing. They were well known to kill the occupants of the homes and ranches that they raided. Besides killing them, they were known to torture and mutilate their victims. Yes, before setting fire to their homes, barns, other outbuilding, hay storage, and even wagons, on their way out.

Americans reacted by responding with attacks. Of course, as with anyone attacking without prejudice, sans torture and mutilation, the retaliation against the Apache was as ruthless and without quarter. In many cases, since there was no real way of knowing what Apache were involved in the attacks on settlers, the retaliation was not limited to those doing the raids. For years, as with the Spanish and Mexicans, Americans were raided and retaliated in a vicious cycle of attack and revenge while the body count mounted.

It's said that there were those of Geronimo's own Chiricahua tribe, those who respected his skill in battle and knew of his reputation as an effective leader, who did not like him. In fact, because of his carelessness when organizing raids, he was seen as using his followers for his own means instead of for the good of the Apache people. His followers saw Geronimo's supposed "powers" as sort of super-natural gifts. As a medicine-man, he was very powerful in his tribe who had many followers. But while he definitely had his followers, those Apache who really did stand in awe of the medicine that Geronimo possessed, there were others who saw his "powers" as nothing more than hate for whites.

In June of 1829, Geronimo was born with the name Goyaale which means "the one who yawns." He was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache, in No-Doyohn Canyon near Arizpe, Sonora, near Turkey Creek, which is a tributary of the Gila River. At the time it was still a part of Mexico. Today, that area is in the present-day state of New Mexico.  

As is not surprising to anyone, his parents raised him according to Apache traditions. And later after his father died, his mother gave him to the Tchihende Apache. He grew up with that tribe, and at age 17 was married to a woman named Alope. She was from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache. They had three children. Believe it or not. she was the first of nine wives. 

While most Apache leaders saw the advantages of raiding the Americans as a means to survive on plunder, it's said that Geronimo was different. There is a belief that Geronimo waged a personal war of revenge for the murder of his family. Yes, revenge on Mexicans and Americans. Both of which he saw as white.

On March 5, 1858, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora led by Colonel José María Carrasco attacked the Tchihende camp outside Janos, pronounced Kas-Ki-Yeh in Apache. It's said that Geronimo and the majority of the other men of the band were in town getting supplies when the attack took place. The Mexican soldiers wiped out the village. Among those slaughtered in the attack was his first wife, all three of their children, and his mother. 

Later, Geronimo said this of that massacre:

"Late one afternoon when returning from town we were met by a few women and children who told us that Mexican troops from some other town had attacked our camp, killed all the warriors of the guard, captured all our ponies, secured our arms, destroyed our supplies, and killed many of our women and children. Quickly we separated, concealing ourselves as best we could until nightfall, when we assembled at our appointed place of rendezvous — a thicket by the river. Silently we stole in one by one, sentinels were placed, and when all were counted, I found that my aged mother, my young wife, and my three small children were among the slain."

After that, Geronimo and his followers took revenge on any Mexican when they had the chance. He would hate Mexicans for the rest of his life, and lumped Americans in with them. He saw Mexicans and Americans as one and the same. He considered them all whites.

Geronimo's chief was a man by the name of Mangas Coloradas. He realized Geronimo's burning desire for revenge and sent him to Cochise's band. Chief Cochise was the leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen. He was well recognized chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache. His band would be the one's to give him the name Geronimo.

The story of his name is interesting in that there are a number of different reasons given for that band calling him Geronimo. Supposedly, it was the result of how he conducted himself during a fight with a group of Mexican soldiers. During that fight, he ignored the gunfire and charged the Mexican soldiers with a knife and started slashing away. Some say he fought as if possessed and the soldiers supposedly called out "Jerónimo" during the fight. Jerónimo being Spanish for Saint Jerome who they were supposedly asking for help.

I really don't put a lot of faith in that version simply because I have a hard time believing that soldiers in battle will be calling out the name of the patron Saint of archaeologists, scholars, librarians, students, and translators. I can see them calling out for the patron Saints of soldiers which are Saint Ignatius, Saint George, and of course Saint Michael.

Others say Geronimo was simply a name he got from that band, and it's translation is lost. So really, from what I can tell, no one really knows the meaning of it.

Geronimo and members of the Tchihende, the Tsokanende and the Nednhi bands of the Chiricahua Apache waged war on the United States in what is today New Mexico and Arizona. When he was finally captured, he was placed on a Apache reservation in Arizona. Reservation life was one of confinement. For free-ranging Apache, it's no wonder they had a great deal of animosity for those who have changed their way of life. Of course, just because he was placed on a reservation didn't mean that he was staying there and actually broke-out on three different occasions.

In 1886, after an intense pursuit, Geronimo surrendered for the last time to Lt. Charles Bare Gatewood who was an Apache-dialect speaking West Point graduate. When Geronimo was later transferred to General Nelson Miles, the general is said to have treated Geronimo as a prisoner of war and sent him to Fort Bowie. From there, he and others who General Miles saw as combatants were sent to join the rest of the Chiricahua tribe relocated to Florida.

After his capture, Arizona's civil authorities wanted him tried and hanged for the deaths of a large number of Americans who he was responsible for killing during this raids. The U.S. Army pressed jurisdiction and asserted that he was a prisoner of war. Of course, while supposedly a prisoner of war, a POW, believe it or not, the man responsible for the murder and mutilation of a great number of Americans actually achieved a celebrity status of sorts. Yes, so much so that an Eastern newspaper who was a sponsor for 1898 Trans-Mississippi International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska.

He was also invited to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis to be their guest there. In an act which angered a lot of folks in the Southwest, the U.S. Army granted him leave and he showed up at the fair as an honored guest. While there, he is said to have rode a Ferris wheel and even sold souvenirs such as photographs of himself. Yes, while guarded be U.S.Army soldiers, Geronimo dressed in traditional Apache clothing and posed for photographs. In reality, the Apache leader Geronimo was turned into a tourist attraction.

After the fair, Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show made a deal with the U.S. Army for Geronimo join the show. Of course, while again under guard since he was technically still a prisoner of war. In fact, he was allowed to travel with the show, always with soldiers assigned to be his guards. All in all, that Wild West Show made him a huge celebrity as well as a great deal of money.

Though technically still a prisoner of war, his celebrity status was so that he was invited to ride in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 Inaugural Parade. And there in Washington D.C., accompanied by five real Native American Chiefs was Geronimo who rode horseback down Pennsylvania Avenue. All the while dressed in full headgear which was burrowed from the Wild West prop department.

Later during that Inauguration week, Geronimo met President Theodore Roosevelt. During their brief meeting, Geronimo asked that the Chiricahua Apache be relieved of their status as prisoners of war, and allowed to return to their homeland in Arizona. To his credit, President Roosevelt refused Geronimo's request. President Roosevelt stated the fact that there was a great deal of ongoing animosity in Arizona for what Geronimo and his band did not that long before their meeting. His band was responsible for the killing and mutilations of a large number of men, women, and children. Civilians who were not combatants who were killed in Geronimo's quest for revenge.

Supposedly, through an interpreter, President Roosevelt told Geronimo, "You killed many of my people; you burned villages, you murdered the innocent, and were not good Indians. You had a bad heart." 

As for his death? And I'm sure you were wondering when I was going to get around to talking about how Geronimo died. Well it wasn't in some hail of gunfire. Actually, in February of 1909, Geronimo was riding home when his horse spooked and he was thrown. Being thrown didn't kill him, but since he's said to have laid in the cold all that night before someone found him the next day, he contracted pneumonia. On February 17, 1909, he died of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He died at the Fort Sill hospital. He was buried at Fort Sill's Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery.

There's a story about how he told his nephew that he shouldn't have surrendered and instead have been killed like the others that he had gotten killed seeking revenge. But frankly, I have no idea where that legend comes from. To me, it may have just been something he said for his followers considering it seems that he was doing pretty good for himself after he "surrendered". Consider this, he married eight more women, made a lot of money on the Wild West circuit, sold a lot of pictures of himself, met the president of the United States, was treated as a celebrity in spite of being considered a "prisoner of war" which is sort of laughable since I gather some of the soldiers "guarding" him were known to quit and request other duty because they were more his servants than guards.

As for the supposed theft of Geronimo's skull which is another legend pertaining to Geronimo? There was a rumor going around in the 1920s that grave-robbers had dug him up and stolen his skull for one reason or another. The rumor took off until the U.S. Army got tired of denying that it ever happened. It was then in 1928, that the Army certified that the grave was not disturbed and would make sure it remained that way in the future. To do that, the folks in charge of Fort Sill ordered Geronimo's grave covered with concrete.

How did people see him when he was alive? During his time, Geronimo is said to have had a reputation of brutality that was unmatched by his contemporaries. With his followers, he had a reputation as a great warrior, a man with almost super natural powers. With Americans living in the East who were not affected by his raids, those who didn't know what he was responsible for doing, they saw him as a celebrity who some thought should not have been a prisoner of war guarded by the U.S. Army. For Americans in the Southwest, those whose families and friends were butchered in many cases, his reputation was one of a ruthless murderer, a butcher who evaded a noose.

Tom Correa

It Was Hurricane Bill -- Not Shanghai Pierce

Like many of us, I was brought up on westerns, both movies and television. As many of you know, while I love them for their entertainment value, I've stated time and time again how they were not very historically accurate.

For example, a lot of films portray Wyatt Earp as younger than John Henry "Doc" Holliday. In fact, the real Wyatt Earp was three years older than Holliday. That age difference my be why Doc was in real life known to be closer with Morgan Earp than Wyatt. Morgan and Doc were known to socialize together a lot more than Wyatt and Doc.

Another example of Hollywood getting things wrong is the age of Ike Clanton. Many movies depict him as an older man when in fact he was only 34 years-old in 1881.

Some films depict Virgil Earp as getting to Tombstone with Wyatt and Morgan. Yet, in fact, Virgil was there first and wired his brothers to let them know about the opportunities there. Another thing, Virgil Earp was actually dispatched to Tombstone as a Deputy U.S. Marshal because of the rustling problem on the border. The Mexican government complained to Washington D.C. about Americans raiding ranches in Mexico. Thus, Virgil, who was already a Deputy U.S. Marshal out of Prescott, was sent to Tombstone to investigate what was taking place down there.

While the Clanton gang was in fact stealing cattle from Mexico, sort of like Captain Woodrow Call and Gus McCrea did in the movie Lonesome Dove, Mexicans were also stealing cattle from Americans on this side of the river. The Mexican government is believed to have turned a blind eye to their people raiding American ranches.

As for the historical "Vendetta Ride" which many films have looked at, it was in fact a murderous rampage which was carried out with no legal authority. While the justice system worked fine for the Earps previously, after Morgan was ambushed and those who he suspected of killing Morgan were exonerated, Wyatt decided to take the law into his own hands. Wyatt held the office of Deputy US Marshal at the time to enable the arrest of the cowboys, but warrants were issued against him and his deputies for extra-judicial murder. Yes, for the murder of Frank Stilwell who the autopsy showed was shot dead with 5 different caliber weapons and not just a shotgun as Wyatt Earp stated later.

One of the more interesting aspects of the Earp Vendetta Posse fleeing Arizona to evade murder charges is how Pima County Sheriff Bob Paul rode to Colorado with extradition papers for Wyatt and Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, and the others, in 1882. Paul was supposed to bring them back to Arizona for trial. It's interesting that Paul served the warrant to Doc, but he did not serve the warrants to the Earp brothers or the others because of his friendship with them. Of course, later Colorado Governor Pitkin refused to honor Arizona's extradition request on the basis of Bat Masterson's fake charges. Bat fabricated charges to keep the Earps in Colorado. That stopped the Earps and the others involved in the killing of Frank Stilwell from ever leaving Colorado. That's how they evaded justice.

In all, there were 34 shots fired. Since only 7 men were involved in the actual gun battle, that means not everyone got all of their shots off. That is presuming that all had 6 and not the customary 5 loaded in their pistols. Since there were seven six-guns and a double-barrel shotgun there, that comes out to 44 rounds on hand. Someone was left with rounds left. If we watch some films, it seems like a lot more rounds were fired.

In the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, there are a number of inaccuracies. But to only cover a few of the worse, let's start with the actual gunfight. It took place on October 26th, 1881, and in reality only lasted thirty seconds. In the end, Billy Clanton and Frank and Tom McLaury died in the exchange.

The fictional OK Corral gunfight in that movie was a long drawn-out rolling firefight that lasted all of five minutes. It included a wagon on fire, a bridge, shooting from a ditch, Wyatt Earp chasing a Billy Clanton to a general store to shoot him through a window. In that film, Doc Holliday, played by Kirk Douglas, shoots Johnny Ringo in a stable. Of course, we know that Ringo was not shot dead at the gunfight near the OK Corral. But then again, let's presume no one told Hollywood. And if someone did, they probably didn't care.

One of the tidbits of trivia on that film is that there was word in Hollywood at the time that Hal Wallis wanted to cast Humphrey Bogart as Doc Holliday. John Sturges wanted Robert Mitchum to play Holliday. Instead, the film's stars were actor Kirk Douglas who played Doc Holliday and actor Burt Lancaster who played Wyatt Earp minus a mustache.

It's said that Lancaster studied old newspapers to get a feel for who Wyatt Earp was and found him to be a lot less of the boy-scout than the movie wanted to portray him. Lancaster is said to have argued with Sturges about Earp's character in that Lancaster saw Wyatt Earp as being a lot more seedy.

At one point in the film, a scene called for an unarmed Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) to be confronted by Shanghai Pierce and more than a dozen of his Texas cowboys in a saloon. Yes, including Johnny Ringo who somehow found his way there. In the film, Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday comes to the rescue by stealing another man's pistol and tossing it to Lancaster to save the day. Together they stand off the whole crew. It's said that Lancaster fought with Director John Sturges over that scene since there is no record anywhere, in any newspaper or journal, other than in Stuart Lake's fictional Earp biography, of that ever taking place.

Wyatt Earp’s authorized biography is full of tall tales. One of the stories out of his memoirs, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal is about arresting Shanghai Pierce. That how is ended up a scene in the movie.

The story goes that Earp disarmed Shanghai Pierce because he was in violation of the no carry law in Wichita, Kansas. Supposed, in early summer 1874, Wyatt Earp was a Wichita police officer when he was called to assist fellow officer Bill Potts. In his book, Potts is identified as Samuel Botts.

Botts was confronting a drunken Shanghai Pierce who had a 1873 Colt Peacemaker on his hip and tied to his leg ready for a gunfight. Pierce was supposedly in violation of the no-firearms law, and causing a disturbance right there in the middle of Main Street. So much so, that traffic on Main Street came to a halt.

According to Earp's memoir, Botts didn't have what it took to handle the situation -- so he had to step in to take care of things. All in a single stroke, Wyatt Earp grabbed Pierce's gunhand while at the same time relieving the Texas cattleman of his pistol. He then, according to Earp, picked up the 6-foot-4 Shanghai by the seat of his trousers and got him off the street and into a packed saloon where he was going to deal with the unruly Texan. But to his surprise, the saloon was packed with anywhere from 40 to 80 of Shanghai's men. Yes, 40 to 80!

The Texas cowboys didn't like the way Earp was treating their boss, so all pulled their pistols on Earp. This is when supposedly Doc Holliday comes to the rescue and stands off all 40 to 80 of the Texans while tossing a pistol to Wyatt Earp. According to the film, Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster get the drop on the cowboys and they hauled them all to a judge where they were fined a total of $1000 and told to get out of town. This is from Earp's book.

Wow! Was that exciting or what! Too bad it didn't happen.

The closes thing that we know took place, which was in a local newspaper in July of 1874, involved Wichita police officer Bill Potts who came across a man carrying a gun within the city limits. Potts did in fact disarm him. But while leading him to jail, seven of the man's friends started to crowd Potts with the intention of preventing him from making the arrest. When that happened, a citizen saw what was taking place and used the iron triangle outside of the courthouse, which was used as a police alarm, to call for help. The triangle outside the courthouse at First and Main clanged away and soon brought police officer Wyatt Earp to backup officer Bill Potts.

But also, it's said that about 50 armed citizens also showed up to backup officer Potts. So no, Earp was not alone. And while some refer to them as Wichita's "secret police," they were in fact the local vigilance committee and they responded armed with shotguns and rifles. The citizens outnumbered those up against Potts and all were soon taken into custody. The judge's report does identify the men who were tried and fined. It does not say they were Texas cowboys. As for Shanghai Pierce, the name of Abel Pierce is not among those listed in the judge's report.

In 1873, Shanghai Pierce was hired to act on behalf of Wichita in secure herds. He was paid $2000 by the city of Wichita to do just that. In the summer of 1874, Pierce was in Ellsworth on a similar arrangement. Ellsworth hired him because a lot of trail-bosses were sick and tired of how business was being conducted in Wichita.

By 1874, Wichita had gained a bad reputation of buffaloing cowboys for no reason, cheating cowboys at the gambling houses, rolling them for their wages or their winnings, and the police either turned a blind eye to what was going on -- or arrested the cowboys on trumped up charges for the fines that the city would collect. Also, a police officer in Wichita got an extra $4 a head for every cowboy they arrested. Bashing cowboys was a very lucrative proposition -- guilty or not.

Because of those things, and more, including some merchants in Wichita not wanting to serve black cowboys, Ellsworth was one of the towns that trail-bosses looked at as an alternative shipping point. Many a herd was steered clear of Wichita because of crooked cops, price gouging from the merchants, because their hands were treated like second class citizens, and more.

There is something else. While it sounds like it could have been a few cowboys defending one of their own, the incident is believed to have had nothing to do with Texas cowboys. Those arrested were believed to be part of a small outlaw gang ran by an hombre known as Hurricane Bill Martin. The fines levied against them were only $17 a piece for seven of them, and the figure of $1,000 is believed to refer to the amount of the bond set for Hurricane Bill's release.

Hurricane Bill Martin's real name was William A. Martin. He is said to have been a stocky, 200 pound, 6 foot tall, horse thief and desperado. According to him, he was an Indian fighter, buffalo hunter, and gunfighter.

By the way, did you notice that I said "according to him"? That's the reason that he was given the name "Hurricane." It's because he was known to tell tall tales. He was pretty "windy." It seemed to be the thing to do back in the day if you wanted to inflate your reputation. You simply did it yourself.

According to reports, he was confronted by the Wichita police and the local vigilantes in 1874 in Wichita for disturbing the peace. As for Wyatt Earp, he was not a police officer in Wichita until April of 1875. Subsequently, in 1874 when that incident took place, Earp was only acting as a low paid city patrolman. Earp hadn't even been officially sworn in as an officer. As I said, that didn't happen until 1875.

As for Hurricane Bill, by 1875, he was supposedly an Army scout while still out stealing horses and being a badman. He was known to be in Dallas early that year and was arrested with a couple of ladies for running a "disorderly house." Yes, for running an unlawful whorehouse. It is interesting that he and Doc Holliday, who was arrested at the same time for "illegal gaming in a saloon," were both told to leave Dallas at the same time.

Hurricane Bill showed up at Ft. Griffin, Texas, and feel in with a prostitute that everyone called "Hurricane Minnie." She had the same problem of being "windy." Bill was arrested there for gambling, pimping, public drunkenness, and being involved in two shootings where no one was injured. Believe it or not, the Hurricane couple got married in May of 1876.

There was a report that Hurricane Bill Martin was killed during an argument in Dodge City, Kansas. On September 8th, 1879, a man by the name of A.H. Webb hit Bill in the head with a Winchester rifle when Bill threatened to kill him. It was obvious that Bill met someone that took him by his word and killed him first. A rifle his across the head was enough to kill him.

When I was much younger, I really thought Shanghai Pierce was a badman in real life. Little did I know back then how Hollywood lies while trying to get us to believe things that they simply make up. Fact is, the real Shanghai Pierce really was nothing like actor Ted de Corsia's character in the film Gunfight at the OK Corral.

In fact, he was completely opposite of the character which Hollywood portrayed him to be. And that story, the story of Shanghai Pierce, will be coming up very soon. I'm working on that right now!

Tom Correa

This Should Not Happen In America

I just read about a 23 year old model who had to hide the fact that she was a Trump supporter out of fear of losing her job. She actually worked on the 2016 Trump Campaign, and hid that fact out of fear of reprisal.

The story, Model hid Trump support out of fear it would kill her career: ‘I couldn’t tell anyone’ was written by Dana Schuster for the New York Post.

According to the report:

"Elizabeth Pipko, a 23-year-old model who has appeared in Maxim, has kept a secret from her industry colleagues out of fear it could derail her career: She was a Donald Trump supporter and worked full-time on his 2016 presidential campaign. Here, the Midtown West resident tells Dana Schuster the lengths she went to hide her political affiliation from the liberal-leaning fashion world — and why she’s finally coming clean about loving Trump.

I decided to volunteer for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the spring of 2016. I never leaned liberal or conservative, but there was something about Trump — the way he spoke and his honesty — that had me convinced he was our next president. I worked in a call center in Trump Tower. Within eight weeks, I was hired as a national volunteer services coordinator for the data team and paid $4,000 a month.

It was clear from the start that, if I wanted to survive in modeling, I couldn’t tell anyone about my new job. Once, after working a 10-hour-day on the Trump campaign, I went to meet with my manager (who was not affiliated with a modeling agency). He and a colleague were enraged, screaming about how much they hate Trump. My manager kept saying how evil the people who work for him must be and that he would never work with anyone who supported him.

I was terrified they would find out that I was one of the so-called evil people. So I lied and told people I was coaching ice skating — I was a competitive figure skater for seven years — whenever I was really hard at work in Trump Tower. When I ran into a modeling friend on my way there one day, I immediately hid my badge and said I was running errands. But at every modeling job or meeting, the talk inevitably turned to Trump, and it was always high-stress.

At one shoot, the photographer came in wearing a black T-shirt with a gigantic red slash over Trump’s face. I was so unnerved, I could barely concentrate on the job at hand. Another time, in July 2016, Trump had said something controversial and it was all over the news. I was at Miami Swim Week for fashion shows, and the 15 other models were bashing him. I just sat in the corner and pretended to be on my phone. I didn’t want to be ostracized.

Once, when I was at Trump Tower, I ran into a big-time male model I knew from Wilhelmina, the agency that first signed me when I was 17. He was volunteering for the campaign, but he asked me not to tell anyone that I had seen him there — and I said the same.

After the race, because it was public record that I worked for the President, every time you started to type “Elizabeth Pipko” into Google’s search bar, Trump’s name would pop up alongside mine. A booker at my current agency, DAS, asked me about it, confused and a bit concerned. I told him had no idea! My brother created a program that would continuously search my name with other keywords to get “Trump” bumped out. But now that it’s been two years since the election, I don’t want to keep silent any longer. Even if that means saying goodbye to modeling forever."

-- end of article.

The above story illustrates how truly horrible things have gotten right here in our United States. After reading this account, I really believe there's absolutely no where in America where this sort of thing should take place. Absolutely no where. No American citizen should ever feel terrified of losing a job or worse because they support a candidate who others don't.

What is going on today makes Americans look terrible in the eyes of the world. For example, Americans wearing red MAGA hats, hats that say "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," are routinely attacked. A judge on the East Coast has ruled that wearing a MAGA hat is enough to refuse the wearer service. And as for Hollywood, today there are celebrities who are comparing wearing a red MAGA hat to the hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan.

Image the idiocy of that for a minute. Imagine how we look to the world. How can anyone with even an ounce of intelligence compare wearing a red MAGA hat in support of the idea of making American more prosperous, improving our standard of living, putting all Americans back to work, to the hood worn by the Ku Klux Klan which was created by the Democratic Party to terrorize and lynch freed slaves and Republican administrators in the South during the Reconstruction Era?

How can anyone compare a red MAGA ballcap with those murderers who fought against Civil Rights to keep the Democratic Party in power in the South? And by the way, who is leading this charge against such things as MAGA hats? The very same Democratic Party that created the Ku Klux Klan, who created Segregation and Jim Crow laws, who fought against the 1964 Civil Rights Act to stop Black Americans from having the right to vote, and who fought against Women's Rights.

Yes, yet they are saying that a red MAGA hat is no different than the hood worn by the KKK. Why would anyone say such a stupid thing? For what reason? Why would anyone pit American against American? What reason is there other then to create an atmosphere of hate and divisiveness.

As far as persecuting people for their political beliefs?

This is a resurgence of a past that most Americans believe would never take place here again. The last time America had this type of political litmus test was during the 1950s. It was during the McCarthy Era when Americans learned about "McCarthyism" which was the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy was a horrible individual who accused people who were ultimately "blacklisted" and in many cases lost their jobs even though there was no evidence of them doing anything wrong. Many Americans at the time had to sign loyalty oaths for employment. If they didn't, they were denied jobs. It's true. I had a friend who had to sign a loyalty oath when he became a teacher. It was a time when an employer could require applicants to sign a loyalty oath. If the person seeking the job didn't sign as required, then they simply didn't get the job.

This is something that we Americans see taking place in other countries, but not ours. I really believe that we see ourselves as above that sort of treatment of others.

Americans fought and died to liberate Europe and defeat Nazi Germany during World War II. Before our entering the war, during the 1930s, the people in Nazi Germany were so dedicated to Adolph Hitler that there were those who turned in others to the police -- because they were seen as "less loyal" to the Nazi Party. Is this the new Democratic Party? Are people less loyal to the Democrat Party going to lose their livelihood or worse? Remember, President Obama used the IRS to investigate and audit Americans who were not his supporter.

In Nazi Germany, those opposing the Nazi Party weren't the only persecuted. At the time, German Jews were also being targeted. In many instances, if they could, it was known that some in Nazi Germany hid the fact that they were Jewish just to avoid persecution.

Is this the new America? Is America now a place where if you are not a Trump hater, not a Democrat, not a Liberal, not a supporter of Hillary, Pelosi, Schumer, Warren, or others of that political party, then you can lose your job if that's found out? Is this what we have become? If we don't all adhere to the political party in favor, then we're screwed? Is that it? Have we become a nation where a complete subservience to the Democratic Party is required, or you risk everything that you may have worked for?

The bottom line is that we Americans should not be worried about losing our livelihood, our prospects of employment, our careers coming to an end, because of the political party or the politician who we support. Americans should not have to hide our support for any political candidate out of fear of losing our jobs or ruining our careers. Our jobs should not be dependent on who we support during an election, or what president we support or not.

This is bigger than model Elizabeth Pipko. It speaks to Union members, tradesmen and women, police officers, store clerks, truck drivers, teachers, and an array of others in thousands of occupations.

We, the American people, should not have to be made to take some sort of loyalty oath to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. We should no have to pretend we hate President Trump for the sake of appeasing an employer. We should not be forced to pretend that we support the candidate our boss supports in order to keep a job.

While this is not exactly on the lines of having to do with the Old West, cowboys, horses, and so on that I usually write about. It does have to do with our history and it goes to the heart of our American freedoms. No one should be worried about hiding their preferences for or against a political party or candidate out of fear of reprisals. This viciousness really has to stop. This sickness needs to end.

Tom Correa

Union General John Sedgwick -- His Loss Was Felt

General John Sedwick

In my article, The Late 1800s - U.S. Military Action Abroad, I mention: "While it is true that the Navy and Marine Corps was key to conflicts around the world, in November of 1866, the U.S. Army was deployed to Mexico to protect American residents along our Southern Border. Or rather, a unit under General Sedgwick deployed itself to defend the U.S. - Mexico border.

It's true, U.S. Army General Sedgwick and 100 Soldiers left Brownsville Texas and crossed the Rio Grande to obtain the surrender of the city of Matamoras where outlaws had ruled the town. They did this without orders from Washington. After 3 days, and a quick campaign to rid the border of problems, General Sedgwick was ordered by the Chiefs in Washington to withdraw. Later, his act was repudiated by the President as an act of an over-zealous Officer. But yes, it took care of the problem for a while!"

Well, I've been taken to task over this. As my reader put it, "General Sedgwick died in 1864 and subsequently couldn't have been in Mexico in 1866."

Union Army General John Sedgwick was a soldier's soldier. He was born on September 13, 1813. In 1860, Col. Sedgwick was the commander of an expedition to establish a new fort on the Platte River in present day Colorado. It is said that the remote location had no railhead nearby. This meant that all of their supplies had to be either packed in by mules and horses, before eventually coming in by wagons from riverboats. Before the supplies started to arrive, it's said hunger and starvation was looking them in the face. While they hunted for what game there was, they built shelters to brave that winter. It was an experience that gave him a reputation of staying calm in a bad situation.

During the Civil War, he missed the First Battle of Bull Run because he was recovering from cholera. But soon after that, he was commanding a brigade and then a division. At the Battle of Antietam, his commander was General Sumner. It was there that General Sedgwick's division was sent in mass to engage Confederate forces under General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Confederates were on three sides and General Sedgwick's troops were slaughtered.

After all was said and done, he lost almost half of his men. And he was shot three times, once in the wrist, in the leg, and in the shoulder. The huge loss of Union troops, and the wounds inflicted upon General Sedgwick were a result of a superior officer foolishly ordering his unit into a battle without proper reconnaissance.

His wounds kept him out of the fighting for a while. In fact, his wounds kept him from participating in the Battle of Fredericksburg. Later though, under his command, his troops played an important role in the Chancellorsville Campaign at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Salem Church. As for his involvement at the Battle of Gettysburg, his corps was the last to arrive. So no, they did not see much action there.

General John Sedgwick was killed by a sniper, what was known as a sharpshooter back in those days. That happened at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 9, 1864. He is well remembered for his  last words. When told he saw his men dodging incoming rounds, he said, "Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Those were his last words.

It's said that the Confederate sharpshooter was anywhere from 800 to 900 yards away. Some reports say 1000 yards away. The sharpshooter was using a Whitworth rifle when he placed a round under the General's left eye.

The Whitworth rifle was an English-made muzzle-loading single-shot rifled musket. It was a .45 caliber rifled musket that had an effective range from 800 to 1,000 yards. It's maximum range was said to be 1,500 yards. A good rifleman could get 2 to 3 rounds off in a minute. As is the case, a sharpshooter takes longer than that to do their handy work. Such is life for a slow moving sniper who wants to place his shot exactly where he wants it to go.

As a point of interest, because of it's excellent long range accuracy when used with a scope, the Whitworth rifle is considered the world's first sniper rifle. I find it interesting that General Sedgwick and General John F. Reynolds, who was killed on July 1st, 1863, at Gettysburg, are two of the four highest-ranking Union soldiers to be killed in the Civil War. Both Union Generals Sedgwick and Reynolds were killed by Confederate sharpshooters using Whitworth rifles.

On the last day of his life, General Sedgwick's chief of staff was Col. Martin T. McMahon. He reported the General's death, "I remember distinctly that I commenced to say 'General, they are firing explosive bullets.' when his face turned slowly to me, and blood spurting from his left cheek under the eye in a steady stream, brought to me the first knowledge of our great disaster. He fell in my direction and I was so close to him that my effort to support him failed, and I went to the ground with him."

Though medical personnel rushed to his aid, fifty-year old General Sedgwick never regained consciousness.

General Sedgwick was fondly referred to by his troops as "Uncle John". It's said that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant couldn't accept that he was dead. In fact, he is said to have repeatedly asked, "Is he really dead?" General Grant told his staff that the loss of General Sedgwick was worse than than that of an entire division.

Confederate Robert E. Lee who served with his old friend before the war is said to have asked to be alone after hearing of his death. Another old friend was Union General George G. Meade. He openly wept at the news of his death. Yes, General John Sedgwick sounds like an outstanding officer.  

There are a few statues of him here and there. One monument of General Sedgwick is at the United States Military Academy (USMA), also known as West Point. There is a legend at the academy that says, a cadet who spins the rowels of the spurs on the boots of General Sedgwick's statue at midnight while wearing full parade dress gray over white uniform under arms will have good luck on his or her final exam. 

It's true. tradition says a cadet has to visit the statue and spin the General's spur rowels at the stroke of midnight. The cadet then has to run like hell back to the barracks as fast as he or she can. Again, according to legend, if General Sedgwick's ghost catches them, then they will fail the exam. If not, the cadet will pass the exam and the course. 

While being out of their rooms after midnight is definitely against West Point regulations, it's also said that such violations have been known to be overlooked for the sake of tradition. It would be interesting to know how many cadets have actually tried doing this. Or more importantly, it would be interesting to find out how many felt that they needed to do this to get through a course.

Col. Thomas D. Sedgwick

Now to the original question of how could he die in 1864 and lead 100 U.S. Army troops to invade and occupy a small city across our Southern border in 1866? 

Well, he can't. That's because the General Sedgwick who led those 100 troops to invade that town on his own was not General John Sedgwick but was actually General Thomas D. Sedgwick. Yes, a second General Sedgwick.

As for General Thomas D. Sedgwick, while I can't find almost anything about him, I did find that he did in fact take 100 of his troops into Mexico in November of 1866 because of attacks on American citizens on the border. 

Because it was an embarrassment to the United States government, as he did in fact occupy the city of Matamoras for 3 days, I can't help but wonder if he was still a General after returning to this side of the river. The U.S. Army doesn't appreciate their commanders using our troops for such unauthorized actions. 

Tom Correa

It's the Cowboy Way

Chris Potter, Russell Powell, and Lance Alcorn ready to leave with donations

Imagine a fire that takes lives and burns over a million acres. In early 2017, fires raged through the Texas Panhandle, Kansas, and Oklahoma. About the same time that year, wildfires also ravaged parts of Colorado.

In Texas, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported that nearly 500 square miles burned to the ground in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border. At the same time, a separate fire to the south burned more than 200 square miles. And believe it or not, those two weren't the only fires being fought in Texas as a another fire to the west, near Amarillo, also took its toll on the land and the people there.

Along with thousands of head of livestock killed in those Texas fires, homes and barns were destroyed. And sadly, people were also killed. There were a few folks who died in Texas, but Oklahoma and Kansas also saw the loss of precious lives.

In Gray County, it's said that Sydney Wallace and Cody Crockett both died while trying to save cattle and horses. The same happened to rancher Sloan Everett when he was lost trying to save his cattle and horses. In Lipscomb County, Cade Koch died as a result of that fire.

Along with crews from the Texas A&M Forest Service and Department of Public Safety, firefighters from Hoover, McLean, Groom, Wheeler County, Pampa, Gray County, Carson County, Donley County and Wheeler County were all called. And yes, parts of Ochiltree, Hemphill, Roberts, and  Potter counties were also ablaze.

In the end, it was reported by the Texas Cattle Feeder's Association that more than 5,000 head of cattle were in immediate need of hay and feed supplies. As with such emergencies, thankfully an outpouring of support started and soon there were those who tried to do what they could to help buy hay for ranchers who lost pasture and were barely hanging on.

Those fires in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado drove thousands of Americans from their homes. And later, once a better assessment of the actual size of the fire could be made, it was found out that the fires also burned over 850,000 acres in Kansas and Oklahoma. In fact, seventy-five percent of Clark County, Kansas, a total of 461,000 acres burned that year. Frankly, it was the worse fire that most could remember as hundreds of square miles of land were simply scorched earth.

A Story That Needs Telling: Cowboys Donate A Saddle 

As most who read my blog know, I tend to write more about historical events and people while trying to connect what took place and their deeds to our human nature, to what we know as "the human condition." The human condition is defined as "the characteristics, key events, and situations which compose the essentials of human existence, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality." It also speaks to our moral concerns such as the "goodness" or "rightness" of our behavior. Yes, it talks about our better Angels.

The story of what happened to Mary Kaltenbach is one that I'm hoping you'll find it as a testament to our better Angels.

According to reports:

Chris and Amy Potter, who work for Drummond Ranch on the Maple City, Kan. camp, were on a trip to South Dakota as the fires raged. Amy was keeping up with events on Facebook.

'What started it was I started texting with Erin Boggs,' Amy said. Erin Boggs and her husband, Austin, ranch near Ashland, Kan., which was one of the hardest hit areas. Clark County, Kansas was 75 percent incinerated, with 461,000 acres burned. The famous Gardiner Angus Ranch in Ashland was burned in that fire.

Erin was mobilizing her 4-H members to take orphaned calves for bottle feeding. She kept Amy informed on the fire's progress. The farther Chris and Amy drove, the worse the fire damage became.

'We had a lot of time to talk about it,' Amy said. 'So finally Chris said 'maybe we should go help them.' So I put on Facebook that we were thinking about doing that and it just went viral.'

Amy told neighbors and friends to drop off items at their house and barn, never thinking what that would mean. When the Potters arrived home, "we found all kinds of stuff everywhere," Amy said. A total of five pallets of milk replacer and creep feed, "and people had left bags of feed all over," Amy said. Hay, medicine, household items, food – anything someone might imagine would be needed.

Chris, a former Working Ranch Cowboy's Association Top Hand, and three friends, Lance Alcorn, Russell Powell and Connor Grokett, started planning the trip. Last week, they loaded up all the supplies, along with two new saddles bound for someone who had lost theirs.

Chris was in the middle of calving 800 Drummond cows, but he knew Amy, a former Women's Ranch Rodeo Association champion, and their kids, Colt and Carlee, could handle that for a few days.

A soft-spoken man not prone to exaggeration, Chris explained what he saw in Clark County this way, 'the death loss is pretty bad. They spent days shooting cattle that were all but dead. The fences are gone. There's some wire left, but all that will have to be torn out and rebuilt. The T-posts are left, but a lot of the braces burned. Most of these are not big herds and 80 percent of the cows were lost in many herds.

'The first thing we did when we got out there was help this couple gather what was left of their cows. We penned 28 head of 55 they had in the herd, I think, and they had to shoot about 20 of those. They had burned udders and feet falling off.'"

As the newspaper report stated, "For people who make their living tending cattle from the back of a horse, a saddle is one of their most important tools. Handmade saddles can take a lifetime to acquire – and one wildfire to lose."

Chris Potter, and friends, Lance Alcorn, Russell Powell and Connor Grokett, all went to Ashland, Kansas, to deliver the donations and lend a hand in the aftermath of the fires. With things still smoldering and folks there in a desperate situation, those four cowboys hauled needed supplies to the area. Along with the large amount of donated supplies, the cowboys took with them two saddles. Yes, all in the hope of finding a couple of people who had lost their saddles in the fire.

Both of the saddles were handmade and new, never used. One was a trophy saddle that Chris Potter won in a ranch rodeo. The other had already had a productive life, though it had never been on a horse. Amy Potter, Chris's wife, said Justin and Brooke Cargill donated that handmade saddle for Junior Ranch Rodeo Association (JRRA) members to raffle.

Amy Potter is reported to have said, "Our neighbor, Dave Harris, has given me $100 or $200 every year and told me to put it in the raffle – but he didn't want any tickets. His tack is 50 years old, so this year I wrote him some tickets." The JRRA raised $5,000 raffling the saddle.

Dave Harris won the JRRA saddle in that drawing. After Mr. Harris learned of Chris Potter's helping out and taking needed supplies to Ashland, he gave the saddle to Chris, along with $400, with a request that Chris find someone who needed that saddle more than he did. Yes, it's people like Mr. Harris that make America great.

Mary Kaltenbach and her husband Mark spent their lives building a cattle ranch in Kansas. On March 6th, 2017, devastation burned everything but their family's home.

When the four cowboys arrived in Ashland, they dropped off their load of supplies and volunteered to help in any way they could. Fate put them there to help the Kaltenbachs find what was left of their herd.

Chris Potter was reported as having said, "You know most of those people don't have big herds, but it's taken a lifetime to get them. We finally gathered up 28 cows and got them penned. I think they had to shoot 20 of them. You know that guy had worked in an implement company and had been putting his deal together, and he has just retired and was going to expand the ranch."

The fire set that plan back to square one. As stated before, the Kaltenbachs lost everything except for their the house. Of course, while there, Chris and the other cowboys learned that Mary Kaltenbach had lost her saddle. As it turned out, Mr. Harris' raffle saddle was just her size.

"We knew she wouldn't take it if we tried to give it to her outright," Chris said.

Knowing what to do, just before they left Ashland, Chris and the other cowboys put the saddle on a rack at the Kaltenback's house and left a note on it. They also left the $400, all weighed down with a T-post.

The note read, "Dear Mark and Mary, We want to thank you all for the place to eat and shower. One of our neighbors sent us this and said to find someone who could use it more than him. We want to give it to you. It seems to be the right people. Thank you all and God bless. Chris Potter, Lance Alcorn, Connor Grokett, Russell Powell."

Mary Kaltenbach found the saddle left for her by those cowboys. They came to deliver supplies and helped her family. I'm thinking it meant more to her than words can describe. Four cowboys who demonstrated what our better angels are made of.

As for the other saddle, it was reported that on the return trip home, Chris had learned about a cowboy across the Oklahoma state line who had lost everything in that fire. His wife Amy is reported to have said, "We got an address and we are shipping that other saddle right to him."

The report that I read about this concluded this story better than I can, as it stated:

"Those saddles are a symbol of what members of the ranch community do for each other. First Mary's was given to a junior association who made $5,000 raffling it, then it was donated to a stranger, any stranger, who was without one and in need. The other will be a welcome surprise a cowboy would never expect, from a cowboy he doesn't know. Just two examples of how ranchers have banded together and given help in many forms to the victims of one of the largest wildfires in recent history.

Donations poured into the Potter home when people found out the cowboys were going to help fire victims, including five pallets of milk replacer and creep feed. More will be needed and it will take a long time and many dollars to rebuild, but Mary Kaltenbach will be doing it from the best seat on a horse."

Justin and Brooke Cargill, Mark and Mary Kaltenbach, are all folks who make America great. As for the Kaltenbach's, as great as their loses were, they will to come back and rebuild. That's just what they're made of. That's just who they are. As for Justin and Brooke Cargill, their gesture of donating such a saddle to the Junior Ranch Rodeo Association speaks volumes about their goodness. As for Dave Harris who saw the needs of others ahead of his need to own such a trophy saddle, how can anyone deny his good heart.

And let's not forget all of the many folks who stepped up and gave what they could in donations when Americans were in need. These are the folks who make our nation great. Truly great. We are all blessed to have such neighbors and friends. We are all blessed that we have fellow Americans who give to strangers in need. We can all learn from them.

As for Chris and Amy Potter,  Lance Alcorn, Russell Powell, Connor Grokett, the proof of their good hearts come from what they did for others when it was time to do the right thing. All cowboys. All great folks. All made from the right stuff. All doing what is the cowboy way of doing things. God bless them all.

That's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

I Want A Wall

Horse Down -- Getting Cast

Since my wife and I were concerned about snow a few days ago, I brought our horses in and put them up in our barn. While the others have been fine, one of our horses has not been a happy camper. Because he has a tendency to kick his stall, before heading off to bed, I decided to check on our horses.

Our stall kicker is a tall gelding. I got him, Gunner, and an older Arab mare, Tango, as a pair looking for a new home. Gunner and Tango are tied at the hip. Yes, as herd bound as can be. Separate one and the other is in distress, and vice versa. 

Now before you start typing to tell me how bad it is to have herd bound horses, I'd normally agree with you if I were riding either. If either were being ridden, then riding a herd bound horse is a pain since they don't want to be too far from the other. But frankly, these two rescues are not ridden. 

Also, I see horses being herd bound as a plus of sorts. In nature, in the wild, horses are herd bound. Because horses are prey animals, being herd bound is a matter of survival. Yes, their survival depends on being a herd because they see safety in numbers. A herd works together to use their senses of smell, hearing and sight to be on guard to possible danger. When the alarm sounds, a herd can go from grazing to a dead run in an instant. Because of this, their instinct for survival leads them to join up with others. My tall gelding joined up with my old Arab mare a long time before I got them. When she is in trouble, he throws a fit to alert me. Yes, he sees me as part of his herd as well. And yes, that's the plus of horses looking to be part of the herd. Horses can and will bond with people just as strongly as they do with other horses. 

If you're around horses for a while, you can't help but see that horses are thinking caring animals. They're not the dumb animals that some seem to think. For example, introduce a new horse to the mix and watch how they will instantly form opinions of that horse. From establishing a pecking order, to instant hostility, to establishing respect for a leader, they are more keenly aware of each other than we are of each other. And don't fool yourself, horses establish relationships within the herd. They partner up. I have a few horses and they've all paired up to a certain extent. 

While walking to our barn last night, I noticed that Gunner who was in the stall next to Tango was in a lather. Not kicking, just agitated as if something were wrong. 

My barn is built to where each 12 foot by 12 foot enclosed stall leads out to a 12 by 12 pen. Those outside pens were considered "outside" the barn until fairly recently when I built a lean-two over them. So now, in effect each stall is actually a 12 by 24 foot stall. 

Well, Gunner was agitated because Tango was down and stuck. She couldn't get up. She had cast against and under the outer fence rails of the outside portion of her stall. Yes, a horse can get stuck. It's called "cast" or "casting" in a stall. A horse is said to be "cast" when they lay down or rolled and managed to position themselves with their legs are so close to a wall or fence that they can't get up or re-position themselves to roll over.

In this case, that was the situation with Tango under the fence rails of her pen. Her legs were positioned in a way that she was caught and couldn't get up or roll over. 

Frankly, the last time that I saw such a thing take place was about 35 years ago. At the time, a neighbor's horse was stuck against a stall wall and I was called to help get his horse out. After a great deal of trial and error, with my neighbor almost being kicked a few times, it took him, me, and two other men to drag his horse out and away from that stall. 

I remember how we tried rolling him over and he nearly kicked the hell out of us. We tried one thing or another before we ended up tying a loop around it's neck and a loop around its hind quarters and dragged it out of that stall. He was a 1,200 pound horse and it took everything we had to pull it out of that stall. Once out, once the horse was on its front feet it worked to get it on its feet completely.

I haven't seen it happen since but I know full well that horses have a talent for getting themselves in trouble. Having a horse cast is said to take place in the wild, and while it can happen to horses in pastures in regards to rolling too near a fence or in a pen near a panel, it's a lot more common for horses to get cast in a stall.

What Is Cast?

"A horse is said to be cast when it gets stuck on its back or side and a bit like a turtle, can't get its feet under it to stand up again. The horse's legs may get jammed against a wall or fence, caught in a rope, its own halter, or blanket straps, stuck under a feeder, rail or another object, or the horse might lie down in a hole or hollow in the ground and not be able to scramble out of it." ​

How Does A Horse Get Cast?

"Horses that lie down in their stalls may lie down too close to a wall, and be unable to stretch out their legs to get up again. A horse may roll in its stall and get stuck with its legs up against a wall, or tangled in a hay feeder, or under stall boards. A horse will roll to scratch itself and get comfortable, or a horse might roll if it has colic. If a stable blanket gets shifted while the horse lies down, it can get tangled in the leg straps and be unable to stand up. In the pasture, horses can get cast when they lie down too close to fences or other objects. Even lying down in a hollow, or against a hill can prevent a horse from regaining its feet. Sometimes soft footing makes it hard for a horse to stand up after lying down. In the winter time, horses that lie or fall in deep snow can become cast. Horses can fall in trailers, and be unable to get up. Many horses, especially youngsters scratch their ears with a hind toe and can get tangled in their halter. Once tangled, the horse may fall and be unable to get up."

What Happens When a Horse Gets Cast?

"When a horse becomes cast, two things may happen: Feeling entrapped and unable to regain its feet can cause a horse to panic. As it flails and struggles, it can injure itself. The struggling horse can also hurt anyone who comes near. Although it seems trivial compared to what the panicking horse can do to itself and to the people trying to help it, it can also damage the stables, fences or anything else it strikes."

What Are "Reperfusion" Injuries?  

Besides a struggling horse possibly injuring itself, there is the problem of "reperfusion." If a horse is cast too long, there is the possibility that "reperfusion" injuries can take place. 

"The weight of their own bodies restricts blood flow to various areas of the body. When the horse stands on its feet again the blood flowing back into the affected areas causes pain and inflammation. Besides reperfusion injury, blood can pool in the muscles on the underside of the horse and nerves can become damaged by the pressure of the horse's own body weight. If the injuries from struggling and/or damage due to pooling blood are severe enough the horse may have to be euthanized. Blood can also pool in the lungs. If that happens, after a while, the horse can suffocate."

This is why time is so important and the horse has to get back on its feet. If the horse is not found for many hours when it becomes cast, it may die.

What to Do When a Horse Becomes Cast?

For me, I knew I had to stay calm and act quickly. After checking out the situation, I checked Tango's breathing and I looked for injuries. While I couldn't see anything in her dimly lit outside pen, I figured that I'd recheck her for injuries once I got her back on her feet. I knew the clock was ticking and I had no idea if she were down for minutes or hours. 

I put a loop around her neck and tried to roll her over while making sure that I wouldn't get hit with a flailing hoof. I noticed that at first she tried to get up even though she was stuck, then she calmed down almost as if knowing that I was there to help. Even though that's what I thought it seemed like at the moment, I've been around horses long enough to know that a horse that appears calm can start up again without notice. I was hoping to just roll her over, but that was not going to happen. 

When I couldn't roll her over, I knew I needed a longer rope, more light, help, and more muscle. As I made my way back up to my house, I formulated a plan to get Tango out of there and back on her feet. The first thing was to get my wife Deanna to help. Since she was still up, I told her we have a horse down and we have to get her on her feet. She joined me in the rain to help without even asking me what I planned to do. Yes, that's trust.

I took my pickup and pointed it toward Tango, and left it running with the high-beams on for light. I retrieved a few ropes, and then had my wife drive our Chevy Tahoe around the side of our barn. She then faced the front of the vehicle toward Tango's pen/stall. 

I moved a board Tango had knocked loose and I removed as many of the fence pen's enclosure that I could. About then, the rain started to come down harder. I took a rope and slipped a loop around her neck and tried to set a loop around her hind quarters as well as I could. I tied the end of the rope to the tow hook on the front of our Chevy Tahoe. 

I asked my wife to reverse very slowly when I gave the signal. Besides not wanting to hurt Tango, the rain made for traction problems that I wanted to avoid. 

Deanna watched my hand signals and reversed our Tahoe. Tango was tugged very slowly out from that predicament. When I though she was free, I signaled Deanna to stop. When I saw that she wasn't free yet, I signaled Deanna to pull more. And stop! 

Tango was away from the fencing and free. Almost immediately she worked her front feet and then her back to stand up. I gave her room as she stood. The poor thing was shaken and looked exhausted. I checked her again for cuts and injuries. Then after a few minutes, when I thought she was able to walk, I walked her around and into another pen. 

It's said that we shouldn't just pull on a horse's head and neck because that can possibly cause spinal injuries. But if that's all that we can do to save our horse, than that may be the only alternative that we have to solve the problem and save our horse. 

I knew time was huge factor and that I had to get her on her feet quickly or run into all sorts of problems which meant that I might lose her. I knew better than to put myself between her and the fencing that she was under. I knew that I tried to get her to roll over and couldn't, and with that I knew that I needed ropes, help, and more muscle to drag her out of her predicament. My wife jumped in and helped as we used a lunge line and our Chevy Tahoe to get her out of trouble. 

If you find yourself in a similar situation, here's my advice:

Above all else stay calm and be careful of not getting hurt when approaching a horse that's thrashing. Wait for the horse to calm down. Don't pull on a halter to try to move a downed horse, instead loop the neck. Also, don't pull on the horse's legs. They will resist that and permanent injuries can result in pulling the legs. 

If in a stall, make sure you have enough room to roll a horse that's cast. Stay as far back from the horse as you can after re-positioning her. As soon as the horse feels that she may be able to get up, there's a chance that she may start thrashing around trying to do just that.

Once a cast horse is on her feet, she'll calm down. Give her a few minutes before moving her. Take that time to check her for cuts or injuries like swellings. It's said that most horses escape casting unscathed. But others, especially a horse that was down for a long time until someone discovered her, can be pretty banged up. 

I rechecked Tango a few times today. It may have been my imagination, but I somehow think she appreciated seeing me even more than usual.

Tom Correa