Union cavalrymen were
usually provided with a government-owned horse, but an exception was found in
the case of the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, whose men rode their own steeds.
Any enlisted man who
brought his own mount was entitled to fifty cents a day in extra pay. Bu
October 1861, virtually all units were offered animals owned by the government.
One year later, the
federal government owned approximately 150,000 horse and 100,000 mules. During
the first two years of fighting, Union cavalry units, which never had more than
62,000 men in the field, were supplied with about 240,000 horses. Before Lee
surrendered, Federal funds had paid for an estimated 840,000 horses and at
least 430,000 mules.
Confederate officers and
mounted troopers were required to provide their own animals, for which they
were reimbursed at the rate of forty cents per day. Its owner had to find a new
one when a horse was killed, worn out, or lost; if that proved impossible, he
was transferred to infantry service.
