Little Sorrel rides to his newly renovated home

roanoke.com ^ | August 18, 2006 | Neil Harvey

[Darnright]

Little Sorrel rides to his newly renovated home Little Sorrel, the former mount of Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, died in 1886 at the age of 35.

By Neil Harvey 981-3340

For a horse that gave up the ghost 120 years ago, Little Sorrel certainly gets around.

In fact, onlookers in Lexington on Thursday afternoon might have seen the legendary steed and his entourage heading down Main Street on a rollback, then up Engineering Drive.

"The journey was a short but historical one," said Col. Keith Gibson, executive director of museum programs at Virginia Military Institute.

Sorrel, the former mount of Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, died in 1886 at the age of 35. Since then, his hide -- mounted on a plaster of Paris mold -- has resided at the Carnegie Institute Museum in Pittsburgh, the Old Soldier's Home in Richmond and, following World War II, at the Virginia Military Institute.

For the past two years, though, he's been stabled at the George C. Marshall Research Library while his normal digs at Jackson Memorial Hall underwent renovation.

But the renovations are over now (the museum officially reopens at 9 a.m. Saturday) and Sorrel was led home by movers and VMI staff.

Though the distance was only a half-mile, the trek was tricky.

"We estimated the weight at between 5 and 600 pounds," said Gibson, who explained that a heavy wooden frame was required to keep the horse upright while the 10-man crew carted it toward a waiting flatbed wrecker.

"Beyond the obvious danger of simply toppling him over is the need to minimize vibration. Vibrations can be very damaging to the hide and to the plaster that's under the hide," Gibson said.

The most difficult obstacle they encountered, he said, was when the cart began to develop a flat tire.

"We had to pause for a moment to get some assistance," he said, but a member of the school's civil engineering department showed up with an air compressor to refill the tire and the rest of the journey continued without a hitch.

Now settled back into his newly renovated home, the horse is scheduled for a makeover. Of sorts.

"We'll be having the taxidermist from the Smithsonian in to do whatever conservation work on the hide is necessary," Gibson said, but added that Sorrel -- along with Jackson's raincoat and uniform -- would still be on display during the museum's reopening.

On the Net: www.vmi.edu/museum

[Darnright]

In the spring of 1861 Col. Thomas J. Jackson was sent to the Confederacy's northern most point, the town of Harpers Ferry, to take command of the troops there and secure the armory and arsenal. Jackson's job was to organize and instruct the eager men ready to defend Virginia. Jackson's appearance was at first a little disappointing to the soldiers who did not know him. He was described as wearing his faded Virginia Military Institute uniform, with a blue cap pulled down concealing his features. A day or two after Jackson's arrival, an eastbound livestock train was seized, and a number of horses were recruited to the Confederacy. The horses were taken to the river for water, near the picturesque landmark where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. Jackson, being without a good mount, picked out two of the horses with the help of Major John Harmon. One of the horses was a powerful, large sorrel, and the other gelding was small and well rounded. Within a day Jackson found the larger animal skittish with a jarring gait, while the smaller sorrel had a smooth and easy gait with an even temperament. And so began a relationship between horse and rider, that would become one of the most recognizable partnerships of the war. They would soon be known as General Stonewall Jackson and his horse Little Sorrel.

[Darnright]

History ping

[Darnright]

Here is an illustration of Little Sorrel, who was also named "Fancy" at one point:

[VA_Gentleman]

Thanks for posting this.

VMI '96 here

[stainlessbanner]

Dixie Ping!

(Thanks for posting Darnright!)

[stainlessbanner]

Military history ping

[rahbert]

whats up with both the curb and the snaffle?

That seems like quite a handful of reins, not to mention a
mouthful for the horse.

[Darnright]

>(Thanks for posting Darnright!)<

My pleasure. I'm just bummed that I didn't know the noble steed was going to be on route to his new digs. What an incredible photo op that would have been! I'm not an hour's drive from VMI.

[hedgetrimmer]

Here's the real thing:

[Darnright]

>That seems like quite a handful of reins, not to mention a
mouthful for the horse.<

Artist's license, I hope. Little Sorrel was reputed to have had a wonderful temperament. I can't imagine he would have needed so much control.

Here's a link to a Mort Kunstler print:
http://www.allenscreations.com/images/mksjols.jpg

[groanup]

Great post. Thanks for pinging.

[Huntress]

Little Sorrel, the former mount of Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, died in 1886 at the age of 35.

Is that a typical lifespan for a horse? I didn't realize they lived that long.

[stainlessbanner]

Confederate Cavalry is legendary.

"Eyes of the Confederacy"
"Wizard in the Saddle"
"Modern Rob Roy"
"Partisian Rangers"

Forrest, JEB Stuart, Mosby, Pellham's artillery, TJ Jackson, Lee, Morgan.

The Union never matched the skilled horsemen of the South!

"If you want to have a good time, jine the cavalry. If you want to smell hell, jine the cavalry." -- CSA song

[Darnright]

>Is that a typical lifespan for a horse? I didn't realize they lived that long.<

He was, if I'm not mistaken, very, very old. I'm pinging a more knowledgeable Freeper to check on 35 being the equivalent of a human living to/past 100.

[gieriscm]

whats up with both the curb and the snaffle?

It's called a double bridle. These days they're most often used for horses trained and shown in high-level dressage.

[HairOfTheDog]

35 is definately getting up there... Not many live that long, but many more undoubtedly would, if given good care and the luxury of a retirement.

Most horses are not allowed to grow that old, because when they become too old to work, they are either sold to the auction man (the tragic option, IMHO) or euthanized because the expense of upkeep or veterinary care of an old horse is high.

Pampered pets and celebrities, well, they can live this long, if their care has been good.

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[Darnright]

Thanks!

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

"whats up with both the curb and the snaffle?"

I was wondering the same thing. All the reins definitely give the rider more control, so I'm guessing that Jackson's horse had a bit of an attitude. But, when you let the horse knows who's boss, t'aint a problem anymore...

[VA_Gentleman]

Ping to my fellow VMI alum!

Go Big Red!