To discover this book recently on Amazon was, for me, like finding the Holy Grail.
This book covers the development and construction of the US Army's standardised 6 mule heavy wagon and 4 mule Escort light wagon from their origins before and after the Civil War respectively to the final versions constructed during the First World War.
The 6 mule wagon was the first to be developed during the 1840-50's. It was a heavy wagon perfectly suited for use supplying army outposts over very long distances. The specification for this wagon was finalised by the start of the Civil war and most of the wagons seen in Civil war photographs are of this vehicle. It remained in production throughout the second half of the 19th century with few modifications.
The Escort light wagon came about after the war due to the need for a lighter vehicle for use on post and for local short range duties such as escorting troops moving from post to post or going on campaign in more rugged country. This vehicle had became the standard army wagon by the end of the century. On the entry of the USA into the First World War some 30,000 Escort wagons were immediately ordered with about 10,000 being delivered by the end of the war.
The title of the book reflects that throughout the wagon era, until the First World War, all military vehicles had bright colour schemes. Interiors and running gear was painted Venetian red while the outside was Prussian blue with boldly stenciled US letters on sideboards and white canvas covers. There was never any doubt as to the ownership of US army wagons.
The book provides good detail on the development history of the vehicles, construction methods and materials including full dimensions and improvements made over the years. There are many excellent photos too. There are even paint colour samples and details of standard sized packing boxes designed specifically to maximise the use of space in wagons. Finally there is some brief information on non standard or locally used specialist vehicles used on some army posts including buggies, forge carts, water tankers and fire engines.
Clearly not a book for everyone by any means but for someone like me who is fascinated by horse drawn logistics, an absolute gold mine of information and a new star in my library destined to become a constant source of reference.
Hi Tony -
ReplyDeleteDoes the book also detail the inventories of wagons that might be integral to units (battalions and regiments) and formations (brigades, Divisions, etc)? Even if, as I do, supply to my armies just token representations of logistic elements, it's kinda nice to know just what the tokens represent. It might also be interesting to discover just where the baggage trains were likely to be, come a battle.
Cheers, Ion
Hi Ion...No, this book is just about the actual wagons not the allocation of vehicles to units. I do not know of a single source of such information. However I have collected quite a bit of information over the years on such matters from a variety of sources so what do you need to know??? maybe I can help. As to the whereabouts of the wagon trains during battle, I can tell you that the Confederate wagon trains at Gettysburg started only a couple of miles behind the front lines and stretched over 20 miles. During the retreat they preceded the combat units. Regards.
DeleteA niche book but by the sounds of it with quite a lot useful for wargamers, such as the colours used etc. For skirmish games or bigger battles, it's useful to know what wagons might have been used. As always thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve...Think of this book as the horse drawn equivalent of a book on the Jeep or Opel Blitz truck...Its also an early example of industrial standardisation and production....very niche for sure....Regards.
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