Existing comment:
The Army Mule
Beginning in the mid-19th century, the United States Army adopted the mule, a hybrid of a horse and donkey, as its primary draft animal.
By the outbreak of the Civil War, the mule had become the Army's prime mover and would remain so until the beginning of the 20th century. The Quartermaster Corps valued mules for their stamina, strength, and ability to subsist on less food and forage than a horse. A six-mule Army wagon could move more than 2,500 pounds of cargo and a carefully loaded pack mule could carry an average of up to four hundred pounds. |