Museum hosting program on Civil War farriers
"My Kingdom for a Horse" is a well-known adage that aptly applies to a program being presented by the Putnam County Museum about farriers.
On April 1 at 7 p.m. Clyde Stringer will discuss the role of horses and cavalry in the Civil War as well as the work of farriers in keeping horses fit for travel.
The Civil War was the last major war fought by the United States in which the horse played a vital role. By WWI, mechanized vehicles did the work that our equine friends previously carried out--the important task of transporting men, equipment, food and other supplies to effectively engage in battle.
Stringer was a local farrier for 45 years and learned his craft first by apprenticing and then by attending farrier schools in Wisconsin and Missouri.
He was trained to deal with horses with special problems and that needed to be fit with special shoes.
Stringer is a charter member of the West Central Indiana Civil War Roundtable, an organization founded 25 years ago.
He was born and raised in Putnam County and the family homestead farm, where he lives, will receive a Hoosier Homestead certificate and plaque this year designating it as a farm held by his family for 100 years.
At the April 1 program you will be treated to a discussion of an aspect of early warfare you've probably never thought about.
And, here is a puzzler for those attending he program: in his research, Clyde found a Putnam County Home Guard Unit called the "Jefferson Cavalry" (Jefferson Township, presumably) but never any mention that there was a cavalry unit in Putnam County.
He requests those attending to bring the answer to this puzzle to the Museum on April 1.
For more information or questions about the program, contact Tanis Monday, Museum Director at 653-8419 or e-mal her at museum@co.putnam.in.us.