Loyal Hearts, Histories of American Civil War Canines
One thing I remember vividly from my stint in Vietnam was that every shop on my base had a pet dog. Our shop actually had two. “Lilan,” was a little bit of a thing not more than 10 inches tall, but being a female was fearless and feisty. That little thing would take on dogs ten times her size. Then we had “Stupid,” and the name fit the dog perfectly. Another fearless canine, he would also take on any and all comers often returning to the shop bitten and bleeding. Thus it was with great interest that I picked up Michael Zucchero’s new book Loyal Hearts about the canine mascots that accompanied many regiments during the Civil War. The book tells the tails (OK, tales) of 21 dogs that were attached to regiments during the war. Having done research for a similar type book myself I know how hard it is to find information on the non-human elements of a regiment so Zucchero is to be commended for finding as much information as he did. The stories provide the unit, the name of the dog and the service of the mutt. Where he could find it Zucchero also provided the fate of the dog. Some lived through the war and into old age while others died during battle. Some of the dogs were “captured,” others simply disappeared. Of course covered is Sallie, the dog of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, perhaps the most famous of regimental mascots who was killed at Hatcher’s Run in 1865 and buried by her comrades while still under fire. The regimental monument at Gettysburg even celebrates Sallie with a life-sized bronze statue of the dog on it. The volume is filled with images of dogs and soldiers with their dogs. The reproduction of these photographs is excellent. The story is well told and I only found a couple of typos, so the editing was well done. My only complaint about this book is that the dog story is often lost in the retelling of the exploits of the particular regiment being discussed, though I understand why the author did this. If he had just told the dog story with no background the book would be only about 30 pages long. If you like dogs you will like Loyal Hearts. I suggest you pick it up as you will get a good read. Blake A. Magner Blake A. Magner is the Book Review Editor of Civil War News. He makes his living as an editor, writer, cartographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of Traveller & Company: The Horses at Gettysburg.
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Illustrated, appendix, bibliography, index, 184 pp., 2009. Schroeder Publications, 131 Tanglewood Dr., Lynchburg, VA 24502, $25 plus shipping, www.civiwar-books.com.