Mules, Pack Animals Served in Most Wars Since George Washington’s Continental Army
The Army: From Mulemen to Missilemen: The 40th Field Artillery Missile Group (Heavy) By Dr. Kaylene Hughes, AMCOM History . While missiles and helicopters are recognized as the handiwork of human ingenuity, the mule’s existence as a specially designed tool is often overlooked. Bred for bearing heavy burdens somewhere in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) sometime between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C., mules are hybrids that do not exist in nature.
They are the offspring of the deliberate pairing of a male donkey and a female horse. Because of an odd number of chromosomes the animals are usually infertile, so continual human intervention is normally required to increase existing barrens of mules. American mule breeding began in the 18th century with George Washington, former commander of the Continental Army and first president of the United States, who wanted to produce stronger animals suited to plantation work.
The U.S. Army first used large numbers of mules in the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). During the Civil War, the Union Army employed about 1 million mules to transport artillery and pull supply wagons. The Quartermaster Corps purchased the animals from various dealers. Confederate access to the animals was more limited and most mules were supplied by individual soldiers or confiscated from southern farms.
Although familiar with mules from his experience in fighting Indians before the Civil War, it was not until he became Commander of the Department of Arizona in 1871 that Maj. Gen. George R. Crook revolutionized the Army’s use of mules as pack animals. Famed as a Civil War commander and later renowned as an Indian fighter who respected his elusive enemy, Crook was, according to Richard E. Killblane, “a maneuver commander who understood logistics.” As such, he took a scientific approach to improving the use and organization of pack mules to enhance the cavalry’s mobility.
Custom-fitted packs for each mule, carrying only mission-essential items, doubled the pack mule’s load to 400 pounds. Carefully reorganized pack trains and highly-qualified mule skinners created a standardized, very reliable and quick method of transport. While mule-drawn wagons continued to stock the supply base, specially-organized pack trains accompanied combat operations, allowing numerous small patrols to continually pursue the highly-mobile mounted Native Americans of the Plains and Southwest. “By the end of the 1870s, the pack mule had become an integral part of the U.S. Army.”
Subsequently, mules served overseas with the Army in every war from the Spanish-American War of 1898 through World War II. Better adapted to steep mountainous terrain and dense jungle trails inaccessible to more conventional transportation, pack mules carried food, supplies and ammunition into distant battle zones and often carried out wounded soldiers.
One valuable pack mule contribution to the Army’s Field Artillery units was the animal’s ability to carry disassembled weaponry. The U.S. Army had made use of animal transport to move artillery since the 1830s, but the adoption of the 75mm Pack Howitzer made available to Army commanders in World War II an adaptable and effective light artillery weapon system specifically designed to be moved easily across challenging terrain. Designed in the aftermath of World War I, this artillery piece could be broken down into six major components, each carried by one mule.
By the time North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950, however, the Army’s reliance on pack mules began to diminish as trucks and helicopters assumed the burdens once loaded on the backs of animals. The growing reliability and survivability of Army Aviation’s rotary-wing aircraft in particular made possible the more rapid movement of Soldiers and supplies over rough ground. The added benefits of faster MEDEVAC operations also contributed to the obsolescence of the Army pack mule.
In 1952, Maj. Lee O. Hill, chief of the Quartermaster Corps’ Remount Branch, revealed in an article that “Contrary to general belief there still exists in the military establishment a remnant of animal activity…. Horses and mules are being used to a limited extent…, largely for mounted guard duty, policing at posts and stations, and for ceremonial purposes at military funerals.” He also noted that two pack units stationed at Camp Carson, Colorado, remained on active duty as a training base in case the pack service needed to be expanded.
Another newspaper report in 1955 disclosed, “The Chicago army recruiting station has received a generous response to a call for volunteer mule skinners … to serve in the two remaining animal units in the regular army…. Enlistees were given the choice of belonging to the 4th field artillery or the 35th quartermaster company…. The mules are used only in Camp Carson, Colorado.” But escalating Cold War tensions and an accompanying focus on more advanced technological innovations finally brought an end to the Army’s 85-year-old reliance on the standardized use of pack mules.
MARINES TRAIN RESUPPLY TECHNIQUES WITH PACK ANIMALS Lance Cpl. Seth Starr Throughout history, pack animals have aided in successful campaigns and missions. Gunnery Sgt. Dan Daly, while serving in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, used pack animals to move weapons, ammunition and other supplies around the mountainous terrain to locate enemy positions. He earned his second Medal of Honor when he and his Marines were ambushed while transporting supplies across a river.
“Some challenges students have are simply working with the animals. Some Marines haven’t even owned a dog and now they’re working around a 1,400-pound animal,” said Concannoncolter. “We give the students a lot of time with the mules so that when we take them to the field portion of this course they’re very familiar with their animal.”
Sergeant Jeff Anderson, chief instructor for animal packing at MCMWTC, said that his goal is to enable his students to operate independently on their own when using pack animals.
“Our goal is to take a group of Marines, teach them the basics of packing with animals so they can take those skills to any other country and be able to utilize any other pack animal for their movement needs,” said Anderson.
The instructors at MCMWTC use mules because of their strength, durability and longevity that suit the military’s needs when operating in a foreign country. Students who attend the course learn to navigate difficult terrain with their pack animal during day and night operations, simulating the possibilities of a deployed environment.