United States Army Remount Service

Inadequate staff, poor leadership, and corruption on the part of many horse dealers and buyers combined to halt the flow of remounts to regiments.

The first commander, General George Stoneman, had led the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac prior to his posting.

Central remount depots were established at Giesboro Point, near Washington DC, and near Saint Louis, Missouri.

Intended to serve mounted regiments in the Eastern and Western theaters of the War, respectively, the depots were supplied with horses purchased at markets in nine major locations.

With 10 cavalry regiments in the Regular Army, the decision was made to return to the contract system to obtain remounts.

[6] During the Indian Wars period, this often took the form of boards of officers who traveled to various horse markets and made purchases on a local level after inspecting the stock on hand.

[7] Although the need for some sort of remount bureau or office had been recognized since the end of the Civil War, formal steps were not taken, or funding made available, until the first decade of the 20th century.

[9] A 1921 issue of the Cavalry Journal contained an update from the "American Remount Association" calling for owners of "high-class registered Thoroughbreds" to add their stallions to the program.

As noted above, the location of both remount depots and areas changed over time, expanding and contracting based on the needs of the Army and general development of the system.

These areas served to control both the breeding programs and purchasing functions of the Remount Service and worked in conjunction with the depots.