DOG-BRAINED SCHEMES AND OTHER PET PROJECTS.

The article presents information on U.S. Civil War pets that were left behind in the safety of camp when the soldiers were actively fighting. When photographers visited the army camps, it was not unusual for the men to pose with the camp mascot, usually a dog. George Armstrong Custer had such a photograph taken in 1862 as he reclined outside his tent with the camp mongrel curled up on a blanket next to him. Civil War archives contain an abundance of photographs, etchings and journal entries that attest to the importance of pets, livestock and even vermin.