Caltrop or calthrop. Large numbers of them would be scattered on a road or trail to slow down pursuit by cavalry. When a horse stepped on one, it would bruise or puncture the sole of the hoof and make the horse go instantly lame.
Letter from Jane Smith Washington of Springfield, Tennessee, to her son, William L. Washington in Toronto, Canada, describing a confrontation with Federal troops. Mrs. Washington describes an extremely violent confrontation with Federal troops. In...
Letter from Robert Rutledge describing a Union cavalry raid on his camp in which several men were wounded or captured and also a fight beween Harry Henry and an artilleryman in the camp. He asks about the condition of Mr. Runion, who has small pox;...