Old Sam

Old Sam, a beautiful, powerfully built draft horse, became a hero of the Civil War as the only survivor among the two hundred horses assigned to the Loomis battery of Michigan after many battles and skirmishes. Wounded several times and half-starved most of the time, he endured four years of battle fatigue, hunger, and pain, though the average life span of a war horse was only three to five months. On July 28, 1865, after the war, Old Sam and his war comrades were shipped back to Coldwater. Old Sam's No. 1 cannon and caisson were presented to General Loomis for placement in Loomis Park, and Old Sam received all the honors of a war hero. Each Memorial Day, he led the parade to Oak Grove Cemetery. Old Sam died on November 8, 1876 at the age of 27 years and was secretly buried at night with full military honors at Oak Grove Cemetery with his comrades.

Coldwater, Michigan · United States