The white nose and forehead on the horse purchased from the government in 1861 by General George Gordon Meade suggested the name "Baldy". Baldy, later in life known as Old Baldy, was first ridden in the Civil War by General David Hunter at the battle of First Bull Run. Twice wounded in that battle, the horse was returned to the government herd. At first General Meade thought little of his new horse, and was concerned that the princely sum of $150 which he paid for him brought him "no luck with horses." Old Baldy proved him wrong, serving gallantly, despite many wounds until 1864.
During the Civil War it was considered most important that army commanders lead their troops by example. On their horses, urging their men forward, they became prime targets for opposing riflemen. The bullets and shells intended for their masters often found their mark instead in the horses that they rode. As a brigade commander, General Meade first rode Old Baldy at the battle of Second Bull Run, where Old Baldy was shot in the leg. After, his wound healed, General Meade again rode him at the battle of Antietam, where Old Baldy was seriously wounded in the neck by a Confederate minie ball.
Old Baldy saw action again during the battles of Fredericksburg and at Chancellorsville. At the Battle of Gettysburg, a Confederate bullet passed within an inch of General Meade's thigh and slammed into Old Baldy. Meade sent the horse to the rear thinking he would never ride him again.
Being the stalwart war horse he was, Old Baldy returned to service with General Meade and received the last of his fourteen wounds at the Battle of Weldon Railroad, in August, 1864. That winter, the General retired Old Baldy to a stable in Jenkintown, outside of Philadelphia. General Meade often rode Old Baldy, especially through Fairmount Park, when the General served as the first Commissioner. When Meade died in 1872, Old Baldy served as the "riderless horse" at his funeral.
Old Baldy survived the General by ten years, dying in 1882 at the age of thirty. On Christmas Day of that year, nine days after his death, Old Baldy was "resurrected" by two admirers of General Meade, Harry W. Hervey and Albert C. Johnston. They had Old Baldy's head preserved and then mounted on an ebony shield on which they inscribed his service record. Old Baldy was then presented to Gen. George G. Meade Post #1, Grand Army of the Republic, of Philadelphia. Old Baldy is on loan from the Grand Army of the Republic Museum to the Civil War Museum.
