County of display: Catoosa County
Location of display: Lafayette Hwy & Post Rd., Visitors Center Chickamauga National Battlefield
Display erected by: National Park Service
This relief is mounted on the wall inside the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park Visitors Center.
It is just above the 4 models of the caisson six horse teams, in 4 patterns of guns and caisson pulls.
There is not a marker or plaque with text for this art piece.
"Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and some Asian countries, from the 17th to the early 20th century. A precursor of modern self-propelled artillery, it consisted of light cannons or howitzers attached to light but sturdy two-wheeled carriages called caissons or limbers, with the individual crewmen riding on horses. This was in contrast to the rest of the field artillery, in which the pieces were heavier and the crew marched on foot, or in some cases rode on the guns or caissons.
"During the Napoleonic Wars, horse artillery would be used extensively and effectively in every major battle and campaign. The largest and probably most efficient horse artillery of any nation was that of the French revolutionary army which was first formed in 1792. The French units were especially well-trained and disciplined since the newly formed arm had proved very popular and could draw on a considerable number of recruits. By 1795 it had grown to eight regiments of six six-gun batteries each, making it the largest horse artillery force ever assembled.
"Horse artillery units generally used lighter pieces (6-pounders), pulled by six horses. 9-pounders were pulled by eight horses, and heavier artillery pieces (12-pounders) needed a team of twelve horses. With the individual riding horses required for officers, surgeons and other support staff, as well as those pulling the artillery guns and supply wagons, an artillery battery of six guns could require 160 to 200 horses. Horse artillery usually came under the command of cavalry divisions, but in some battles, such as Waterloo, horse artillery was used as a rapid response force, repulsing attacks and assisting the infantry. Agility was important; the ideal artillery horse was around 15-16 hands high (150-160 cm, 60 to 64 inches), strongly built, but able to move quickly.
"In the Mexican-American War, the U.S. Army horse artillery, or "flying artillery" played a decisive role in several key battles. In the American Civil War, various elements of the horse artillery of the Army of the Potomac were at times grouped together in the U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade. In the U.S., units of horse artillery were generally referred to officially as "light artillery" ~ Wikipedia