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U. S. REMOUNT DEPOT NO. 22, GIEVRES ROMORANTIN, FRANCE WW1

Remount depot, Gievres, Loire et Cher, France, December 2-6, 1918. Notice the motorcycle in the left hand corner.

HISTORY OF REMOUNT DEPOT NO. 22 AT GIEVRES

Remount Depot No. 22 the largest of the twenty-four American Remount Depots in France, is located about one mile east of Gievres, between the Canal du Berry and the Paris and Orleans Railroad. The site, or a large part of it, was covered by a young pine forest which had to be cut down, cleared and sawed to provide lumber for the buildings to be erected. It covers about 160 acres. Work was begun in July 1918. The 40 stables, 100-horse capacity each, blacksmith shop, concrete dipping vat, corrals requiring over 2,000 posts, which had to be cut and sawed, the 64 big gates, the chutes for the Mallein tests, the veterinary infirmary, with a capacity of 60 or 70 horses, saddle and harness shop, food-grinding houses, barracks space for 2,500 men, these were among the necessary buildings. Water had to be brought from the Cher River, where a pumping station with three pumps was erected, pipeline laid, and tanks with a capacity of 35,000 gallons put in place. Later a spur track for unloading was laid, and hay shed and warehouse built.

Horses began arriving in August, but the greatest pressure was in the month proceeding and the two months following the Armistice. With a stable capacity of 4,000, there were at one time 9,600 in the corrals. Up to June 1, 1919, 55,000 animals were handled, of which about 25 per cent were mules. Of this number only about 100 died in the corrals. In March the Depot began selling horses to the French and about 6,000 animals were sold before the end of June, when the Depot was closed.

The maximum personnel of the Depot was about 2,500, though this maximum was not, of course, maintained at all times. One man is supposed to be able to feed and groom five animals. In the rush season one man sometimes was required to feed as many as 30 horses; under these circumstances, of course, grooming had to reduced to a minimum. Of the personnel only five died, despite the fact that men were constantly on convoy duty in all sorts of weather.

Animals came from the United States, England, Spain and from the front. The largest number received in any one trainload was 909 animals. The Depot responded promptly to calls from the front for remounts and has loaded as many as four trains in one day. The average trainload was about 30 American cars with 14 horses to the car, or 40 French cars with 8 horses to the car. Convoying these trains were one officer in charge and one man to each car.

The procedure in handling incoming animals illustrates the nature of the work. Horse were unloaded and taken to the receiving corrals. They passed first through the chute, where they were given the Mallein test for glanders. If the test was positive or even suspicious, the animal was killed and a post-mortem held. In no case did the post-mortem fail to show lesions indicating the presence of the disease. The animals were next classified according to the service into which they were to be put and branded according to this classification. They passed then through the concrete dipping vat and were hand rubbed, and in cool weather thoroughly dried either by exercise or blanket. Their manes were then roached, and all cases of mange isolated. Minor illnesses were cared for in the veterinary infirmary with a personnel of 6 veterinarians and 21 men. Serious illnesses were evacuated to the Veterinary Hospital No. 11, nearby. It was occasionally necessary to care for mares in foal and something like 20 colts were cared for in the Remount Depot.

Horses were generally received unshod, so that it was necessary to maintain a blacksmith shop with 36 forges. An average of 150 animals was shod daily, the record for one day being 182. The individual record was that of Sergeant Connelly and his helper, who shod 14 in one day.

The spur was completed until January 1919. Previously to that time all food had been hauled from the Gievres Depot, and for this purpose there was maintained a wagon train of 82 escort wagons, drawn by 4 mules each. The Quartermaster, Lieutenant Scott, deserves great credit for overcoming all difficulties and always having a supply of food at hand.

The Remount Depot has had four commanding officers: Colonel Charles B. Amory who served until August 1918; Major Henry McF. Pendleton, until November 1918; Lieutenant Colonel J.W. Jackson, until May 1919, when Captain B.N. Ayers, who had been Depot Adjutant since October, succeeded him and was in charge until the Depot closed, late in June 1919.

Office and Administration buildings of the Remount Station Depot No. 22, showing the lawn decoration, with the emblem of the organization worked in different-colored stone

One of the yards of Remount Station Depot No. 22, where at one time there were almost six million dollars worth of horses

Closer view of the artificial mound with the horse head worked in with small stones. In reality this was very attractive. Dr Risner, a lecturer, is shown standing along side the mound

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FORT ORD STATION VETERINARY HOSPITAL U.S. ARMY HORSE c1941
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TRIBUTE OF HONOR: SGT. ALLAN MACDONALD U.S. ARMY HORSE SOLDIER
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FORT ORD STATION HOSPITAL, c1941 WW2
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11TH CAVALRY PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, 1919 TO 1940
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76th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Battalion

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General Richardson Fort Ord Defense of West Coast

7TH DIVISION HEADQUARTERS BUILDING, FORT ORD, 1941 WW2, GENERAL STILWELL
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7th Division Headquarters Buildings, Fort Ord, 1941, General Stilwell

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250TH COAST ARTILLERY CAMP MCQUAIDE CALIFORNIA 1941
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250th Coast Artillery Camp McQuaide California 1941

U.S. ARMY VETERINARY CORPS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION GROUP

Motto: "Illic est Vires in Numerus" There is Strength in Numbers

"Working Hard to Preserve Our Country's History wherever it is being lost".

U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Historical Preservation Group is a group of individuals that are concerned about the preservation of the History of the Veterinary Corps, Remount Service and Cavalry or wherever our country's history is being lost in conjunction with our beloved "Horse and Mule". There is no cost to join and membership is for life. We believe by uniting together in numbers we will be a more powerful force to be heard. Our membership list is private and only used to contact our members. Email us and become a member.

Greg Krenzelok
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