Courage. Loyalty. A sense of honor in serving justice. Our Revolutionary War heroes’ qualities have been studied for more than two centuries. Farmers and fur trappers, enslaved peoples, and Native Americans – a ragtag bunch – went up against the most powerful military force in the world at the time. Outnumbered but not outsmarted, the brave rebels fought side by side with not only war horses but also war dogs.
Gen. George Washington, Paul Revere, and Army Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, to name a few, attributed their successes to the animals they rode and the companions that camped alongside the soldiers to signal the early approach of predators and Redcoats. Dogs herded livestock, carried messages and packs for their owners, and retrieved game to replenish food supplies.
But they also provided calm companionship in the worst of times.
