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Clifton AMHR No. 457
is one of the few Morgans
which has been documented by name as having served in the civil war. A son of
Hale's Green Mountain Morgan out of a chestnut mare by Gifford Morgan,
Clifton was a bright chestnut stallion about 14.1
hands high and weighed 960 pounds. Foaled in 1852, he was bred by William
Bellows of
Walpole,
NH.
At three moths of age, he was
sold to Silas Hale,
South Royalston, Ma., thence to
S.H. Edgerly,
Manchester,
NH. at eighteen
months. He was resold soon after to F.H. Lyford, who owned him until at least
1857. While owned in
New England,
Clifton won a walking match against young Morrill by a long
distance.
Clifton's owner wrote the following lines about this:
"When
Clifton arrived on the track; And
waived his flaming tail, Mongrels and Morrills lagged
behind, And in the distance trail"
- from "The greatest of Morgan
Sires" by Allen W. Thompsom
Between this match race and the
beginning of the Civil War,
Clifton was apparently sold by F.H. Lyford to
William R Capehart of
North Carolina. Capehart was
attending medical school in
Virginia at the start of the Civil War. He
enlisted in General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia of the
confederate forces as a surgeon. He was attached to Wade Hampton's cavalry.
"One of the best -bred Morgans that
saw service in the war was
Clifton, foaled at
Walpole,
New Hampshire, and ridden by W.R. Capehart
of North
Carolina until 1864, when the noble animal met a war-horse's death in a
cavalry engagement....."
- from "Morgan in the Cavalry"
by "Old Timer" (1911)
"Was foaled 1852, the property of Wm. Bellows, Esq., of
Walpole,
NH. Sired by
Green
Mountain 2nd [i.e., Hale's Green Mountain
Morgan], g sire, Gifford, g g sire, Woodbury, g g g sire, Justin Morgan. Dam, a chestnut, sired by Gifford, g dam by Sherman.
Clifton is 14 1/4 hands high, and weighs 960
pounds. His color is a bright chestnut. At three months old Mr. Bellows sold
him to Silas Hale, of
South Royalston Mass. At eighteen moths old, Mr. Hale
sold him to S.H. Edgerly, Esq., of Manchester NH.,
who shortly after sold him to F.H. Lyford, Esq., whose property he still
remains.
Clifton is a bold-looking active and muscular
horse, and in many respects resembles his celebrated sire."
- from D.C. Linsley's
Morgan Horse's, 1857
".....In September, 1857, at Manchester, NH., he was matched
to walk five miles with young Morrill, and won in one hour, two minutes, 46
seconds, the only walking match then on record. Ridden by Dr.
W.R. Capehart, North Carolina, through the war. Killed at cavalry fight
.......near Cheraw, SC., 1864....."
- Battell's Morgan Horse and Register,
volume I
After the war Dr. Capehart owned harness racing horses, but no documentation
was found that would indicate that he owned many Morgan horses other than
Clifton.
Compiled by Elizabeth A. Curler
Historical research in
North Carolina by Ina Ish has
made the above information on
Clifton and Dr. Capehart
more complete.
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