There were three permanent remount depots in the United States when the war began in April, 1917—one at Front Royal, Va., one at Fort Reno, Okla., and one at Keogh, Mont.,—an auxiliary remount depot at Fort Bliss, Tex., and a purchasing headquarters at Kansas City, Mo. When it became apparent that the Army would need a large number of horses, some of the most celebrated horsemen and riders in the country offered their services as buyers. Some 50 of them were commissioned as captains in the Quartermaster Reserve Corps and sent to the various purchasing headquarters for short training in the proper types of horses and animals required by the Army. These buyers purchased a large number of excellent animals.
In addition to the existing three remount depots there were established 33 additional auxiliary remount depots and two animal embarkation depots. The horses purchased were shipped to the various remount depots and there trained and conditioned for Army use.
It required a large number of officers and men to care for the remount establishment. Shortly before the armistice was signed there were approximately 400 officers and 19,000 enlisted men in the American remount service. The following statement shows the total numbers of horses and mules purchased for the American Army in the calendar years 1917-18, including those acquired by the remount service in France:
| Where purchased. | Horses. | Mules. | Grand total. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavalry. | Light artillery. | Heavy artillery. | Draft. | Pack and riding. | ||
| From French | 21,450 | 61,944 | 42,973 | 2,181 | 7,160 | 135,708 |
| From Spanish | 1,400 | 423 | 13,329 | 3,295 | 18,447 | |
| From British | 2,633 | 6,388 | 4,352 | 6,714 | 943 | 21,030 |
| In United States | 60,439 | 106,554 | 9,129 | 114,687 | 9,450 | 300,259 |
| Private mounts | 507 | 47 | 554 | |||
| Young horses | 4,474 | 1,045 | 5,519 | |||
| Total purchased to Jan. 1, 1919 | 90,903 | 176,401 | 56,454 | 136,911 | 20,848 | 481,517 |
| Horses. | Mules. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In America | 24,144 | 6,040 | 30,184 |
| Abroad | 37,615 | 5,667 | 43,282 |
| Total | 61,759 | 11,707 | 73,466 |
| Horses: | |
| Cavalry | 83,774 |
| Draft | 77,172 |
| Mules: | |
| Draft | 96,542 |
| Pack and riding | 13,950 |
| Grand total | 271,438 |
Thousands of American animals were shipped to the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Because of the lack of tonnage there were no animal shipments between March 26, 1918, and August 11. Between the declaration of war and March 26, 1918, a total of 30,329 animals were shipped abroad, and in the August 12-November 30 period 37,619 animals crossed the Atlantic, making a total of 67,948 American horses and mules sent to the American Expeditionary Forces.
The total expenditures of the Army both abroad and at home for horses and mules during the war period was $115,957,000, divided about half and half between the United States on the one hand and France, England, and Spain on the other.
The largest remount depot developed during the war is located at Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C. This depot has a capacity of about 10,000 animals and its construction cost was about $300,000. Soon after the armistice was signed, when it became apparent that animals would no longer be needed, thousands of horses and mules at the different remount depots were sold at auction, these auction sales drawing large crowds of buyers.