Abstract
Among the more curious of Pennsylvania's Civil War artifacts is the head of Major General George Gordon Meade's horse, Baldy, now on display at the Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. In life, Baldy was a warhorse and honored for his service. His celebrity reminds us of the strong bond between man and mount and of the important role that animals, particularly horses, played in this pre-automotive world. In death, Old Baldy's stuffed and mounted head has become contested property, suggesting that even in the twenty-first century, a horse, or even a horse's head, can elicit strong emotions and help connect us to one another and with our past.