Sallie Ann Jarrett: Brave Dog Mascot of 11th Pennsylvania Infantry

Summary: Sallie Ann Jarrett, a brindle American Staffordshire Terrier, was 11th Pennsylvania Infantry's mascot. The 11th's Gettysburg monument includes her statue.

a place where Sallie Ann peacefully watches over her regiment for eternity ~ 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry monument at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, includes bronze statue memorializing Sallie Ann Jarrett: RFM57, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Confederate and Union soldiers eased challenges -- ranging from the boredom of camp life to the terrors of battlefields -- of the War Between the States (April 12, 1861–May 9, 1895), also known as the American Civil War, by incorporating animals as pets into the rigors of military life and by designating animals as their regimental mascots.

Animal mascots and pets inspired their regiments with their courage, loyalty and stamina.

A diversity of animals served as regimental mascots and pets, including: bear, dogs, camel, donkey and raccoons.

The 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, active from April 26, 1881, to July 1, 1865, numbers among regiments featuring a canine mascot.

From May 4 to May 27, the recently recruited regiment, under the command of Colonel Phaon Jarrett (Feb. 9, 1809–Sept. 10, 1876), was assigned to Camp Wayne. The infantry training ground was located near West Chester, in southeastern Pennsylvania.

A brindle American Staffordshire Terrier endeared herself to the regiment as a four-week old spring puppy gifted in May 1861 by a resident of West Chester.

The regiment named the pup Sallie Ann Jarrett to honor both a West Chester belle and the 11th’s first colonel, Phaon Jarrett.

Also known as Amstaff, the medium-sized American dog breed belongs to the dog type commonly known as pit bulls, bred to combine bulldog strength with terrier agility.

Amstaff presents a stocky outline and moves with a springy gait. High-set ears, muscular build, and well-arched feet contribute to alert, strong, and agile grace.

American Staffordshire Terriers model a range of coat colors, including brindle, an attractive brown or tawny streaked with other colors.

Sallie Ann became an integral part of her regiment by learning bugle calls and drum rolls. She participated in dress parades, drills and marches. Sallie Ann positioned herself at front lines on battlefields. She also ventured onto battlefield to guard the regiment’s wounded and dead.

Steadfastly participating in all regimental campaigns, Sallie accompanied her regiment to Gettysburg, in southeastern Pennsylvania, where the war’s bloodiest battle raged from July 1 to July 3, 1863. On the first day, Sallie Ann became separated from her regiment during the massive retreat of Union forces from positions in the west and north to Cemetery Hill in the borough's southeast. Noting her absence, her regiment despaired that she had perished.

At the end of the bloody battle, Sallie Ann was discovered guarding fallen companions on Oak Ridge, the site of original defense by her regiment, located southwest of Harrisburg Road, the northeastern entry into Gettysburg.

As a fearless canine soldier, Sallie Ann finally was felled on the front line Feb. 6, 1865, during the Battle of Hatcher’s Run by a bullet piercing her brain. The battle, fought from Feb. 5 to 7, was launched as part of Union forces’ Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (June 9, 1864–March 25, 1865) to sever Confederate supply lines.

Five days after the battle, a member of the regiment recorded that fellow soldiers on the front line, despite enduring “a murderous fire,” ceased fighting long enough to bury their beloved mascot on the spot where she was felled.

Less than two months later, the War Between the States officially ended with the issuance of a proclamation Tuesday, May 9, by 17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson (Dec. 29, 1808-July 31, 1875).

The regimental monument dedicated Sept. 3, 1890, by veterans of Sallie Ann’s regiment at Gettysburg includes a life-size bronze likeness of 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry’s beloved, brave mascot on a granite pedestal in a place of honor at the monument’s front.

The bronze statues of an infantry soldier and of Sallie were created by sculptor Edward A. Kretschman (Aug. 27, 1847-ca. 1923). The statues were cast by Bureau Brothers Foundry of Philadelphia.

The monument is sited on Oak Ridge, where Sallie Ann had comforted and watched over dead and dying members of her regiment throughout the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg.

female brindle American Staffordshire Terrier: MustelaVision, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry monument at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, includes bronze statue memorializing Sallie Ann Jarrett: RFM57, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:11TH_PVI.jpg

female brindle American Staffordshire Terrier: MustelaVision, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons@ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_staffordshire_terrier_Mitra.jpg

For further information:

“Animal Mascots of the Civil War.” City of Alexandria Virginia > Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site. Updated May 12, 2013.
Available @ http://alexandriava.gov/historic/fortward/default.aspx?id=40198#1

Fulmer, Tim. “11th Pennsylvania Infantry Regimental Monument.” Gettysburg Sculptures.
Available @ http://www.gettysburgsculptures.com/11th_pennsylania_infantry_monument

Grier, Katherine C. Pets in America: A History. Chapel Hill NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

Marriner, Derdriu. "Dying Young on July 3rd 1863: Accidental Death of Jennie Wade on Last Day of Battle of Gettysburg." Wizzley.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/dying-young-on-july-3rd-1863-accidental-death-of-jennie-wade-on-last-day-of-battle-of-gettysburg/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Father William Corby of the Irish Brigade: Absolution for All During the Battle of Gettysburg." Wizzley.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/father-william-corby-of-the-irish-brigade-absolution-for-all-during-the-battle-of-gettysburg/

Marriner, Derdriu. "From Unknown to Known Soldier at Gettysburg: Amos Humiston Clutched Image of His 3 Kids as He Died." Wizzley.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/from-unknown-to-known-soldier-at-gettysburg-amos-humiston-clutched-image-of-his-3-kids-as-he-died/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Life Without Amos: Philinda Humiston and Her Three Children After the Battle of Gettysburg." Wizzley.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/life-without-amos-philinda-humiston-and-her-three-children-after-the-battle-of-gettysburg/

Noyalas, Jonathan A. “’The Old Eleventh’: A Short History of the 11th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.” 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry > Unit History.
Available @ http://11thpvisallieann.com/history_unit.php

Stouffer, Cindy, and Shirley Cubbison. A Colonel, a Flag, and a Dog. Gettysburg PA: Thomas Publications, 1998.

"A Tribute to the Dogs of the American Civil War." Loyalty of Dogs > Read Poster Tribute.
Available @ http://www.loyaltyofdogs.com/ReadPosterTribute.htm