The Horse Buried at Fort Snelling

Transcript

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In the early 1900s, horses were crucial to the success of the American military and their forts. In 1921, a 10-year-old wagon horse named Whiskey was introduced to Fort Snelling. He was a wild and restless horse, often overlooked because of his rebellious personality. But the new lieutenant William Hazelrigg began his five-year stay at the fort and quickly became attached to Whiskey. In April 1926, the American Army sent Lieutenant Hazelrigg and his family on a two-year stay to the Philippines. He insisted on taking Whiskey with him, but the officers refused. Army regulations said that a horse that goes to the Philippines cannot return to the U.S. In 1936, Whiskey was discharged from the army at the age of 25 and returned to his old farm in the city. He passed in 1943 and was buried with full military honors. His grave has been moved many times, but on June 14, 2002, Whiskey was laid to a permanent rest in front of Fort Snelling's picnic area, close to where the horse stables he once roamed used to stand.

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