The Savage Truth:
The Truth About Caltrops
There is much confusion, debate, and opinions from A to Z over the question of caltrops. Were Caltrops used in the American Civil War? If they WERE used, in what theater of the war was it? Have any caltrops been recovered from Civil War battlefields? These are questions that can engender a half-page thread on any relic chat forum, but it seems that the questions still stand. I will give my take on caltrops in the hopes that the issue can be laid to rest, but I realize to some it never will.
To begin, we need to define what a caltrop is. A caltrop (calthrop, jack rock, star nail or crow's foot) is a weapon made up of two (or more) sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base. Caltrops serve to slow down the advance of horses, and human troops. The use of caltrops dates back into Roman times, and caltrops were used with great success by the Scots against the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. In modern times, you often see “spike-strips” used by police to flatten the tires of fleeing vehicles. These are also a form of caltrop.
The American Civil War was a war in which the roads and ground changed hands often, making it a bad idea to sow a road you may retake next week with caltrops as they might end up crippling your own cavalry. This does not eliminate the chance that caltrops were used in some areas, but it does make us pause and think. But the most important facts are the APPARENT lack of any historical documentation (Manufacturing records, Ordnance Supply records, Battle reports in the Official Records, etc.) that Caltrops were manufactured, issued, or used in the American Civil War. Such historical documentation may exist, but none has been found. Keyword Searches for the words "caltrop" and "caltrops" in the 125-book set titled "The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion"...ended up with NO RESULT FOUND anywhere in massive volumes of US and CS officers' official Reports and Correspondence.
Putting the matter very simply... if caltrops were issued or used in the American Civil War, there ought to be a report or correspondence about it somewhere. Here's a hypothetical example of such a report: "My regiment was issued caltrops, which we thickly sowed along the Chambersburg Pike to delay the enemy's advance." Or, perhaps, “Several horses in my regiment were injured by the Rebels' use of caltrops." The fact that there is no mention of Caltrops anywhere in the 125-volume Official Records indicates we can be about as certain as it's possible to be that caltrops were not used in the American Civil War.
VERY IMPORTANT note... the problem with asking for relic-hunters' reports of digging a Caltrop is that they incorrectly think the small six-armed (and 8-armed) blunt-tipped Jacks from the kids'-game are Caltrops. So, any request for such reports from diggers must specify that actual caltrops have four long spines, not six stubby arms. This is also the case in most of the e-bay caltrop auctions, though some may be actual caltrops that have been recovered in England and sold in the United States. I know this may not satisfy many of the people out there that swear they have recovered, or seen others recover, a caltrop. But it should give enough doubt to make us question the validity of the caltrops we see being sold on the market.
I would like to thank several people for their assistance in writing this column: Howard Crouch, Steve Sylvia, and especially Pete George who actually wrote more of it and did more research than I did. Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and one hand on your wallet.
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Frank
Huguelet, aka “Heavy Metal Ric Savage”,
served in the U.S. Army prior to beginning a
career as a professional wrestler. Throughout the 1990’s he wrestled all over
the east coast with a variety of wrestling associations and under several
aliases. At 6’5” and 300+ lbs. Ric was a favorite with wrestling promoters. In
1997 Ric retired from wrestling after undergoing reconstruction of his left
knee and three major back surgeries. He moved to Gettysburg where he performed
in a presentation called “Haunted Gettysburg” at the now defunct Conflict
Theater. Later he moved to New Jersey where he now resides. Ric is an avid
Civil War artifact collector and he maintains a website (www.savage-station.com)
which helps identify fake Civil War relics. He writes a column, “The Savage
Facts” for American Digger magazine.
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