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felt that racing over hurdles commenced at the Victoria course in the early 1840s and continued until the Civil War.
In his forthcoming book “The History of American Steeplechasing,” author Peter Winants writes that “Both armies alternately occupied the buildings at the resort during the war. In 1862 the Federal troops lobbed a shell into [the main club building] manned at the time by Confederates. The hotel burned to the ground. It was rebuilt on a smaller scale with 100 rooms in 1878, but it never regained the popularity of earlier days. In 1895, the hotel was made into a military academy.”
The Civil War closed down most foxhunting and horse racing venues, but steeplechasing continued to provide diversion even in the face of battle. In his book, Winants writes of the 1862 Federal defeat at Fredericksburg and the somber winter camp at Falmouth. But the Army of the Potomac’s Irish Brigade, made up of New York and Boston
See TRADITION, Page 9
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