frederickdentgrant

Here they all are again: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2163514016/in/p...

This was taken on Broadway and Houston Street--the building on the left with the wide arches is the Cable Building (McKim, Mead & White, 1894). Houston was later widened in part thanks to subway construction, meaning that some of the buildings closest to the photographer are now long gone.

Funeral procession for Major General Frederick Dent Grant, son of President U. S. Grant, and former New York City Police Commissioner, who was buried at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. NY Times report of the funeral: query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C02EEDF153CE6... Wikipedia bio of Gen. F. D. Grant: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Dent_Grant Photo of the gravesite, on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/sheenachi/220605197/in/photostream/?

The elaborate 'costume' the horse is wearing is actually a knotted string 'fly sheet', designed to wick off sweat and keep the flies off the horse. Also note that the boots are inserted backwards in the stirrups, which in most cases indicates the death of the rider. Since Gen. F. D. Grant (son of Ullyses S.) died on April 12, 1912, this photo would have been taken a few days later at his funeral most likely.

I agree with XSPimages comments. This appears to be a caparisoned horse used during funeral processions to honor the deceased. The boots would be from Gen. Grant himself. The tradition can still be requested today for military personnel (colonel or above) who served in the Army or Marine Corp, or served as President of the USA. A caparisoned horse was used during Ronald Reagan's funeral. The horse bore the boots worn by Ronald Reagan and was escorted riderless down the procession in honor of the deceased president. More information: www.arlingtoncemetery.net/caparisoned.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riderless_horse Too bad this image is fogged. This is a good looking animal.