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40 Animals that Changed History

Tim Flight November 5, 2019 26 min

Medieval Dogs - Dog — King John of England with his dogs, England, c.1307-27. British Library

35. Cher Ami, a messenger pigeon, saved 194 American soldiers in 1918

Cher Ami on display at the Smithsonian Institute. Smithsonian

600 messenger pigeons accompanied the US Army Signal Corps in World War I. One pigeon, in particular, named Cher Ami, excelled herself. On October, 3, 1918, Major Charles White Whittlesey found himself trapped behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. Friendly fire and German soldiers picked off hundreds of White’s men, and soon only 194 of 550 troops were alive. When human messengers failed, Whittlesey sent pigeons. Cher Ami survived being shot through the breast and leg to reach her destination. A rescue party saved Whittlesey and his men, and Cher Ami got the French Croix de Guerre for heroism.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk