"STUBBORNEST MULE IN THE WHOLE DANGED ARMY" ART PRINT by Robert Wilson

Description

" STUBBORNEST MULE IN THE WHOLE DANGED ARMY " - Limited edition art print signed by the artist and limited to only 1,000 copies produced n 1986. Depicts an Army Mule. Measures 23" x 28" and in MINT condition. Never framed. Done by renown artist Robert Wilson. The print you received will not be the same number as the one pictured. Will be shipped in a large diameter tube via USPS Priority insured mail in the Continental US for $ 20.00. Will ship Worldwide and will combine shipping when practical.
Mr. Wilson taught himself to paint with oil on canvas. Over the next 50 years he recorded the History of America and the Biblical record of the life of Jesus with incredible attention to detail, accuracy and realism.  Many of Robert’s works are monumental in size and adorn the walls of government buildings, military parks, state parks, colleges, churches, and historical museums in the United States.  He continues to paint at age 96 in Woodruff, South Carolina.
Robert’s first series of art “Jesus Journey on Earth”, propelled his art career with over 20 paintings (each 7 feet by 5 feet). The Jesus Journey series was first unveiled by President Jimmy Carter at the Washington Hilton for the National Prayer Breakfast in 1978. The twenty paintings in this book were donated to Liberty University in 2016, providing a great home for these incredible original works of art.
Although he is famous for his vivid life size depictions of Christ’s life and the history of the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW I & II and History of Aviation, Robert also created several portraits of famous NASCAR Drivers; Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty & Dale Earnhardt, Sr. He painted portraits of people he admired such as; Christian Broadcasting Network founder, Pat Robertson (w/his horse Ufano), Lady Diana, Duchess of York “Fergie” and Hillary Clinton. His portraits include actors & actresses; Tonya Roberts, Elizabeth Montgomery, John Wayne, and Chris Templeton. Robert captured in paint the artists he admired; Salvador Dali, Norman Rockwell, and Albert Einstein.
Robert’s second series (the Revolutionary War) included over 40 paintings, including the famous Battle of Cowpens and the Battle of Kings Mountain.  The South Carolina State House is the permanent home for those two famous battle scenes.  The SC State Museum is home for a large painting of Nathanael Greene’s Army.  The Revolutionary War series of paintings earned Mr. Wilson the first “Daniel Morgan Award” on January 17, 1981 for his contributions to South Carolina’s History.
In 2007 Jim DeMint, SC Senator, presented Mr. Wilson with the distinguished “Silver Star” for his efforts as a pilot in WWII dropping troops into Normandy (he retired a Major in the Army after the Korean War).  Then on January 19, 2017  Nikki Haley, Governor of SC, awarded Mr. Wilson with the highest civilian honor in the State of SC the “Order of the Palmetto”, a first for an artist.
The Army Mules are a group of mules which serve as the mascots for the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.
The Army Mule mascot at the 2018 Army–Navy Game
The tradition of mules as mascots for Army dates back to 1899, when an officer at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot decided that the team needed a mascot to counter the Navy goat. Mules were an obvious choice, as they were used as haulers for Army gear for generations. Not much is known about the "official" mules until 1936, when Mr. Jackson (named for Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson), a former Army pack mule, arrived from Front Royal, Virginia. He served for twelve years, presiding over two national championship teams. Starting with Mr. Jackson, there have been seventeen "official" Army mules, only one, Buckshot, being female. The current Mule Corps are:
Ranger III (formerly known as Jack): Ranger III, one of the Army Mules, has been on campus since 2011. He was trained by MAJ Anne Hessinger, an Army veterinarian who served at West Point in 2003–2006. Named, like his predecessor, for the 75th Ranger Regiment and all Rangers past and present, Ranger III came to the Academy in 2011 as a gift of Steve Townes, class of 1975. He stands at 16.2 hands (66 inches, 168 cm) and is the son of a Percheron mare.
Stryker (formerly known as Abe): Stryker is the half-brother of Ranger III. He was also trained by MAJ Anne Hessinger and gifted by Steve Townes. Stryker stands at a height slightly shorter than his brother.
Paladin (formerly known as Apache and Rocky): The newest member of the group, joined in February 2016, and is also a gift of Steve Townes. Paladin stands about two hands shorter than the half-brothers, and is half thoroughbred rather than Percheron.
The Army Mules are trained by cadet Mule Riders, a part of the Spirit Support Activity of the U.S. Corps of Cadets. The current Army Mule Riders are: Cadet Garrett Dolan, 2021, Cadet Sarah Traynor, 2022, Cadet Kyle Kass, 2023, and Cadet Benjamin Bennett, 2024. Together they are present at many of West Point's athletic events, parades, and other ceremonial activities.
The Mules serve not only as West Point's mascot, but also as the mascot for the entire United States Army.
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare).[1][2] Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two first-generation hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny, which is the offspring of a female donkey (jenny) and a male horse (stallion).
The size of a mule and work to which it is put depend largely on the breeding of the mule's mother (dam). Mules can be lightweight, medium weight, or when produced from draft mares, of moderately heavy weight.[3]:85–87 Mules are reputed to be more patient, hardy, and long-lived than horses, and are described as less obstinate and more intelligent than donkeys.[4]:5
Contents
1
Biology
2
Characteristics
2.1
Color and size variety
2.2
Distribution and use
3
Fertility
4
History
5
Modern usage
6
Trains
7
Gallery
8
Clone
9
See also
10
Notes
11
Citations
12
Further reading
13
External links
Biology
Mule and Ass by Hendrik Goltzius or Hieronymus Wierix, 1578
The mule is valued because, while it has the size and ground-covering ability of its dam, it is stronger than a horse of similar size and inherits the endurance and disposition of the donkey sire, tending to require less feed than a horse of similar size. Mules also tend to be more independent than most domesticated equines other than its parental species, the donkey.
The median weight range for a mule is between about 370 and 460 kg (820 and 1,000 lb).[5] While a few mules can carry live weight up to 160 kg (353 lb), the superiority of the mule becomes apparent in their additional endurance.[6]
In general, a mule can be packed with dead weight up to 20% of its body weight, or around 90 kg (198 lb).[6] Although it depends on the individual animal, mules trained by the Army of Pakistan are reported to be able to carry up to 72 kg (159 lb) and walk 26 km (16.2 mi) without resting.[7] The average equine in general can carry up to roughly 30% of its body weight in live weight, such as a rider.[8]
A female mule that has estrus cycles, thus in theory could carry a fetus, is called a "molly" or "Molly mule", though the term is sometimes used to refer to female mules in general. Pregnancy is rare, but can occasionally occur naturally, as well as through embryo transfer. A male mule is properly called a "horse mule", though often called a "john mule", which is the correct term for a gelded mule. A young male mule is called a "mule colt", and a young female is called a "mule filly".[9]
Characteristics
Ancient Greek rhyton in the shape of a mule's head, made by Brygos, early fifth century BC, Jérôme Carcopino Museum, Department of Archaeology, Aleria
With its short, thick head, long ears, thin limbs, small, narrow hooves, and short mane, the mule shares characteristics of a donkey. In height and body, shape of neck and rump, uniformity of coat, and teeth, it appears horse-like.[10] The mule occurs in all sizes, shapes, and conformations. Some mules resemble huge draft horses, sturdy Quarter Horses, fine-boned racing horses, shaggy ponies, and more.
The mule is an example of hybrid vigor.[11] Charles Darwin wrote: "The mule always appears to me a most surprising animal. That a hybrid should possess more reason, memory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance, and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outdone nature."[12]
The mule inherits from its sire the traits of intelligence, sure-footedness, toughness, endurance, disposition, and natural cautiousness. From its dam it inherits speed, conformation, and agility.[13]:5–6,8 Mules are reputed to exhibit a higher cognitive intelligence than their parent species, but robust scientific evidence to back up these claims is lacking. Preliminary data exist from at least two evidence-based studies, but they rely on a limited set of specialized cognitive tests and a small number of subjects.[14][15] Mules are generally taller at the shoulder than donkeys and have better endurance than horses, although a lower top speed.[16][14]
Handlers of working animals generally find mules preferable to horses; mules show more patience under the pressure of heavy weights, and their skin is harder and less sensitive than that of horses, rendering them more capable of resisting sun and rain.[10] Their hooves are harder than horses', and they show a natural resistance to disease and insects. Many North American farmers with clay soil found mules superior as plow animals.
A mule does not sound exactly like a donkey or a horse. Instead, a mule makes a sound similar to a donkey's, but also has the whinnying characteristics of a horse (often starts with a whinny, ends in a hee-haw). Mules sometimes whimper.[citation needed]
Color and size variety
Mules exist in a variety of colors and sizes; these mules had a draft mare for a mother.
A mule battery in the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1879–1880): Sepoys are sitting by the larger field guns.
Mules occur in a variety of configurations, sizes, and colors; minis weigh under 200 lb (91 kg) to over 1,000 lb (454 kg). The coats of mules have the same varieties as those of horses. Common colors are sorrel, bay, black, and grey. Less common are white, roan, palomino, dun, and buckskin. Least common are paint or tobiano patterns. Mules from Appaloosa mares produce wildly colored mules, much like their Appaloosa horse relatives, but with even wilder skewed colors. The Appaloosa color is produced by a complex of genes known as the leopard complex. Mares homozygous for this gene complex bred to any color donkey will produce a spotted mule.
Distribution and use
Mules historically were used by armies to transport supplies, occasionally as mobile firing platforms for smaller cannons, and to pull heavier field guns with wheels over mountainous trails such as in Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.[17]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that China was the top market for mules in 2003, closely followed by Mexico and many Central and South American nations.
Fertility
Mules and hinnies have 63 chromosomes, a mixture of the horse's 64 and the donkey's 62. The different structure and number usually prevents the chromosomes from pairing up properly and creating successful embryos, rendering most mules infertile.
A few mare mules have produced offspring when mated with a purebred horse or donkey.[18][19] Herodotus gives an account of such an event as an ill omen of Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BC: "There happened also a portent of another kind while he was still at Sardis—a mule brought forth young and gave birth to a mule" (Herodotus The Histories 7:57), and a mule's giving birth was a frequently recorded portent in antiquity, although scientific writers also doubted whether the thing was really possible (see e.g. Aristotle, Historia animalium, 6.24; Varro, De re rustica, 2.1.28).
As of October 2002, only 60 cases of mules birthing foals had been documented since 1527.[19] In China in 2001, a mare mule produced a filly.[20] In Morocco in early 2002 and Colorado in 2007, mare mules produced colts.[19][21][22] Blood and hair samples from the Colorado birth verified that the mother was indeed a mule and the foal was indeed her offspring.[22]
A 1939 article in the Journal of Heredity describes two offspring of a fertile mare mule named "Old Bec", which was owned at the time by Texas A&M University in the late 1920s. One of the foals was a female, sired by a jack. Unlike her mother, she was sterile. The other, sired by a five-gaited Saddlebred stallion, exhibited no characteristics of any donkey. That horse, a stallion, was bred to several mares, which gave birth to live foals that showed no characteristics of the donkey.[23]
History
A 20-mule team in Death Valley, California
The mule is "the most common and oldest known manmade hybrid."[24][25] It was likely invented in ancient times in what is now Turkey. They were common in Egypt by 3000 BCE.[24] Homer noted their arrival in Asia Minor in the Iliad in 800 BCE. Mules are mentioned in the Bible (Samuel 2:18:9, Kings 1:18:5, Zacharia 14:15, Psalms 32:9). Christopher Columbus brought mules to the New World.[25] George Washington is known as the father of the American mule due to his success in producing 57 mules at his home at Mount Vernon. At the time, mules were not common in the United States, but Washington understood their value, as they were "more docile than donkeys and cheap to maintain."[26] In the 19th century, they were used in various capacities as draft animals - on farms, especially where clay made the soil slippery and sticky; pulling canal boats; and famously for pulling, often in teams of 20 animals, wagonloads of borax out of Death Valley, California from 1883 to 1889. The wagons were among the largest ever pulled by draft animals, designed to carry 10 short tons (9 metric tons) of borax ore at a time.[27]
Modern usage
A spotted mule
In the second half of the 20th century, widespread usage of mules declined in industrialized countries. The use of mules for farming and transportation of agricultural products largely gave way to steam-, then gasoline-powered, tractors and trucks.
Mules are still used extensively to transport cargo in rugged, roadless regions, such as the large wilderness areas of California's Sierra Nevada mountains or the Pasayten Wilderness of northern Washington. Commercial pack mules are used recreationally, such as to supply mountaineering base camps, and also to supply trail-building and maintenance crews, and backcountry footbridge-building crews.[28] As of July 2014, at least 16 commercial mule pack stations are in business in the Sierra Nevada.[29] The Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club has a mule pack section that organizes hiking trips with supplies carried by mules.[30]
During the Soviet–Afghan War, mules were used to carry weapons and supplies over Afghanistan's rugged terrain to the mujahideen.[31]
About 3.5 million donkeys and mules are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.[32]
Mule trains have been part of working portions of transportation links as recently as 2005 by the World Food Programme.[33]