Mounting cavalry on rolling platforms was a toy soldier innovation that appears in the early 19th century in response to the fame of Napoleon's dashing cavalry under such leaders as Marat, Lesseps, and especially Davout... It's a distinctive trait of the Mainland European cavalry figure that never really caught on in England or, by extension, with American manufacturers...possibly because the extra parts for the platform and wheels added cost. It was seen in America frequently enough, however, by way of the large late 19th Century Christmas Toy importing phenomena where large shipments
