In 1863, the Ordnance department of the US Army was making numerous positive actions to improve the horse equipment acquisition process. One of these efforts was concentrated on quality control of saddle trees – a product notoriously difficult to produce to specification on a mass scale. All saddle trees were made using hand tools, so…
Of all the speculations about the design evolution of the McClellan military saddle, the clearest ‘progenitor’ is that of the Campbell cavalry saddle of 1855. I don’t intend to delve into the various other theories here – that sort of debate can go on for far longer than most peoples attention span and patience! In…
Like so many details of American military horse equipment, these details can be traced to European influences – even to the small small brass decorative fittings. Pommel ornaments or ‘shields’ are a fixture of US military saddles going all the way back to the first Ringgold dragoons saddles (circa 1841-42). A natural solution for reinforcing…
One of the distinctive characteristics of a civil war McClellan saddle are the four saddle rings, ‘holdin down the corners’. On reading the Ordnance Manual of 1861 and it’s description for how these were to be installed, it was a little bit confusing. The rings were to be installed with iron staples driven through the…
In 1859, the McClellan model cavalry saddle specifications were extensively revised from the previously tested Pattern of 1857 McClellan (commonly referred to as the Trial Saddle). One of these alterations was the substitution of the hardware used for the bridle, saddlebags, carbine loop and coat straps with that made of ‘blued malleable iron’. Many collectors…
