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MODEL 1874 McCLELLAN SADDLE GIRTHS – SCARCE FIRST
PATTERN EARLY WATERVLIET ARSENAL PRODUCTION AND SECOND
PATTERN ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL GIRTHS: As shown and
discussed on pages 239 through 241 of American
Military Saddles, 1776-1945, and direct from the
research collections of the authors, these First and
Second Pattern
Model 1874 McClellan Saddle Girths exhibit the
characteristics of those girths made at Watervliet
Arsenal for the early production sets of Model 1874
Horse Equipments and later at the Rock Island Arsenal.
Through our research, and noting the characteristics of
several surviving specimens, we found that while
Ordnance Memoranda No. 18 called for the Model 1874
Girth to be made with 7.5” wide linen webbing, like so
many other new pieces of equipment adopted during the
Indian War era, the financially constrained Ordnance
Department was forced to use up existing stocks before
new materials could be purchased or new designs
produced.
Hence, these First Pattern Model
1874 Girths were manufactured with the 5” wide linen
webbing; simply to use up the remaining stock before the
wider 7.5” material could be purchased.
Identifiable by the dimensions of the leather safes at
each end, the safes on these First Pattern girths extend
past the “D” ring and roller buckles on the ends of the
girth to protect the horse from wear by the hardware as
was shown in the diagrams in Ordnance Memoranda No. 18.
In contrast, the safes on the Model 1872 Girths were cut
so that the extreme edges of the hardware lay right at
the outer edge of the leather safe, and were in a
position to come in contact with the horse’s skin with
the possibility of creating sores due to rubbing.
These girths are excellent examples of the Custer-era
horse equipment, and are especially important as
testimony to the Ordnance Department’s economical use of
materials on hand. These Model 1874 First
and Second Pattern Girths will be significant additions to your
Indian War Cavalry collection.
I currently have the following girths in stock and each
one is described and priced individually below with
accompanying photographs.
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NO. 1 MODEL 1874 McCLELLAN SADDLE GIRTH – SCARCE
FIRST PATTERN WITH EARLY PRODUCTION CHARACTERISTICS –
MARKED WATERVLIET ARSENAL:
Showing no evidence of use,
and having survived in remarkable condition, this early
production, First Pattern Model 1874 Girth is an
excellent specimen.
The leather safes on each end and the reinforcement
strap across the center have a bright, smooth surface
with no crazing or loss of finish.
The nearside safe is
legibly stamped “WATERVLIET ARSENAL” in the center of
the “D” ring, and the large buckle chape on the offside
safe bears the inspector initials “ARS”.
The linen webbing has
alternating blue and buff stripes. There is no wear or
moth holes, but there are two small hand stitched
repairs immediately adjacent to the reinforcement strap
and both appear to be old, period repairs that do not
detract from the overall appearance of the girth.
Measuring 27” long and 5” wide, the girth is full length
and retains its full form. (1013) $425
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NO. 2
MODEL 1874 McCLELLAN SADDLE GIRTH – SECOND PATTERN
– MARKED ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL - IN EXCELLENT CONDITION:
Showing little evidence of use,
and having survived in remarkable condition, this Second Pattern Model 1874 Girth is an
excellent specimen.
The leather safes on each end and the reinforcement
strap across the center have a bright, smooth surface
with no loss of finish.
The nearside safe is
legibly stamped with the early "sunrise" style “ROCK
ISLAND ARSENAL” in the center of
the “D” ring, and the offside safe bears the inspector's
and the piece
worker's initials.
The linen webbing has
alternating blue and buff stripes. There is no wear or
moth holes in the webbing, with only some minor
stretching of the weave through limited use.
Measuring 27.5” long and 7” wide, the girth is full length
and retains its full form. (0217) $350
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NO. 3 MODEL 1874 McCLELLAN SADDLE GIRTH – SCARCE
FIRST PATTERN WITH EARLY PRODUCTION CHARACTERISTICS AND
FIELD MODIFICATION:
Showing evidence of use,
including the addition of a strap along the centerline
of the girth body, this early
production, First Pattern Model 1874 Girth is an unusual
survivor of actual use in the field. The leather
strap and buckle running the length of the body of the
girth, anchored on each end to the original safes, was a
company saddler addition probably at the request of one
of his soldiers to serve as an attachment for a tie down
to provide additional control on a horse that was prone
to throw his head.
All of the leather including this strap and the safes on each end
have a crazed surface
consistent with field use and age, but with no loss of
the surface leather. Due to the use and wear, any
arsenal stamps have been worn away, but given the early
First Pattern characteristics, this girth was most
certainly manufactured at Watervliet Arsenal. The linen webbing has
alternating blue and buff stripes, and in spite of the
obvious use, the webbing still retains bright colors and
there are no wear or
moth holes. Measuring
26 ½” long and 5 ½” wide, the girth is full length
and retains its full form. Overall this is a very
nice example which while showing use in the field and
modification by a company saddler still presents as a
very nice example of an early Indian War girth. (0415) $350 |
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NO. 4 MODEL 1874 McCLELLAN SADDLE GIRTH –
SECOND PATTERN –
MARKED ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL - IN "LIKE NEW" UNISSUED
CONDITION:
Showing no evidence of use,
and having survived in remarkable condition, this Second Pattern Model 1874 Girth is an
excellent specimen.
The leather safes on each end and the reinforcement
strap across the center have a bright, smooth surface
with no crazing or loss of finish.
The nearside safe is
legibly stamped with the early "sunrise" style “ROCK
ISLAND ARSENAL” in the center of
the “D” ring, and the large buckle chape on the offside
safe bears the inspector initials “DCL” and the piece
worker's initials "WK".
The linen webbing has
alternating blue and buff stripes. There is no wear or
moth holes, and the girth shows no sign of issue or use.
Measuring 26 ½” long
and 7 ½” wide, the girth is full length
and retains its full form.
SOLD
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NO. 5 MODEL 1874 McCLELLAN SADDLE GIRTH – SCARCE
FIRST PATTERN WITH EARLY PRODUCTION CHARACTERISTICS –
MARKED WATERVLIET ARSENAL:
Showing no evidence of use,
and having survived in remarkable condition, this Model
1874 Girth is not only an excellent specimen, but it
serves as evidence of the production methods practiced
at the Watervliet Arsenal. This is the exact girth
shown and discussed in great detail in The American
Military Saddle, 1776-1945 on page 239-241 (Figures
3 & 4, page 239).
This particular Model 1874 Girth was acquired with a
First Pattern Model 1874 McClellan Saddle in the 1970’s
in upstate New York at a private garage sale. At the
time, the saddle and all the related accessories were
still packed in the original wooden shipping crate which
was stenciled “WATERVLIET ARSENAL”. The saddle’s two
girth strap safes, both of the stirrup hoods, and the
nearside safe on this girth were all stamped with Civil
War contractor’s cartouches, evidence that all of these
leather pieces were cut from obsolete Civil War
accoutrements such as rifle cartridge boxes. The use of
obsolete Civil War equipment held in inventory at the
arsenals for the manufacture of any number of Indian War
accoutrements, saddle components, rifle slings, and a
variety of other equipment is well documented, and
surviving pieces that resulted from that recycling
effort such as this girth are quite interesting.
The offside leather safe and the reinforcement strap
across the center have a bright, smooth surface with no
crazing or loss of finish and the safe is stamped with
the inspectors’ initials “GM” and “ARS”. The nearside
safe is crazed, but has not suffered any surface loss,
and it is stamped with the Civil War contractor’s
cartouche “C.S. STORM/MAKER/NEW YO(RK)” in the upper
right corner, as well as a barely visible “WATERVLIET
ARSENAL” just inside the curve of the “D” ring. The
body of the girth features linen webbing that is one of
the known variations in the color schemes, having wide
yellow/brown stripes and narrow blue stripes. There is
no wear, no moth holes, and all the stitching is
intact. Measuring 28.25” long and 5.75” wide, the girth
is full length and retains its full form.
SOLD
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