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MODEL 1904 McCLELLAN SADDLE SABRE STRAPS – SCARCE
MATCHED PAIR AS ISSUED FOR CARRYING THE MODEL 1912
“PATTON” SABRE – IN VERY NICE CONDITION: Pairs
of equal length Model 1904 Saddle Sabre Straps were
issued to suspend the cavalry sabres from the service
saddles of the period. However, unlike the earlier
patterns of sabres with the scabbard rings spaced along
the same edge of the scabbard from which the sabre hung
horizontally or at an acute angle from the side of the
saddle, the scabbard rings on the Model 1912 Sabre were
positioned one on each side at the top of the scabbard,
and the sabre hung vertically from the saddle.
The Model 1912 Sabre was originally introduced with the
complicated Model 1912 Trial Horse Equipments which
included a specially designed leather sabre carrier,
however this carrier was so specifically designed that
the means of attaching it was unique to the Model 1912
Saddle. Since the Model 1912 Saddle was in fact, a
trial saddle which had a relatively brief service life,
and the more durable Model 1912 Sabres continued to be
made and issued long after the eclipse of the Model 1912
Saddles, a means of carrying the Model 1912 Sabre on the
subsequent patterns of the McClellan Saddle had to be
devised.
As the Model 1904 Saddle Sabre Straps were already a
well established means of carrying the sabres, dating
back to the Model 1885 Horse Equipment, simply
substituting one of the standard length straps for a
longer strap would allow for the Model 1912 Sabre to be
carried vertically – the front scabbard ring being
attached to a lower point on the side of the saddle and
the longer strap attached between the rear scabbard ring
and a point higher on the cantle of the saddle.
None of these saddle sabre straps – including those
dating from the Model 1885 Equipment through the end of
the horse cavalry – have ever been common on the
collector’s market. One of the saddle accessories that
were either used to destruction, repurposed at a later
time by the army, or easily separated from the saddles
as the equipment moved into the surplus and collector
markets, these straps did not survive in significant
numbers, and they are seldom available, even more
scarcely found in pairs. Pairs of straps such as those
offered here which were specifically intended for use
with the Model 1912 Saddle are outright rare, and are
almost never seen on the market.
This pair of sabre straps shows signs of having been
issued and used, however the straps are still in very
good condition with no weak points. The straps are
legibly stamped on the tips with the piece workers’
initials for the men who manufactured them - “HHB” on
the short strap and “J.V.K” on the longer strap. They
are full length, have a smooth, bright russet leather
surface, and the bronze buckles still retain the subdued
finish.
Saddle sabre straps of any pattern rarely appear on the
market in any condition, and those for the Model 1912
Sabre are very rare, making this matched pair a notable
offering. (0224) $250
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