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MODEL 1896 SADDLE
BAGS – VERY SOLID BLACK LEATHER SET – MARKED ROCK
ISLAND ARSENAL:
A necessary piece of horse equipment to complete your
Spanish American War saddle display, this set of Model
1896 Saddlebags has survived in respectable condition.
Introduced at the end of the 19th Century in
response to complaints that the opening of the earlier
Model 1885 Saddle Bags were too narrow, therefore making
it difficult to access the contents, the Model 1896
Saddlebags featured a gusset with a wider top, providing
for a larger opening into the bag. These bags were
manufactured for a relatively short period of roughly
six years in black leather, when in 1902 when the army
regulations directed the change from black to russet
colored leather. This same pattern continued in use and
after the change to russet leather they became the early
pattern Model 1904 Saddlebags. Due to the heavy use the
Model 1896 Saddlebags saw during the Spanish American
War, and the relatively short period of manufacture,
they are not commonly encountered.
This set of bags is in very good condition with full
pliable outer flaps complete with all of the full length
closing billets, all of the buckles, and both tie down
rings. The flaps are both embossed with a legible "US"
in the oval. The interior liners are present and
intact, and are the correct pattern – that is, the near
side liner has the internal pockets for the mess
utensils and off side liner is properly without these
pockets. The liners are a matched pair and are made of
the brown cotton duck material similar to that of the
Indian War haversacks, and not the white
canvas liners used in the
later Model 1904 Saddlebags.
All four of the liner
attachment buttons on both bags are present and intact.
The upper corners of the
bag bodies, where the top of the gussets attach, are
solid and intact - an area that often shows weakness or
tearing. The
gussets are smooth and very
pliable, with the off side bag gusset completely intact,
and the near side bag gusset showing some wear at the
bottom of the bag. The wear on the one bag, visible in
the photographs below, is characteristic of this lighter
gusset leather and does not affect the display quality
or integrity of the bag.
The seat, or yoke
connecting the two bags that passes across the back of
the saddle, is strong and complete with both leather
keys used to secure the saddlebags to the foot loops on
the rear sidebar extensions of the saddle, and both
footloop reinforcement plates intact. The yoke is
legibly stamped “ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL” adjacent to the
near side, or left, foot loop slot. The yoke is also
stamped “HO” or “HQ” and “42” in two places along the
rear edge of the yoke, likely a unit inventory numbers.
Overall, the leather
surfaces are smooth, bright and shiny, and the leather
is supple. All of the seams are intact and this set is
strong, very clean and will display very well.
Model 1896 Saddlebags have never been common due to the
service in tropical climates that many of them were
subjected to, and this is a set with all of the
important components intact. Overall, this is a very
nice, attractive set of saddlebags that has survived
service in the field in respectable condition and will
definitely enhance the appearance and value of your
Spanish American War Model 1896 McClellan saddle.
SOLD
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