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MODEL 1859 CIVIL
WAR McCLELLAN SADDLE BAGS – w/ MODIFICATION FOR USE WITH
THE MODEL 1868 McCLELLAN SADDLE:
A necessary piece of horse equipment to complete your
saddle, this set of Model 1859 Saddlebags is in very
good condition and exhibits evidence of continued use on
the frontier after the Civil War on the Model 1868
McClellan Saddles.
It has been noted that a
number of the extant specimens of the Model 1868 Saddle
do not have the saddle bag stud behind the cantle, and
the absence of this stud appears to have been an
intentional omission when the saddle was being
refurbished with new quarterstraps and the brass molding
was added. It is believed that perhaps the brass
molding reduced the clearance between the cantle and the
saddle bag stud making it inaccessible, and was
therefore omitted as unnecessary. In order to
compensate for the absence of the stud, and probably
because it was easier than wrestling with lining up the
foot loops on the saddle with the slots and retaining
tabs on the saddlebag yoke, the soldiers simply made a
cross shaped pair of cuts on each side of the yoke in
line with the round equipment rings on the cantle. The
bags were then placed across the cantle, the rings
easily pulled through the cuts and the cantle roll was
then strapped in place over the saddle bag yoke securing
the entire assembly in place.
This set of bags feature
these cruciform cuts on the yoke and they show evidence
of use. This modification has been noted in a few other
existing sets of saddle bags, and is desirable evidence
of frontier use, however it is a feature far from
commonly found. Most of the frontier issued bags were
simply used to destruction, and those few that did
survive to be returned to the Ordnance Depots were
condemned to the trash pits due to the soldier applied
modifications.
In
spite of this obvious evidence of issue and use, both of
the bags are in notably very good condition with full
outer flaps complete with the closing billets and
buckles, the interior pouches are complete and intact,
and the gussets, commonly found split or torn, are fully
intact and very pliable. The original interior pocket
laces are present on both bags, an added value as these
laces are normally missing entirely.
The leather surfaces all
show age and some wear with the expected crazing to the
surface in some areas, but there is no loss of finish
and the crazing is limited to those areas subject to
being bent or flexed. All of the seams are intact.
The seat, or yoke
connecting the two bags that passes across the back of
the saddle, is complete with both leather keys used to
secure the saddlebags to the foot loops on the rear
sidebar extensions of the saddle. The seat is intact
with no tears or repairs which is unusual as this is a
classic weak point. As noted above, there are the
soldier applied cuts which allowed the bags to be
secured with the rear equipment rings.
The lower tie down
straps and buckles were intentionally cut off, probably
during the period of use. This is a commonly noted
soldier modification, particularly in these sets which
feature the cruciform cuts in the seat for the equipment
rings, as those straps were no longer needed and the
soldiers were quick to eliminate any unnecessary straps
or billets which could become snagged or tangled in the
other equipment on their horse.
Model 1859 Saddlebags in
respectable condition are becoming a very difficult
Civil War saddle accessory to find on the market today,
and those showing any evidence of field use that remain
intact and are still worth owning are scarce indeed.
Overall, this is a very nice, attractive set of
saddlebags with the added value of showing post Civil
War frontier use. That they have survived at all is
notable – to have survived frontier use in this
condition is nothing short of remarkable and this set
will definitely enhance the appearance and value of your
Civil War or early Indian War McClellan Saddle.
SOLD
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