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INDIAN WAR-SPANISH AMERICAN ERA “ROPES”
HOLSTER – .45 CALIBER REVOLVER HOLSTER COMPLETE WITH
CARTRIDGE LOOPS ON THE BODY OF THE HOLSTER – A NICE
EXAMPLE OF A FAIRLY SCARCE HOLSTER: The subject
of misidentification over the years, and the origin and
manufacturer still remains in question, these well
recognized holsters are one of the more evocative single
action holster designs used by US military forces in the
late 19TH and early 20TH
Centuries.
Long commonly known as the “Ropes’ Pattern” holster
within collector circles, this design was erroneously
identified as the design submitted by Capt. James M.
Ropes, commander of Troop B of the 8TH US
Cavalry then stationed at Ft. Ringgold, Texas. Capt.
Ropes had written to the Adjutant General, providing a
review of the Forsyth pattern holster. Ropes was
definitely not a fan of the flap which covered the butt
of the revolver on all US Army issue holsters of that
period. He wrote: “The flap on a holster is worse
than useless; it is always a nuisance and soldiers, if
left to themselves will almost always cut it off,
frequently with the consent of troop commanders.”
He went on to describe the flap as a “relic”,
leftover from the days of the percussion revolvers,
leaving little doubt that he regarded the flap as a
waste of leather.
In the course of this same letter, he refers to two
sample holsters of different designs he was submitting
for consideration to the headquarters of the Department
of Texas in San Antonio. One of these holsters he
describes in the text of his letter as: “…..the other
[holster] is a modification.…arranged to carry 12
pistol cartridges if desired…..these holsters when
carried on the right side present the butt of the pistol
to rear instead of to the front as now prescribed…”.
While Ropes included two of the features included in
this holster – the attached cartridge loops and the
orientation of the revolver butt to the rear – he not
only omitted any mention of a flap, but given his
dislike for flaps, it is doubtful he would have included
one in his design. Not only does this holster feature a
flap, but it is a dramatically larger design than the
flap incorporated in the standard issue Model 1881
Holsters that Ropes found so objectionable.
How this holster became associated with Ropes’ suggested
patterns has been lost to time, but based on the
detailed information Scott Meadows included in both his
US Military Holsters and Pistol Cartridge Boxes
and US Military Holsters and Related Accoutrements,
there is now little room for doubt that Capt. Ropes did
not directly contribute to the development of the
holster design offered here.
Meadows notes that this pattern of holster was not only
made for the .45 caliber revolvers such as this example,
but they were also made for .38 caliber revolvers, and
he offers that the existence of .38 caliber revolvers
may suggest this pattern dates from the Spanish American
War. He also notes that examples of these holsters have
been found with a varying number of cartridge loops,
some as few as nine. He does include two photographs
showing soldiers serving in the Philippine Islands ca.
1898-1900 who are clearly wearing this pattern of
holster – further evidence of when they were in use.
This is a very attractive example and it is complete
with all the components. The large lobed flap retains
its full profile and is complete with the closing tab.
The body of the holster is full form, retains the brass
closing finial, the seam is fully intact with all the
stitching, and the toe plug is present and intact. The
elongated belt loop for accommodating the Mills woven
looped cartridge belts is full form, solidly attached
with all the stitching intact to the top rear of the
body of the holster, and the retention strap around the
body of the holster is riveted on both ends of the
strap. The holster holds its shape and while the
leather has been treated at some time in the past, it is
not oil soaked, and the leather still has a solid feel
to it. The leather surface of the flap is overall
smooth with no loss, and the surfaces of the body, belt
loop and retention strap all show some wear and some
surface crazing. The top crest of the flap is stamped
with what appear to be a series of unit applied
inventory numbers.
There are 11 .45 caliber cartridge loops present and it
is unclear whether this holster was made with 11 loops
or if one was removed. Viewing the holster as it would
be worn on a belt, at some time in the past a small
piece of thin leather was glued to the inside of the
last loop on the right side, to reinforce the leather.
The exposed end of this loop is not stitched down, but
could be restitched if the new owner so wished. As it
is, it does not detract from the display quality of the
holster. All the other loops are fully intact, while
they do show wear and age, they are complete with the
stitching intact.
This is a very presentable of a fairly scarce 19TH
Century US Military holster, and while its history
remains a bit clouded, there is no doubt they saw
service both here and abroad, and this specimen would
make a nice addition to any collection of single action
revolver holsters. (0202) $1975
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