Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. Offered in good used condition and complete with Quarter Straps, this is a great WWI Saddle set including the McClellan saddle, saddle bags, stirrups, and Cavalry boots with attached spurs. Some parts are definitely deteriorated and need to be reconditioned. We were able to find very faint arsenal markings which show the manufacturer as P.C. CO, for the Perkins-Campbell Company of Cincinnati Ohio, and the 12 INCH SEAT marking on the brass fitting on the front. There are a myriad of inspector stamps, but the only maker we could find was Perkins-Campbell. Please consult the pictures for the finer condition details.
When the war began, practically all Army purchases of harness were made thorough the Jeffersonville, Indiana Quartermaster Depot.1 Early in 1918, purchasing was moved to Chicago because most of the suppliers were near that city. Given the vast extent of the stockyard and cattle slaughter industry in Chicago, it is not surprising that leather-related industries also grew up there.
Just as in the wagon industry, the beginning of the war saw shortages of manufacturing facilities for harnesses. The Quartermaster Corps made a careful survey of all possible suppliers, and “every manufacturer having proper facilities has been consulted regarding needs, and in a majority of cases induced to take on his proper share of the work.”
The cavalry - though bear in mind that by the time the U.S. entered the war, cavalry battles were not being fought - would have used a version of the McClellan saddle. Resembling a stripped-down U.S. stock or western saddle, the McClellan was first introduced before the Civil War and had changed little over the years. It had a wooden framework, or tree, which was leather covered but had no padding on the side presented to the rider (on some saddles, there was sheepskin on the side for the horse.)
The set includes the 12-inch saddle which has both stirrups & stirrup straps, and quarter-strap safes & rings still attached via their original straps, though they are rather worn. This set also includes the horse bit and the foot staples. The stirrups do not have hoods, and there is no cincha.
The included Saddlebags are in good service-used condition, with US still embossed on both sides, and all straps mostly retained, but it doesn’t appear to have any maker markings.
Also included are a pair of Cavalry boots by Gokey’s Shoes in Jamestown, New York. They are not sized from what we can see, but they appear to be around a Size 7. They both retain their original stirrups which are still well-attached and display beautifully, but the leather of the boots is worn and crazing a bit.
This is a really phenomenal saddle set, with several scarce pieces and lots of research potential. Comes ready for further research and display!
The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan, after his tour of Europe as the member of a military commission charged with studying the latest developments in engineer and cavalry forces including field equipment. Based on his observations, McClellan proposed a design that was adopted by the Army in 1859. The McClellan saddle was a success and continued in use in various forms until the US Army's last horse cavalry and horse artillery was dismounted late in World War II. Today, the McClellan saddle is used by ceremonial mounted units in the US Army. The saddle was used by several other nations, including Rhodesia and Mexico, and to a degree by the British in the Boer War. The saddle came in various seat sizes that predominantly ranged from approximately 11 to 12 ½ inches.
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