Inspectors at Scheffer & Rossum Co., St. Paul, Minnesota in 1918.

WW1 US Saddlery Contractors

These marks are commonly found on WW1 US horse equipment and related items. On leather items, there will also typically be a three-character stamp under this mark indicating the government inspectors initials, and many times date of manufacture year stamping (1917 or 1918). Contractor Name Contractor Location Images of Marks Exact Marking Characters A. G….

The Question of Equipment

The Question of Equipment

A Critique of the Model of 1879 Whitman cavalry saddle by a military officer. To the Editor of the Army and Navy Journal: SIR: A writer to the ARMY And Navy Journal, who signs himself “109 Degrees in the Shade,” gives us his opinion on “The Question of Equipment,” and indulges the hope that others…

M1859 McClellan / CW pattern roller buckles

M1859 McClellan / CW pattern roller buckles

The common iron ‘barrel buckle’, or roller buckle, was referenced in the U.S. Ordnance Manual and other specifications for civil war horse equipment, such as the McClellan, the various artillery items, and quartermaster harness. A truly popular form of buckle hardware for leather straps and belts, it’s still very common today. The exact style of…

Rodney – A Veteran Artillery Horse

Rodney – A Veteran Artillery Horse

Battery “D,” 3rd Field Artillery,Fort Myer, Virginia, March 27, 1916. FROM: C. O. Battery “D,” 3rd Field Artillery.To: The Adjutant General, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. (Through Military Channels.) SUBJECT: Feeding and Stabling of Horse “Rodney.” This letter with its nineteen subsequent indorsements caused the issuance of orders necessary to insure proper care and…

The Drinking Water Cart – the first ‘buffalo’?

The Drinking Water Cart – the first ‘buffalo’?

Caught between various kitchen duties, some doughboys take a break for a photograph, posing around the water cart. What would later be called a ‘water buffalo’, this is one of the earliest of the US Army’s portable water supply vehicles, made to Quartermaster Department specifications. In this image, we see the typical overseas caps and…