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For those of you without too much to do on a cold wintery evening...

US Horse Equipment Trials in 1850s - A series of five related articles - use the menu at the top to access others.

https://www.militaryhorse.org/what-were ... nt-trials/

A number of subjects are so interconnected in this time frame, it's difficult to snake out something 'simple' like, who actually came up with 'the McClellan military saddle'?

Lots of other questions have to be answered as well - some which were surprising to find out were actually still unanswered questions.

Like, why did McClellan resign in November 1856? People know he left the Army in January 1857, but almost no one mentions that he actually resigned in late November of the previous year, giving the effective date of mid-January. The drama that was swirling around him in October and November, that finally ended with him being 'taken to the woodshed' by the Adjutant General and Secretary of War, and his near immediate resignation - that's still mysterious as to what actually occurred. I think that would be an awesome masters thesis for some military history student - an example of the egotistical narcissist McClellan, that basically played out in the same way less than 10 years later.

Hi Todd,

although I have more than 34 degrees centigarde here, I still find it very interesting!

Thanks for sharing.

Tom

Tom Muller wrote: Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:50 am Hi Todd,

although I have more than 34 degrees centigarde here, I still find it very interesting!

Thanks for sharing.

Tom

I think it was about -15 C when I posted it...

Just the tip of the iceberg - more and more resources are being digitized out there, and long-hidden details keep popping up.

Report of the Quartermaster General of the State of New Jersey for the Year 1883, Newton, N. J., Thomas G. Bunnell, Printer.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... =1up;seq=9

Page 67, refers to:

"11 McClellan saddles, seated,
1 McClellan saddle, cavalry,"

What is the difference?

That's a interesting question - looking at some of the other issued material to Col. Ropes Third Regiment N.G., it looks like they were outfitting a battery as part of the regiment. Perhaps they were referring to the 'artillery' versions, as opposed to the single 'cavalry' saddle, which would be used by a battery officer or NCO.... a thought. Have never seen that reference before.

That is what I was coming up with, also.

When, exactly, did the Grimsley’s go out of service and the McClellan go into service as an artillery saddle. Some of the heavy artillery units were still using Grinsley’s as late as 1900. Don’t know where I got that information, though. There are 1890’s photographs of the draft of artillery teams that show McClellans.

Couvi wrote: Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:13 pm That is what I was coming up with, also.

When, exactly, did the Grimsley’s go out of service and the McClellan go into service as an artillery saddle. Some of the heavy artillery units were still using Grinsley’s as late as 1900. Don’t know where I got that information, though. There are 1890’s photographs of the draft of artillery teams that show McClellans.

Artillery gear is really tough to nail down to particular dates - so much was made and issued 'on demand'. Things got mixed up too - as you can see with the saddle depicted in this 1906 article (image at bottom, click for larger version) -

https://www.militaryhorse.org/united-st ... y-harness/

The seat is a nice M1887, the rigging is M1893 Godfrey modification, and stirrups are probably old Grimsley CW issue pieces. What 'model' would this one be?

Not a clue!