"ACW Cavalry Saddle Question" Topic

What did civil war cavalry usually have tied behind their saddle (on the cantle) and in front of the saddle (on the pommel)? Being the American civil war, I imagine, it's a matter of what the training manuals say are supposed be carried there and what they actually carried there.

Right now, I'm leaning towards a white tent half on the pommel and a cavalryman's overcoat wrapped in a black groundsheet on the cantle. Would that be accurate?

All the 1861 regulations say is that there are "coat straps" passing through the cantle and pommel. So, that would lend some credence to your idea. Coggins' _Arms and Equipment_ says that, "straps on saddle were for attaching blanket roll, poncho, etc." Personally, I think it would be hard to go wrong with a blanket/overcoat on the back and a poncho on the front, as that would permit the rider to grab the rain gear pretty quickly. Hopefully, someone can come along soon with a more definitive answer.
BWW

BrianW

Makes sense.

So, in painting terms, you would paint the item on the cantle grey (blanket) or light blue (overcoat). You would paint the item on the pommel black (poncho).

The reason I mentioned the tent half is that I've seen the pommel item painted off-white (canvas white ) a number of times at wargame conventions and in book illustrations. I never quite understood that since I would expect all tent items to be carried in the regiment's wagons.

mosby65,
Sometimes I will vary the blanket color for my Reb cavalry, but generally I do it as you've described. As for carrying a tent half, well, I guess it's possible but I'd have to do some more looking around in my sources before I'd say yes to that.
BWW

Granted reenactors aren't always doing this correctly, but I'm seeing some variety in what is placed where.

picture

picture

picture

some instructions in placement:
mainecav.org/moa/tacking.html
mainecav.org/moa/coat.html
link
link

looks like the coat and poncho (looking at the regulations a poncho is not necessarily supplied) to the front. Tent and blanket to the rear. Makes sense. What you need right away is up front.

"since I would expect all tent items to be carried in the regiment's wagons."

I would really doubt this with cavalry. They need to/would operate too fast for wagons to keep up. Even infantry generally carry their own shelter half. Infantry only puts their tents in wagons (or trusts to see them again) when they were using the larger multi-men Sibley tents or A-frame tents.

" I would expect all tent items to be carried in the regiment's wagons."

That's not even true for infantry and artillery. You either carried it yourself or you didn't have a dog tent/shelter half.

The exception being early in the war in the east. The majority of Army of the Potomac infantry soldiers used the larger multi-men Sibley or a-frame tent. I read the diary of a member of the 4th Maryland infantry. He took great pride in how he never slept on the ground (they had wooden floors for their Sibleys) until the 64 overland campaign when the Sibleys were taken away and the unit received dog tents.

Of course, this would probably help explain why the AOP moved slower than a snail….

EJNashIII,

That would only be the case if the troops were in forts/winter quarters some place not near the front. Regiments had their wagons taken away by McClellan. Sibley tents were also the biggest and bulkiest to store or transport so they almost never traveled with armies. At best they could get A tents but that was rare on campaign too.

"Manner of Placing the Effects on the Saddle.

Place the overcoat on the front of the saddle, lining down, pocket towards the rear, buckle the centre strap so tightly the the coat cannot touch the withers, then buckle the other straps as tightly as possible.

Fasten the blanket to the cantle in the same manner."

The above quote from the contemporary cavalry manual, Congdon's Cavalry Compendium, pretty much settles the question for the configuration with the best historical evidence for Union cavalry as far as I am concerned.

I also wouldn't feel uncomfortable with the overcoat on the pommel and the poncho on the cantle as illustrated on page 199 of Mark Adkin's wonderful book, The Gettysburg Companion.

As for the tent half, I have enormous respect for civil war re-enactors and their command of civil war sources for mount equipment and configuration. Since no one offered any challenge to their use of a tent half, I see no reason why a tent half could not be tied on the saddle tree as well.

So, drawing from responses and citations in this thread and my follow up research, I prepared the following guide for painting civil war cavalry saddle tree attachments:

Saddle tree attachments in order of likelihood

If the tent half or poncho is used on the pommel, it obviously cannot be used on the cantle, and vice versa.

Union

Pommel Attachments:
1. Cavalry overcoat (light blue)
2. Cavalry overcoat wrapped in poncho (black)
3. Cavalry overcoat wrapped in tent half ( off white)
Cantle Attachments:
1. Blanket (grey)
2. Blanket wrapped in poncho (black)
3. Blanket wrapped in tent half (off white)

Confederate

Pommel Attachments:
1. Cavalry overcoat (grey)
2. Cavalry overcoat wrapped in poncho (black). Same if no overcoat.
3. Cavalry overcoat wrapped in tent half (off white). Same if no overcoat and no poncho.

Cantle Attachments:
1. Blanket (grey, brown, etc. )
2. Blanket wrapped in poncho (black)
3. Blanket wrapped in tent half (off white)

The above gives the civil war cavalry figure painter quite
a range to choose from.

Avidgamer, the source I cited was a personal diary of Sgt Edward Shilling, 4th Maryland infantry. Apparently, the orders you cited from McClellan were not universal. This guy's regiment had Sibleys and wagons to haul them around until 64.

Do you know when McClellan took away the wagons? It would be interesting to figure out (if possible) how this unit got around the rules.

Dog tents began to be issued in '62. I really question their having wagons for Sibleys that late – for not only did George B. take wagons away, Meade reduce them even more in '63.

Sibleys??? LOL!

Dog tents are the way to go on campaign!
Most reenactors are wrong in that a lot sleep 2,and EVEN 1 to an A-Frame.

Every man carried a half.
I'm doing Reb at Cashtown next weekend and won't even have that! Just my coverlet over my shoulder,and ground cloth in my British pack.

Bob

The shelter tent ("dog tent") began to be issued to the army in April of 1862. By July, it was pretty much complete throughout northern commands. The only time a common tent or Sibley was used was in rear areas and garrison/convalescent camps, though if one searches hard enough there will always be an exception.

The History of the 1st Maine Cavalry talks of them being issued with shelter tents in the fist batch, April '62. Each shelter half came with a 2-piece sectioned pole and 3 wooden pegs. 2 men buttoned their halves together to make a tent. Rice Bull (123rd NY) talks of sleeping 3 men to a tent, with the 3rd half thrown over the back rope to make a sort of extension. I've done it, and it works.

The overcoat would only appear on the saddle during late fall/winter. Prior to the campaign season, overcoats were rolled and turned into regimental storage and reissued in winter quarters.

Most of the time you would have the blanket inside the shelter half, with both rolled up into the ground cloth/poncho. The poncho is simply a rubberized or painted ground cloth with a reinforced slit for the neck. The blanket and tent half were rolled into the poncho to keep them dry, as they wick up a substantial amount of water and get very heavy. better to have a dry blanket to sleep in.

The 1863 regulations also reduce tentage. Only 2 wall tents are allowed to a regiment for HQ and medical use. The company officers and all enlisted men are issued with shelter halves which they must carry on their persons. This is for all branches. Wagons, for all units, are reduced to 3, one of which is for medical supplies, etc.

One last point. Most cavalrymen reduced weight by using their horse blankets for their personal blankets on campaign. The 1st Maine also talk of burning their sectional tent poles, as it was easier to cut saplings for the purpose if needs be, though many speak of just using the tent half as a ground cloth on clear nights, not bothering to put up the tents. Rice Bull, the Infantryman also speaks of similar practices.

respects,