"ACW Union saddle blanket stripe position" Topic

Which way does the orange stripe go on the regulation blue saddle blanket on a Union cavalryman's horse? Horizontal; parallel to the back of the horse about even with the cavalryman's ankle? Or vertical; traversing the back of the horse behind the saddle? I've seen them both ways on Civil War cavalry re-enactors horses and in illustrations.

I believe it was mostly parallel

I just saw a reenactor one that runs both directions.

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The stripe was aropund all four edges of the unfolded blanket. If I remember correctly, the stripes were 3" wide and 3" from the edge. Thus they crossed each other at the corners.

Unlike many modern reenactors who fold their blanket to four thicknesses, by regulation they were folded to six. Unless you know the reenactor has folded his to six thicknesses, he is unreilable as a source. I am a former cavalry reenactor and know that many are not at all authentic. Some are superb. You just have to bea bale to tell them apart.

The only reference I have seen as to how it was to be folded was for the 7th U.S. Cavalry after the civil war. With that method, the stripes end up being parallel to the ground on the near (left) side, and going across the horse behind the cantle (rear of the saddle). Very often this rear stripe would not be visible due to what was packed on the horse.

On campaign I would expect the troopers would refold the blanket from time to time to give a fresh side against the horse's back.

One way to see the alternatives would be to take a piece of paper and draw the stripes I have described. Then fold it up to the six thickness and see where the sripes end up. Lots of potential combinations.

But, you will never see it on both sides, or both front and back.

Tom

I'm going with this being correct. I checked some higher end reenacting suppliers sites I buy from. I also own a high end infantry blanket. It has a stripe on either end across the short side of the blanket. However, Cavalry blanket stripes go around all sides of the blanket.

crchilds.com/id25.htm

What you are seeing in pictures when you see a apparent single direction is a variation in folding.

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The regulation stipulate how the blanket is made. The rider places it to his comfort or if he had a retentive officer, to that officer's preference.

From Cooke's Cavalry manual:

"Approach the horse on the left aide, and lay the blanket, folded into 6 thicknesses, on his back; the edges on the left side.

Seize it, then, with the left hand on the withers, and with the right on the loins; slide it once or twice from front to rear, to smooth the hair, taking care to raise it in carrying it forward, so as not to brush up the hair.

The blanket should be so arranged as to project one fin­ger a breadth beyond the bars in rear."

Notice, No mention on how the striping should look. It depends on how one interprets "folded into 6 thicknesses".

Thanks Gerryowen. Once again the cavalry beats us infantry guys to the battle :-)

Garryowen

Thank you. Now that explains a lot. The last ACW re-enactment I attended all I saw was that some Union cavalry saddle blankets had the parallel stripe behind the cantle and some had the stripe horizontal at about the rider's ankle. I must confess to an ungenerous opinion of the cavalry re-enactors. I thought they were just sloppy or ignorant. If I had been the least observant I would have noticed that it was looking at the same horses passing me in one direction and then the other. Same goes for the illustrations of Union cavalry in books; Depends on which side of the cavalry horse the artist was depicting.. And you were also right about the folded paper. I've pinned it to the shelf above my hobby desk to remind me not to be so stupidly quick to judge.

I doubt that the average Union cavalryman in the field (or even his sergeant or colonel) gave a ****.

Sorry for the question, but how do you get 6 thicknesses?

Fold once = 2 thick

Fold twice = 4 thick

Fold thrice = 8 thick

Sorry don't see the 6.

In the CSA cavalry the first sentence of the regulations begins….. IF you have a saddleblanket in one piece….

Fold it by thirds and then double it over? So 2 folds gives you 3 layers and then you fold that in half to get 6 layers. Don't know if that's how they do it, but it answers your question.

Outlaw Tor

Try it yourself with a piece of paper with the stripes drawn in. Fold it once full length. Then fold one end half way up the blanket Fold the other end so that it overlaps this second fold. Result; 6 layers. With the closed end of the folded blanket, last fold on top, facing the horses head, the left side has both a horizontal and vertical stripe. The right side only has the vertical stripe just as Garyowen described.

*chuckling* I have to echo docdennis' thought and point out that this assumes that even the Federal trooper had a regulation saddle blanket rather than whatever he "borrowed" after a few months in the field.

By the way. If you lay the 6 layer horse blanket on the horses back with the last fold on the bottom (in contact with the horse's back), the left side has no stripes at all and the right side only has the horizontal stripe. Since thread responses quoting contemparary manuals only mention a concern for 6 layers, it looks like you could make your paintng both easier and authentic by just painting a horizontal stripe on the right side.

Also, be sure to paint the stripe reddish orange.

Actually the Cavalry blanket was solid blue without a stripe. It was the old dragoon blanket that had the orange stripe. So make it easy on yourself, just paint them dark blue.

Which screams the question, what color stripe did the American Camel Corp have? my email is carlino@verizon.net
Thank you, Sal Sr out!!!

See, you just never have this problem with a Tank! :o)

Want a real answer about the Camels? I believe they were out of the 2nd Dragoons – strip would have been Orange.
And don't bet about a tank. Just saw a photo of a US M5 taken in 1944 marked with a green star in a white circle.

Thank you, orange stripe, that's what my book says. Sal Sr out!!!