online catalog

• What's New
• Reduced Price Items
• Artillery
• Books
• Bottles
• Buttons
• Confederate
• Contemporary Artist Prints
  • Framed Prints
  • Unframed Prints
• Currency, Bonds & Tokens
• Documents & Paper Goods
  • Art
  • Broadsides
  • Commissions
  • Discharges
  • Letters
  • Newspapers
  • Signatures
• Edged Weapons
  • Bayonets
  • Knives
  • Scabbards
  • Swords
• Firearms
  • Carbines
  • Cartridges & Gun Tools
  • Handguns
  • Holsters
  • Longarms
• Gettysburg Items
• Identified Items
  • Accoutrements
  • Edged Weapons
  • Firearms
  • Personal Items
  • Photography
  • Uniforms & Cloth
• Medical Items
• Military Accoutrements
  • Buckles/Plates
  • Canteens
  • Insignia & Badges
  • Leather
    • Belts
    • Cap & Cartridge Boxes
    • Haversacks / Knapsacks
    • Holsters
    • Scabbards
  • Spurs
• Personal Items
  • Amusements
  • Cooking
  • Jewelry
  • Personal Hygiene
  • Sewing
  • Smoking
  • Writing
• Photography
  • Albumens
  • Albums
  • Cabinet Cards
  • CDVs
    • Identified CDVs
    • Unidentified CDVs
  • Hard Images
    • Ambrotypes
    • Daguerreotypes
    • Tintypes
  • Stereoviews
• Relics
• Stock Items
  • Books
  • Clothing
  • Riker Cases
  • Shell Bases
  • Wood Display Cases
• Uniforms & Cloth
  • Flags
  • Headgear
  • Sashes & Hat Cords
  • Uniforms
• Veteran Memorabilia
  • GAR
  • UCV
• WWI / WWII
  • Equipment
  • Posters

VERY GOOD CONDITION CIVIL WAR US CAVALRYMAN’S SABER BELT

Hover to zoom

This is the Civil War regulation issue waistbelt for an enlisted cavalryman in very good condition, showing some stains and soiling from use, but solid. These belts were intended to carry the trooper’s pistol in its holster, along with his cap box and cartridge boxes, and support his saber, carried in its scabbard on his left, attached to the belt by two narrow slings. The belt is made of black buff leather, oxidized to brown in places, and is the 1851 pattern, produced about 1864, using the wider waist belt with taller, “one-piece wreath” rectangular eagle saber belt plate, and employing rivets as well as stitching to secure the hasp for the belt plate, and the billets holding the two brass D-rings at front left (the lower ring with a carrying hook to prevent the saber dragging on the ground when on foot,) and securing the rectangular brass ring at rear.

The saber slings are correctly mounted to the belt with their original double-headed brass studs at the top, securing them around the lower brass D-ring at front and the bottom of the rectangular ring at the rear. The two sliding tightener loops are present on the longer rear sling, and missing from the shorter front sling, which does not affect anything. The belt shows some use and in a commonsense move the soldier added a snap or spring hook to the ends of the slings to make it easier to remove the saber. One remains on the end of the longer, rear sling; the other is missing from the shorter front sling.

The belt shows some stains and some added size adjustment holes, all indicating legitimate field use. The larger sliding loop tightener on the belt is present. The belt plate and hasp not only fit well, but have matching bench numbers (264,) applied during final finishing and fitting to keep them together until they could be put on a belt. Their patina matches on the face. The reverse of the belt plate is a tad lighter from rubbing against the uniform and handling. The rivets, adjusting hook, and button-studs all have a mellow, aged patina with some of the elements, like the button-studs showing a tad lighter from handling as well.

These belts use the M1851 belt plate authorized for officers and for enlisted men carrying swords. Officer’s plates are usually a higher quality private purchase, showing superior die work, with the wreath and stars often given a silver wash that looked great initially but wore off in use, with the enlisted plates like this, using a German Silver, i.e. nickel silver, applied wreath still bright and looking more impressive after a century and a half or so. Infantry NCOs were authorized swords and belt plates of this pattern, but their belts were a different configuration, as were those of light-artillerymen, whose belts did not have provision for a shoulder belt that could help support the weight of sword, pistol and accoutrements, but was often taken off and discarded, as here, by a cavalry trooper as just one more thing to get tangled up in.

This is a very good example of the cavalryman’s belt rig that would dress up a cavalry display and would be a great companion piece for a regulation saber or set of cavalry accoutrements.  [sr][ph:L]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS.

THANK YOU!

Inquire »