Confederate maybe?? - SOLVED- and now resolved

[texan connection]

My buddy seemed pretty excited about this and said it was likely a confederete saddle peace. Does any ony have any clues??
added 3 25 08.... Go to post # 20

 

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[texan connection]

Hi Butch & Albert,

I know your problems with this item. To begin with there are 2 definite varieties of this item. The first I'll just mention it. It is larger, about 3-3.5-inches wide and it is used as a Martingale heart --- the shiny decoration in the center of the Martingale strap that crosses the horses chest.

The second is the size of your item. For years, I also wondered about them till I finally saw a Texas saddle on display at one of the Civil War shows. It also had the ornate saddle blanket displayed with it. These items were mounted onto the corners of both the saddle blanket and the leather skirts of the saddle. I'm also attaching a scan out of Howard Crouch's book, Horse Equipment of the Civil War Era, page 58. He shows both variations of the skirt decorations. Yours is item #4&5. As Howard says in the captions "For a long time the exact usage and placement of these particular ornaments was unknown. They would occasionally turn up in western dragoon camps. They are thin, white metal stampings and can be seen on this "Texas" saddle and they are skirt ornaments. They have also been noted in brass on Mexican-made saddles." The photo of the Texas saddle is a little soft, but you can see an example of #3 attached to both the front & back corners of the leather skirt.

You will note in the photos that the fasteners are attached to the back side with solder. They are normally strips of copper about 1/4-inch wide, rather than wires. I found about 6 non-dug ones like illustration #3 in an antique shop about 15 years ago & couldn't get my money out fast enough. I also dug one of the Martingale sized ones from the Civil War Battle site of Honey Springs OK about 20 years ago. Its proportions are wider in relation to the height than the skirt decorations.

Keep your powder dry,
Charlie Harris

This info was emailed to me through American digger magazine, and clarifies the Items use.
All have been most helpful on this and it certainly confirms it to be civil war era.

 

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