McClellan saddle

The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan, a career Army officer in the U.S. Army, after his tour of Europe as the member of a military commission charged with studying the latest developments in engineer and cavalry forces including field equipment. Based on his observations, McClellan proposed a design that was adopted by the Army in 1859. The McClellan saddle was a success and continued in use in various forms until the US Army's last horse cavalry and horse artillery was dismounted in World War II. Today, the McClellan saddle is used by ceremonial mounted units in the US Army. The saddle was used by several other nations, including Rhodesia and Mexico, and to a degree by the British in the Boer War. The saddle came in various seat sizes that predominantly ranged from approximately 11 to 12 ½ inches.

In April 1855, six years before the start of the Civil War, Captain George B. McClellan sailed to Europe as part of a military commission to study developments in European tactics, weaponry, and logistics. McClellan's focus was the organization of engineer troops and cavalry. After the one-year tour, during which time McClellan observed several battles of the Crimean War, McClellan brought back almost 100 books and manuals. These he read before writing his report, which concluded with his proposed manual for American cavalry adapted from existing Russian cavalry regulations. He also proposed a cavalry saddle that he claimed was a modification of a Hungarian model used in the Prussian service. The saddle was almost certainly a modification of the Spanish tree saddle in common use in Mexico during this period, and which had become common in some parts of the US.

The McClellan saddle was adopted by the US War Department in 1859 and remained standard issue, in various models, for the remaining history of the horse cavalry. The original M1859 version was the form used during the Civil War, and the design saw subsequent modifications. The saddle always remained recognizable as McClellan's design, which included cavalry and artillery models. In addition, a model for packers was introduced as the M1913.

During the American Civil War, many Confederate cavalrymen provided their own horses and civilian saddles. In time, the Confederacy issued the Jenifer saddle. But when Southerners' horses grew thin because of inadequate food supply, the Jenifer saddle became painful to the bony withers of the horses. In 1863, the Confederate army issued the lighter and better-contoured McClellan saddle to its cavalry. Because leather was scarce in the South during the Civil War, many of the McClellan saddles had skirts of painted canvas. The Confederate Army also used some British saddles as well.

...
Wikipedia