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IDENTIFIED CONFEDERATE SURGEON’S SADDLE – OBTAINED
DIRECTLY FROM THE FAMILY – REGIMENTAL SURGEON OF THE 28TH
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER INFANTRY: Acquired recently
from a direct descendant, this beautiful example of a
Confederate Officer’s Saddle belonged to a Surgeon in
the Confederate Army, who served with the 28th
Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Supporting the
identification and history provided by the family, this
saddle incorporates many of the characteristics common
to saddles known to have been owned and/or used by
officers who served in the Army of the Confederacy.
Well cared for through the years to surface today in
remarkable condition, this saddle obviously belonged to
a man of means whose memory was held in such high regard
that his descendants protected this saddle from the
ravages of time and exposure that so often severely
damaged or destroyed the few precious Confederate
saddles that exist today.
This saddle belonged to Dr. Paul Carrington Clay, a
resident of Smith County, Tennessee. Dr. Clay was born
in Lynchburg, Virginia and shares the same paternal
great-grandfather as the well known Senator Henry Clay,
famous in the American political arena in the first half
of the 19th Century. In spite of his
advanced age at the outbreak of war, Dr. Clay joined the
28th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry in August
of 1861, serving as the Regimental Surgeon. Dr. Clay
survived the war and resumed his practice in Smith
County. His daughter Sally married Leroy Cornwell, also
a veteran of the War, having served with the 15th
Virginia Cavalry. Upon the death of Dr. Clay in 1874,
this saddle passed down to Sally and her husband, and
then on through the successive generations to the
present day.
The saddle presents as a melding of the basic profile of
the familiar McClellan Saddle and includes
characteristics of the Southern Plantation Saddle common
to the South in the antebellum period. Overall, the
saddle is in excellent condition, and presents a
beautiful, gently aged treasure. Retaining a smooth
shiny surface on the leather, all of the components are
present and complete to include the original girth, and
what wear is present is primarily confined to areas on
the underside of the saddle, hidden from normal view.
The seat, to include the pommel, cantle, and side bar
front and rear extensions, is fully covered in smooth
russet leather. The seat proper is made from a single
piece of leather that is formed to rise over the crests
of the pommel and cantle and is secured on the front and
rear faces of these arcs respectively by separate pieces
of leather nailed to the exterior faces of the pommel
and cantle. The seat leather depends over the stirrup
strap loops in short jockeys and each side of the seat
is attached with a single row of broad headed iron
nails. The seat features a stamped linear floral
pattern of decoration across the seat face of both the
pommel and cantle and along the bottom edge of the side
jockeys. The front and rear extensions of the side bars
and tops of the pommel and cantle arcs are covered with
leather panels, attached with both small iron nails and
larger flat domed nails. These panels feature the same
pattern of stamping as is present on the seat. Iron
equipment rings were attached with simple iron poultry
staples to the forward and rear extensions of the side
bars; however the ring on the left rear extension is the
only one still present. The residual pairs of holes
where the other three were attached are still plainly
visible.
The saddle features two sets of skirts – the large
exterior leather skirts and a smaller interior set of
cloth and leather skirts. The stirrup straps and girth
billets are attached to the side bars between these
skirts so that neither billet chafes against the horse.
The large, full length leather skirts have the same
stamped edge decoration as the seat as well as a large,
simple floral pattern in the center of the skirt,
reminiscent of a chrysanthemum, a flower with classic
southern association.
The interior skirts are constructed of a single ply of
light weight russet leather backed by a horse hair
stuffed, cloth covered pad that also covers, and is
contiguous to, the underside of the side bars. The
cloth used for this under-padding is a light canvas or
light burlap type material. The use of this cloth
covering on the underside of the saddle is a
characteristic consistent in saddles associated with the
Confederacy due to the shortage of leather during the
war.
The stirrups are the light weight wood frame
construction covered with leather hoods, which are
attached with iron nails common to the Civil War era.
The leather appears to be pig skin, again a feature
common to the Confederacy who used pigskin as a sturdy
substitution for cow hide that was in demand for more
critical needs.
The original girth is present and was attached at the
time the saddle was collected. The girth body is a
narrow strap of natural colored woven cloth, likely
cotton, fitted with iron roller buckles on each end
attached with a leather chape. The wear to the girth is
consistent with the condition of the saddle and with
examples of girths known to have been used during the
Civil War, causing me to believe the girth is original
to the saddle’s period of use.
Included in the sale of this saddle is an extensive body
of research that has been assembled in a large binder,
to include:
* statements and the original information obtained from
the family;
* photographs of Dr. Clay, his daughter and son-in law,
and the family cemetery in Smith County, Tennessee;
* extensive Genealogy records of families involved,
including genealogical information illustrating the link
between Dr. Clay and Senator Henry Clay;
* Dr. Clay’s military service records;
* census records, including slave census records listing
Dr. Clay, and
* several different published family histories.
This Confederate Officer’s Saddle, identified to a
Regimental Surgeon and direct from the family in the
heart of the old Confederacy, and accompanied by well
documented provenance is indeed a very rare offering and
will be a substantial addition to even the most advanced
Confederate Arms collection.
SOLD
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