NO. 2
MODEL 1885 CARBINE BOOT
– FIRST PATTERN – IDENTIFIED TO 9TH CAVALRY,
COMPANY M WITH INTERESTING ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL HISTORY:
A very interesting example on several different levels,
this boot exhibits a well documented anomaly found only
on early production specimens.
As discussed in detail on pages 139, 148, and 149 in
Dorsey’s Indian War Cartridge Pouches, Boxes and
Carbine Boots, these
early production First Pattern Boots show evidence of
having been assembled incorrectly at the Rock Island
Arsenal. Apparently, either through an incorrectly
executed drawing, or a error on the part of the bench
workers in viewing the drawing, a significant number of
these first pattern boots were assembled in reverse at
the arsenal and shipped out to the units in this
configuration.
The empty rivet hole at
the upper left hand corner of the face of this boot is
evidence that it was improperly assembled with the
suspension strap riveted to the outside face as if it
were designed to hang on the left side of the saddle,
instead of as it was designed to hang on right hand
side. These incorrectly assembled boots apparently
passed inspection and were issued to the cavalry
companies on the frontier as some examples with the
strap still in the incorrect position have been seen
with unit applied inventory stamps, indicating the boot
was accepted into the unit inventory and was stamped
with the unit inventory number in preparation for being
issued to a soldier without anyone questioning the
design flaw. As is the case with this boot, it is
believed the majority of these incorrectly assembled
boots were modified at the unit level by moving the
suspension strap to back of the boot.
Also present is another
typical early field modification. The lower body strap
has been moved up the body of the boot and riveted in
place. In this configuration, the two body straps
virtually divide the length of the boot in thirds and
evidently improved the security of the boot when
attached to the saddle than was affected by the original
placement of the straps.
In spite of obvious
issue and use, this boot is in full form and has
survived in excellent condition with a bright, smooth
shiny leather surface overall. All of the straps are
full length and the buckles are present. The “ROCK
ISLAND ARSENAL” stamp is fully legible as are the unit
inventory stamps, as is the inspector’s stamp on the end
of the upper suspension strap. The face of the boot is
unit marked “M 9 3”, indicating it was in the inventory
of Company M, 9TH Regiment of US Cavalry, and
it was item number 3.
This Model 1885 Carbine
Boot is a historical specimen not only with the unit
markings from the famous 9Th Cavalry
Regiment, but also as an example of one of the more
interesting episodes of Rock Island Arsenal history.
SOLD
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