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MODEL 1876 PRAIRIE BELT SET – NARROW FIRST PATTERN
BELT WITH MODIFIED HOLSTER, PISTOL CARTRIDGE POUCH &
DYER CARBINE POUCH – AN EXCELLENT INDIAN WARS CAVALRY
SET AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN ON CAMPAIGN:
This Model 1876 First
Pattern Prairie Cartridge Belt, also known to collectors
as the “Narrow” Prairie Belt, presents with a Holster
for the Colt Model 1873 or Smith & Wesson Schofield
Revolvers, one of the rare Pistol Cartridge Pouches made
specifically for wearing on these Prairie Belts, and a
“Cut Loop” Model 1874 Dyer Carbine Cartridge Pouch.
Equipped with the appropriate accoutrements, this belt
is complete as the Indian Wars cavalry man would have
worn it on campaign, and the four pieces combine to
illustrate a very interesting period in the development
of the frontier soldiers’ equipment.
Like so many other pieces of equipment, the First
Pattern Prairie Belt was developed and issued to answer
one specific problem – that of efficiently carrying a
sufficient number of cartridges into the field in such a
manner that would protect the soft copper cartridges
from being deformed or fouled with the green waxy
verdigris which occurred when the cartridges came in
prolonged direct contact with leather. It was a
cartridge belt – period. No provision was made for this
belt to carry any of the other belt mounted holsters,
cartridge pouches, sabre, or for the infantry, the
ubiquitous bayonet. The Ordnance Department fully
expected the soldiers to continue to wear their leather
sabre and waist belts to support all of their other
appendages and the Prairie Belt was to be worn in
addition to the leather belts. It was not only a short
sighted plan, but it completely ignored the soldiers’
preferences and ingenuities they had demonstrated with
the soldier-made “Fair Weather Christian” leather
cartridge belts which dated from the 1860’s.
Once they received the Prairie Belts, the soldiers set
right to work to modify the accoutrements on hand in
order that they could carry all of their necessary
equipment on the one belt. In the cavalry regiments,
belt loops on holsters were enlarged, or cut and tied
over the belt with leather thongs as were pistol and
carbine cartridge pouches, and in some cases sabre
straps were added to the belts. Although far from
common, enough of these modified accoutrements survive
in collections today as evidence of the soldiers’
efforts. Certainly this concept must have appealed to
the infantryman as well, and in fact, there exists at
least one known example of a cut-loop McKeever Cartridge
Box mounted on a First Pattern Prairie Belt which was
dyed dark blue – an obvious infantry belt.
That so few of these modified accoutrements survive
today can be easily explained when viewed through the
Ordnance Department’s process of issue and return. When
the units received new issues of current equipment and
returned the obsolete accoutrements and equipment to the
Ordnance Depots, those pieces that had been modified
were looked upon by the Ordnance Department personnel as
damaged beyond repair, or the necessary repairs to
return the item to its original configuration were not
cost effective – especially if it was obsolete
equipment. It is very likely the modified pieces were
condemned and destroyed with the other unserviceable
equipment, and they simply did not survive to be
funneled into the surplus sales that would eventually
lead to the collectors’ market.
The small number of surviving modified accoutrements
serves as quiet testimony of the efforts of the soldiers
and the Ordnance Department to adapt stocks of surplus
or current material to suit the needs encountered on the
Frontier. In spite of the number of accoutrements that
must have been modified during the period, surviving
examples such as these are scarce and they are a
fascinating field of collecting in their own right.
This belt, equipped with the accoutrements which were
specifically modified to fit the Narrow Prairie Belt,
define it as a classic Indian War Era, unit issued, and
field used, specimen.
Each element of this set is described in detail below
with accompanying photographs.
This is an outstanding grouping of scarce and rare
Indian War accoutrements, which displays extremely well,
and in the proper context of the campaign belts worn by
a cavalry trooper serving on the frontier, and it would
be the perfect set to display alongside your Colt or
Smith & Wesson revolver. (0210) $4550 |
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MODEL 1876 FIRST PATTERN PRAIRIE BELT:
Particularly desirable, this scarce narrow First Pattern
Model 1876 Prairie Belts, is in excellent condition, and
while showing little, if any, evidence of use, this belt
was apparently issued and worn by a soldier in the
field.
The combined length of the body and tongue is 40” and
there are 54 cartridge loops. The billet has been
shortened to 7”, a common and typical modification the
small waisted soldiers found necessary due to the
original and overly generous length of 13”.
The canvas loops are in
excellent condition showing no collapse of the varnished
loops with none of the fraying commonly found on the
upper and lower edges of the loops. The body of the
belt is very solid with no damage to exterior or
interior surfaces of the canvas, and the seam along the
bottom of the belt is fully intact. The billet is
overall very smooth with a shiny surface and only minor
flexing with no crazing or loss of finish due to
flaking. The billet is legibly stamped “WATERVLIET
ARSENAL” and with the inspector’s name “A.R. SMITH”.
The original buckle is present. As scarce as these
First Pattern Prairie Belts have become, upgrading this
one would be very difficult.
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INDIAN WAR MODIFIED CIVIL WAR HOLSTER AS ISSUED
FOR THE SINGLE ACTION CARTRIDGE REVOLVERS: A
rare survivor of the Indian Wars, this holster,
originally produced during the Civil War, was altered
with simple modifications at an Ordnance Department
depot or by a company saddler for issue to the frontier
troops to carry their single action metallic cartridge
revolvers on a looped cartridge belt.
Fairly simple and cost effective, these sorts of
modifications were executed in the mid-to-late 1870’s by
the US Army to conserve finances by utilizing the
remaining stocks of Civil War revolver holsters that
were still in inventory. The long closing billet on
this holster was punched with a second hole in order
that the flap, when closed, would accommodate the larger
Model 1873 Colt or the Schofield revolvers. The
original belt loop was completely removed and
repositioned with two lines of stitching in order that
it would pass over the cartridge loops on the 1ST
Pattern Prairie Belt. The belt loop on this holster was
specifically sized to accommodate the 1ST
Pattern Prairie Belt as it is not large enough, without
stressing the lines of stitching, to pass over the loops
on the wider 2ND or 3RD Pattern
Prairie Belts, nor the later Mills looped cartridge
belts.
Modified holsters of this type are fairly rare as most
of those that were so modified were indeed issued and
used. For the most part they did not survive the rigors
of service in the field to be surplused out to Bannerman
and the other dealers, and finding one of these true
Indian War veterans to accompany one of the early Indian
War pistols is a real challenge to complete a
collection.
This holster shows very little wear, with a bright shiny
surface and only minor flexing on the flap and belt
loop.
All of the components are present
and intact to include the seam, closing tab and plug.
The flap, belt loop and
holster body all hold their shape and still retain the
characteristics of strong, live leather.
There is no doubt that these modified holsters were
“there” amid the smoke and dust, present on the belts of
the soldiers at all of the historic engagements in the
Frontier West.
This is a truly scarce holster that nicely complements
this set.
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INDIAN WARS MODIFIED PISTOL CARTRIDGE POUCH – VERY
RARE ARSENAL MODIFICATION PRODUCED WITH A WIDER BELT
LOOP FOR THE MODEL 1876 1ST PATTERN PRAIRIE
BELT: The modification of Civil War Cap Pouches
to carry metallic pistol cartridges during the Indian
War period is well documented, and while a number of the
different methods and patterns of modifying the cap
pouches are well known, this particular pouch which was
modified specifically to be worn on the 1ST
Pattern Model 1876 Prairie Belt is quite possibly the
rarest of all the modified Indian War Pistol Cartridge
Pouches.
The belt loops on the accoutrements worn on the leather
sabre belts were sized to fit the standard 2” wide
leather belt. With the introduction of the wider and
thicker Prairie belts, if the soldier was to carry his
holster and pistol cartridge pouch on the cartridge
belt, the belt loops on the accoutrements had to be
enlarged.
As detailed on page 7 of Dorsey’s Indian War
Cartridge Pouches, Boxes and Carbine Boots, in
addition to the standard removal of the cap pouch’s
interior flap to carry the metallic cartridges, both of
the belt loops were removed from the back of this pouch
and a single wide belt loop was neatly sewn on the
center of the back panel of the pouch. The replacement
belt loop was not only wider, but also considerably
longer to allow enough room for the pouch to pass over
the wider cartridge belt and the cartridge loops.
At the time this book was published, only one of these
pouches was known and it was justifiably assumed to be a
field modification. Since that time, two others,
including this pouch, have been found, both identical to
the one shown in the book, down to the manner in which
the original belt loops were removed, the size and
quality of finish on the replacement belt loop, and the
neat stitching used to attach the new loop. The
detailed similarity of the three pieces suggests this
was an approved modification as opposed to those
undertaken by individual soldiers, and the quality of
the work argues for these pouches to have been made at
one of the arsenals or ordnance depots.
The pouch is in full form with the original integral tab
intact, all of the seams are intact, and the replacement
belt loop is very strong. The leather is still very
supple and pliable, and retains a smooth shiny surface
overall. The front of the pouch still retains a light,
but legible stamp that was applied by the Civil War
inspector who accepted this pouch during the war. The
inspector’s stamp is applied over a faint embossed stamp
of the federal eagle which appeared on some of the early
19TH century pouches, and it may well be the
flap of this pouch was made from leather salvaged from
one of those early pouches – another indication of the
fiscal limitations imposed on the army.
That this particular pattern of Pistol Cartridge Pouch
has been found in such a limited number is not
surprising – like the 1ST Pattern Prairie
Belts, these pouches were issued early in the Indian War
period, they were likely produced in very limited
numbers, and they were issued specifically for use in
the field on campaigns where they would have been used
to destruction with very few survivors. That this
pouch is offered on this belt certainly enhances the
value of the set.
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MODEL 1874 DYER CARBINE CARTRIDGE POUCH – SCARCE
CUT LOOP VARIATION – IDENTIFIED TO THE 5TH US
CAVALRY: As described in Dorsey’s Indian War
Cartridge Pouches, Boxes and Carbine Boots, on page
36, this was an early modification limited to the period
in which the First Pattern Model 1876 Prairie Belts were
in use. Based on the surviving examples, this
modification in every case shows a high level of
workmanship and is consistent in the manner in which it
was executed, arguing for the premise that this work was
done at the arsenals or Ordnance depots.
The modification consisted of cutting the belt loops,
punching holes in each of the four cut ends, and then
inserting laces which allowed the belt loops to span the
width of the cartridge belt. Lacing the pouch on the
belt provided the soldier with an additional quantity of
ammunition ready at hand – a reasonable concern on the
frontier.
This pouch is in particularly nice condition, with
bright clear leather overall, with only minimal crazing
of the gusset leather. The embossed “US” which was on
the front cover has faded through use. This pouch was
manufactured at the Rock Island Arsenal, identifiable by
the unique style of the escutcheon plate. As is normal
for these modified pouches, sheep’s wool lining is worn
away due to their use in the field.
Of special interest are the unit applied identification
stamps applied to the face of the body, “CO. L 5 CAVY
22”, indicating this pouch was issued to soldier number
22 in Company L of the 5TH U.S. Cavalry
Regiment, a unit with an active and colorful history in
the West.
Overall this is an excellent example of a “Cut Loop”
Dyer Pouch, and it is a special added value to this belt
set.
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