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ORIGINAL LEATHER WEDGES FOR ATTACHING THE
CARTRIDGE BOX PLATES AND CARTRIDGE BOX SLING PLATES:
Another one of those necessary items, issued to every
soldier who carried a cartridge box, or any of the
slings which were decorated with one of the lead filled
brass plates, these leather wedges were used to anchor
the plates as one would use a cotter pin. The plates
were fitted with a pair of small wire loops which were
pressed through matching slots in the leather of the box
flap or the sling, and these leather wedges were then
fed through the plate loops to secure the plates in
place. No doubt, these leather wedges were made of
scrap leather gleaned from the waste and trimmings left
over in the work shops. They were cut to a basic wedge
shape of varying sizes and somehow packaged for shipment
through the supply chain to the troops for issue as the
wedges that came with the box or sling needed to be
replaced.
Not the sort of artifact which has been the subject of
intense research, but nonetheless well known and
documented in several works on 19TH Century
US Cartridge Boxes. If you are restoring a plate to a
cartridge box or sling, you’ll need one of these should
you want to keep all the materials original to the
period.
These wedges show some age to one degree or another, but
all of them are still pliable and functional, and with
care they are still functional.
These are another item acquired in the final days of
Bannerman’s Island and I have a very limited supply.
(0127) $15 each
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