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MODEL 1876 PRAIRIE BELT – FIRST PATTERN – SCARCE
DARK BLUE UNIT DYED VARIANT – w/ CUT LOOP MCKEEVER
CARTRIDGE BOX – AN EXCELLENT INDIAN WARS INFANTRY SET:
This is one of the scarcer
known variants of the Model 1876 Prairie Cartridge Belt,
having been dyed or painted a deep indigo blue.
Although quite scarce with only a very few known
specimens held in modern collections, these indigo
colored belts are believed to have been used in some
quantity by at least one infantry unit. This is the
very same belt and cartridge box pictured on pages
239-240 of American Military and Naval Belts,
1812-1902 by R. Stephen Dorsey, and was acquired
from the author’s research collection.
While in very good condition and showing very little
wear, this belt was apparently issued to a soldier in
the field. In addition to the application of the indigo
color on the front surface of the belt body, the soldier
wrote his name in ink on the undyed interior surface of
the belt, “Anthony L(?)ist”.
This belt is particularly collectable as it is one of
the scarcer narrow First Pattern Model 1876 Prairie
Belts. The combined length of the body and tongue is 40
½” 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 and only very minor fraying to the
upper and lower edges of a few 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
indigo color is consistent across the exterior of the
belt, showing some fading or wear on the high points of
the loops. 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 original buckle is
present.
Mounted on the belt is a Second Pattern McKeever
Cartridge Box, modified to fit this First Pattern
Cartridge Belt by cutting the belt loops on the reverse
of the box and fitting the ends of the cut loops with
leather thongs. When tied together, the cut loops were
large enough to allow the box to be carried on the belt,
which increased the ready supply of ammunition the
soldier carried on his person – a significant benefit to
a soldier on campaign and far from a source of
resupply. This type of modification, employing these
“cut loop” cartridge boxes and pouches, was only
possible with the early narrow First Pattern Model 1876
Cartridge Belts. The later Second and Third Pattern
Belts were widened to the point that even with the
cartridge box belt loops cut, they would not fit
properly over the wider belts, and hence this
modification was limited to the short period in which
these early narrow belts were in use.
The modifications as found on this belt and cartridge
box set define it as a classic Indian War Era, unit
issued, and field used, specimen. 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 such as this
belt and cartridge box 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 since
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
material to suit the needs encountered on the Frontier.
In spite of the number of these belts and cartridge
boxes that must have been modified during the period,
surviving examples such as these are rare and they are a
fascinating field of collecting in their own right.
This belt and cartridge box set is remarkably unusual,
and of the quality that combined with an early
Springfield Trapdoor Rifle and Bayonet, would create a
notable Indian War Infantry grouping.
SOLD
NOTE: Some twenty years ago I was
fortunate enough to have the opportunity to examine this
belt and for many years after I actively sought just
such a specimen for my own collection without finding
another that was available for purchase. From my own
personal experience, I cannot emphasize enough just how
difficult these blue Prairie Belts are to find. If your
collection includes an extensive selection of Indian War
period cartridge belts, this interesting dark blue
variant will definitely add significantly to your
display.
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