CIVIL WAR ARTILLERY DRIVER’S LEG GUARD –
WATERVLIET ARSENAL STAMPED – EXCELLENT CONDITION:
This a very scarce Artillery Driver’s Leg Guard
manufactured at the famous Watervliet Arsenal. As with
much of the equipment specific to the Light (or “Horse”)
Artillery of the Civil War and Indian War eras, the
function and importance of the leg guard is not
something fully appreciated by the collector.
The artillery field piece and the attendant ammunition
caisson was a heavy, cumbersome piece of equipment and
required a substantial team of horses to move it. The
standard span consisted of four or six horses, harnessed
as pairs in line, with each pair identified by the
position they occupied in the harness. The wheel team
was that pair immediately in front of the caisson; the
swing team was next in line, preceded by the lead team.
Each horse was further identified by the position they
held in their particular pair – viewed from the caisson
and gun carriage looking forward towards the horses’
rumps, the horses on the left side were the “near”
horses, and those on the right were the “off side”. The
near horse in each pair was ridden by a driver who was
responsible for the direction and management of both
horses in his pair.
While the driver was mounted in his saddle, his right
leg hung down between the body mass of his horse and the
heavy wooden tongue which ran from the caisson up
through each pair of horses. At any pace faster than a
walk, the movement of the horses, the tongue and the
trace chains combined to create a genuine threat to the
driver’s lower leg.
Worn over the calf of the driver’s right leg, this guard
features a substantial steel plate which protected the
driver’s leg from being crushed.
The heavy black leather guard is in excellent condition
and does not appear to have been issued. The strap
that passes under the boot heel and over the arch of the
foot is complete and intact, and the four closing straps
that surround the leg and close the guard are full
length, unbroken and complete with the black japanned
buckles. The leather body has an overall smooth, bright
shiny surface with only minor flexing where the guard
was folded in storage. The straps show some crazing due
to age and storage, but there are no weak points. The
steel guard plate is present, still firmly attached and
still retains the greatest majority of its original
black lacquer japanned finish. The body of the guard is
legibly stamped “WATERVLIET ARSENAL” and with the
inspector’s name, “A.R. SMITH”.
These Driver’s Leg Guards do not appear to have survived
in significant numbers, and they are fairly scarce on
the collector’s market, especially those which were made
within the US Army’s arsenal system. This is an
excellent specimen and would be a key piece to display
with a Grimsley Artillery Driver’s Saddle or with a
later Indian War period McClellan Saddle which replaced
the Grimsley. (1005) $675
|