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PATTERN 1873 US ARMY BARRACKS BEDDING BLANKET – KNOWN AS THE “CALIFORNIA BLANKET” - VERY NICE RARE EARLY INDIAN WARS SPECIMEN:  This is a rare specimen of the early Indian Wars Pattern 1873 Bedding Blanket.  Described on page 112 of Randy Stephen’s The Horse Soldier 1776-1943, Volume II, and discussed on pages 104 and 174 in Douglas McChristian’s The US Army in the West 1870-1880, the Pattern 1873 Bedding Blanket was adopted under General Order 76 in 1872 as a replacement for the substandard blankets still in surplus from the Civil War. 

The army acknowledged that many of the blankets purchased during the Civil War were simply not up to standard, made with shoddy material and prone to disintegrate under the most mild of conditions, much less the use to which they were put in the field.  The army discovered that a high quality blanket was then currently being produced by the Mission and Pacific Woolen Mills in San Francisco and once it was adopted, it became known in the army correspondence of the period as the “California Blanket”.      

This blanket features the correct gray tightly woven high quality wool body with 3 ½” wide black stripes at each end, 6” from the end of the blanket.  This blanket measures 79” long and 59” wide, very close to the original dimensions and well within the range of shrinkage normally encountered in these blankets as caused by the aging of the wool and repeated washings through the years.   

This blanket is in overall very good conditionThere are some faded spots in the general center of the blanket and almost dead center there is a tattered spot approximately 2” in diameter where the wool fibers have been worn away, leaving the weft strands mostly intact.  This is less of a hole and more of a wear spot where something abraded against the blanket material, and when the blanket is folded or rolled, this area will not detract from your display.  When originally issued, these blankets had a “U.S.” stenciled with ink or paint in the center of the blanket, but as with this specimen, this marking soon wore away with use and cleaning and is seldom found intact.  While during the 19TH Century, blankets were normally issued with unbound ends, industrious soldiers wanting to make their blankets more durable, turned and whip stitched the ends of the blankets and such is the case with this blanket.    

These blankets were one of the most basic pieces of the standard equipment issued to each frontier soldier.  As the Pattern 1873 “California” Blankets were issued for only three years until they were replaced by the Pattern 1876 Blankets, it stands to reason that these blankets did not survive in great numbers due to the limited number issued and the hard use they experienced in service - both in the barracks and in the field.  As they passed on as surplus to the multitude of post-army agencies, charities and retail stores they were simply used up with little to no regard for their historical value.  This early Indian Wars bedding blanket is a rare item, particularly when found in this condition, and it will certainly add to your collection, displayed with a soldier’s field kit, on a Model 1872 Barracks Bed, or rolled up on the cantle of an Indian War saddle.  SOLD

NOTE:  THE LIGHT STREAKS SHOWING ON THE BLANKET IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS BELOW ARE RAYS OF SUNLIGHT SHINING ON THE BLANKET AND NOT FADING, BLEACHED AREAS, OR DISCOLORATION IN THE MATERIAL, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED IN THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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