McClellan Saddle
name: label: designer
content: McClellan, George B.
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description
label: Description
content: Leather seat, straps, and skirt with wooden stirrups.
label: Description
content: General History
label: Description
content: Captain George B. McClellan toured Europe with a military commission looking at new military tactics. Reportedly influenced by the saddles of Hussars he observed in Europe, McClellan returned and developed a new modified cavalry saddle. In 1859, the U.S. War Department adopted the McClellan saddle. They remained the standard issue throughout the history of the horse cavalry. The saddle was simple and less expensive than most. It was light enough not to weigh down the horse, yet it was sturdy and gave good support to the rider and his gear. In its original form the seat was covered with rawhide but was changed to leather in later incarnations. It featured a thick leather skirt and a leather covering for wooden stirrups. In addition, there was a girth strap made of woolen yarn. The McClellan saddle was placed on top of a saddlecloth, shabrack, or saddle blanket.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
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content: ThinkFinity
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.273382A
label: accession number
content: 54537
label: catalog number
content: 273382A
objectType: label: Object Name
content: saddle
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (stirrups material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 24 in x 40 in x 30 in; 60.96 cm x 101.6 cm x 76.2 cm