McClellan Saddle

The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan, a career Army officer in the U.S. Army, after his tour of Europe as the member of a military commission charged with studying the latest developments in engineer and cavalry forces including field equipment.

Based on his observations, McClellan proposed a design that was adopted by the Army in 1859. The McClellan saddle was a success and continued in use in various forms until the US Army's last horse cavalry and horse artillery was dismounted late in World War II. Today, the McClellan saddle is used by ceremonial mounted units in the US Army. The saddle came in various seat sizes that predominantly ranged from approximately 11 to 12 ½ inches.

Origin and development

In April 1855, six years before the start of the Civil War, Captain George B. McClellan sailed to Europe as part of a military commission to study developments in European tactics, weaponry, and logistics. McClellan's focus was the organization of engineer troops and cavalry.

After the one-year tour, during which time McClellan observed several battles of the Crimean War, McClellan brought back almost 100 books and manuals. These he read before writing his report, which concluded with his proposed manual for American cavalry adapted from existing Russian cavalry regulations. He also proposed a cavalry saddle that he claimed was a modification of a Hungarian model used in the Prussian service. The saddle was almost certainly a modification of the Spanish tree saddle in common use in Mexico during this period, and which had become common in some parts of the US. The McClellan saddle was adopted by the US War Department in 1859 and remained standard issue, in various models, for the remaining history of the horse cavalry. The original M1859 version was the form used during the Civil War, and the design saw subsequent modifications. The saddle always remained recognizable as McClellan's design, which included cavalry and artillery models.

Confederate variants in the Civil War

During the American Civil War, many Confederate cavalrymen provided their own horses and civilian saddles. In time, the Confederacy issued the Jenifer saddle. But when Southerners' horses grew thin because of inadequate food supply, the Jenifer saddle became painful to the bony withers of the horses. In 1863, the Confederate army issued the lighter and better-contoured McClellan saddle to its cavalry. Because leather was scarce in the South during the Civil War, many of the McClellan saddles had skirts of painted canvas.

Influences on McClellan's design The design was based on the Spanish tree saddles in wide use in the United States at the time, and which had seen US Army use, although McClellan claimed that it was based on Hussar saddles he'd observed in use in the Crimean War.

While McClellan did go overseas and observe the Crimean War for the US, the saddle does not closely duplicate any pattern in use by the armies in that conflict, but is very close to the widely used Spanish tree saddle, which was originally a saddle in common use in Mexico. The design underwent modifications over time, although in many ways it remained remarkably unchanged.

The saddle was simple and less expensive than existing saddles, light enough not to burden the horse, but sturdy enough to give good support to the rider and his gear. It supported a rawhide-covered open seat, a thick leather skirt, wooden stirrups, and a girth strap of woolen yarn. Added accessories to the saddle sometimes included a nose bag for horse feed, a curry comb to groom the horse, a picket pin and lariat to tether the horse while grazing, saddlebags, and a "thimble" that held the muzzle of the cavalryman's carbine. The McClellan saddle was placed on top of a saddle cloth, or saddle blanket.

Legacy and continued use

While the McClellan saddle was not perfect and had critics, it was one of the most enduring military saddles of all time, rivaled only by the British Universal Pattern saddle in its longevity. The saddle was used by every branch of the US Army, the US Marine Corps, and was widely used by mounted police units throughout the US.

The McClellan saddle continues to be made in the US, and was used by endurance riders at one time. It is made for use as a pleasure saddle for those few who like it for that purpose, and as a saddle for historical reenactors.