making a Mexican war soft pack.

[ryanbmm]

I was wanting to know if anyone knew the dimentions for the Mexican war soft pack? I would like to try my hand at making one. I have looked in the research articles but could not find anything. If anyone has any info it would be a great help! thanks.
This is for my confederate impression.

[mslaird]

The best person I could point you to is Robert Serio at Missouri Boot and Shoe.

I am going to order one from him in February.

[WestTN_reb]

If you want dimensions, you will have to either measure an original or pay for instructions. IIRC, the Museum of the Confederacy has dimensions and fairly detailed notes on the Kibbler pack (which is based on the Mex.War model) for a modest fee. Hope this helps.

[Pvt Peck]

I thought of making one myself once, but ended up with a pack from Tim Welch at LD Hanning. It is a beautiful bit of kit. WELL WORTH the money as it would have taken me forever to make one and I probably would not have reached his level of quality. It smells good too :)

Edward Parrott

[PFLINT]

If you’re planning to make one of these knapsacks, I suggest you look at the article, "Knapsack of N. B. Johnston, 1st Virginia Artillery, ANV" by Fredrick Gaede. It has diagrams and measurements for one example of this type of pack, but don't expect much on construction details. This is from Vol. 43, No. 1 of “Military Collector & Historian” spring 1991 (back issues are available, check their website). One the topic of knapsacks...all of the federal issue examples of double bag knapsacks and haversacks that I've seen had been painted after construction. Several confederate knapsacks and haversacks seem to have been constructed out of pre-painted material. Any one who has seen a "Mexican War" knapsack care to comment on whether it was painted before or after construction?

Patrick Flint

[luthhaning]

Patrick,

In general I would agree with your observation concerning Federal haversacks and knapsacks being coated after construction and confederate prior to construction. You can pretty easily find exceptions to this trend though.
Examples I have viewed that are constructed of precoated material tend to be primarily hand sewn which makes sense but again certainly not always as Gettysburg collection contains a Federal "pattern" double bag with significant machine work and was coated prior to construction.

Tim Welch

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

If you want dimensions, you will have to either measure an original or pay for instructions. IIRC, the Museum of the Confederacy has dimensions and fairly detailed notes on the Kibbler pack (which is based on the Mex.War model) for a modest fee. Hope this helps.

A note on ordering worksheets from the Museum of the Confederacy (MoC). These worksheets are intended to be research aids only and not patterns.

Use of the worksheets to produce reproductions (for personal use or for sale) requires pre-consent from the Museum Curator Mr. Robert Hancock. At some point if the MoC feels that they are being taken advantage of in the violation of this policy, it is very likely that they will no longer offer any Research Aids (worksheets).

While I have yet to read Mr. Gaede's articles (yes, multiple articles in the Company of Military Historians Journals) on CS Single-bag knapsacks, I have heard nothing but praise for his research (even if they are not developed patterns). I plan to be picking a few of these back-issues up myself.

Paul B.

[wade03]

Woud the MoC sells notes on an issac and Campbell knapsack? How much do they normally charge? How do I contact them?

[CSchneider]

I believe the MOC has different rates for members and non members. Contact the Director of Collections for more details. But remember, the worksheets do not include every detail necessary to properly reproduce the item. If you live anywhere near Richmond, get a membership, set up an appointment, view the item, take notes (get that worksheet to make your note taking easier), and then think about making the item.

-Craig Schneider

[3alabama]

Woud the MoC sells notes on an issac and Campbell knapsack? How much do they normally charge? How do I contact them?

I do not believe they have one of these in their collection.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Woud the MoC sells notes on an issac and Campbell knapsack? How much do they normally charge? How do I contact them?


The Richmond NBPHQ at Tredegar have an Isaac and Campbell knapsack on display. This may or may not belong to the NPS, as many items on display are on loan from the MoC...you may want to contact Tredegar and ask about it...this is something I was meaning to do, while I was more "local" to Richmond...as I've been travelling for almost two years now with my job, I just haven;t had the oppurtunity.

Paul B.

[Dreamer42]

Many years ago I made one (Mex War knapsack) based on photos of originals and the dimentions were given to me by a reputable source. I finally was able to see one on display. While not able to handle it personally, I was amazed how close I got based on the information I had. I regret that I have not been able to actually handle one thus far. One thing I will suggest is to reinforce the rear leather strap loops on the inside with another leather loop to avoid rippin through the material. I have had to reinforce some of the edges of the pack a few times due to use, but those areas I reinforced have held well. Using a quality thread for sewing the leather makes a big difference, too.

- Jay Reid
Dreamer42