Spur Straps

[David Jarnagin]

I want to see if anyone has the answer to this question.

Uniform of the US Army, Horse Furniture, published in United Service Journal July, 26 1851 lists spur straps as ¾ inch wide and this is also found in the 1857 US Army Regulations. In the 1861 US Army regulations list them as only 5/8 inch wide.

The army did not change anything without a reason so was there a change in the spurs that caused the reduction in the width of the strap? I have searched for an answer but cannot and I am hoping someone has more information that explains the change.

Thanks
David Jarnagin

[Choatecav]

David,

I do not know the answer to this, but the other day you posted regarding the smaller heel that was specked out for the cavalry boot in the war. Could there have been a conscious reduction in the heel size and thus a correlation in the width/size of the strap needed???

regards,
Mark

[David Jarnagin]

Mark,
The spur itself would determine the heel size and not the strap. (We are talking about boots meant for riding a horse and not Wellingtons.) Since the spur was cast in only certain sizes the heels would have to correspondingly need to match them. I do not think the Army came up with the size of the spur but just copied civilian ones already on the market. Ken may tell me differently.

The heel size is not listed until the 1861 US regulation that I have been able to find so far, but I am still looking. It is not in the 1857 regs.

If McCellan had his way in 1856 we would have used a screw in type, like the Prussians used. The Ordnance dept. shot him down saying our cavalry must act frequently on foot moving in the grass, brush and mud.

David Jarnagin

[Ken Knopp]

David Jarnagin asked me to post these photos that are relevent to this discussion. He couldn't post them and I had alot of trouble so I hope they turn out.
At any rate, I will let David comment on these. Sorry David!!

Ken R Knopp

[David Jarnagin]

boot heel pictures172.jpgboot heel picturesweb.jpg


Thanks to Ken for posting the photos of both shoes and boots.
The reason I wanted to post the pictures was to show how the boot heels were done in order for them to fit the spurs. The heels on shoes (bootees and brogans) are wider than then boot heels and this can be seen in pictures.
The other thing you will notice is that boots had a half sole.
I think these boots in the pictures are sewn soles where as my original boots are pegged.
For some reason the PDF files will not read so I reposted the picture in a JPG.

David Jarnagin
djarnagin@bellsouth.net


I hope the file is attached.

[Andrew German]

Hello Dave,

I measured the spur strap slots on nine dug or wartime-ID'd pattern 1859 spurs that I own. Five of them, including Allegheny Arsenal sizes 1 and 2, have slots exactly 3/4-inch wide. Four of them, including a nondug one ID'd to the 1st Pennsylvania and a dug Horstmann contract spur, have slots that are 13/16 wide. If the Allegheny Arsenal ones represent the ideal, then a strap slightly less than 3/4 would fit best in their 3/4-inch strap slots.

Hope this helps,
Andrew German

[David Jarnagin]

Andrew,

Thanks for the information. Sent you a PM.

David Jarnagin