Civil War Belt Rig-Where to find info?

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I would like to put together a Civil War style belt rig for my C&B.  But I can't find info on them. Plenty of repro pieces, but not sure which goes with which or what pieces were used. 

And the cartridges, did they just sit loose in the bottom of a pistol cartridge pouch?

Thanks for any help!

[St. George]

You can get everything you'd want at Dixie Gun Works, so get one of their catalogs.

Civil War leather equipments have been written about extensively - you'll be sure to find the information you seek - and if you re-direct this query to 'The Barracks' - you may find it sooner.

Ebay's another good source for gear, but about all you'll be needing will be a Sword Belt and Belt Plate, Holster and Cap Pouch - the Saber and Hanger can come later.

Scouts Out!

[cavsgt]

  Go to Carrico Leatherworks, not the cheapest but quality and authentic. 

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[Slowhand Bob]

Are you putting this together for CW re-enactments, cowboy action shooting or just personal use and are we talking US, CS or perhaps a guerilla band?   These answers would have a real bearing on ones selection choices.  I am thinking that Confederate or southern guerilla gear would have been far less uniform and would have greatly revolved around what the individual could gather from any source available.  Most of the old photos that I have seen indicate that the guerilla groups, in particular, really tried to gather as many pistols around their belts as possible and almost always displayed at least two.  I have always heard that this practice was always popular with the regular Confederate cavalry also?  At one time I loosely used the Jose Wells look for my costumes, guns and leather for SASS use.         

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Re Guerillas,

Many of those pistols were kept in pommel bags or sadddle bags, and reached for when one had expended all the bullets in the pistols at hand ....

Unless you have one of those Hollyweird pistols that shoot eight or ten at a time ... *S*

[Slowhand Bob]

Not sure about official issue but this does look good to me as catch as catch may style rig.  Oh, I have no connection to the rig or auction BUT the holsters look mighty close to the ones Cabalas used to market as  the WBH model?  Frequently our custom maker style leather is actually much better/heavier than original stuff and the cheeeepo stuff is closer.   http://www.ebay.com/itm/380455568163?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_500wt_954

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Thanks guys!  Maybe I throw this up in the barracks as well.

I hope to do some something with SASS.  I'm pretty sure they're doing things in my area.  I was thinking I would do maybe a post military thing.  Perhaps a guy from the war who still had his rig, or came across a rig.

I figured it would have been documented pretty extensively, and maybe I'm not putting the right things in to Google.  But, searches for "Civil War Pistol Rig" or like weren't having much success.

Like I said, I can find repro pieces, but not how they were used or worn.  Or which ones to buy that would make a complete pistol and holster rig!

Aesthetically, I like holsters with the flaps and the US and the belt buckle with the US.  So, I'm after a sword belt and belt plate (buckle?).  A cap pouch as opposed to Pistol Cartridge box?  ...Or both?

Thanks for the info and websites.  I'll check them out ASAP (already looking at Carrico's.  Great stuff!)

(@ Wadd: Watched "Open Range" again last night.  Kevin Costner's 1873 could shoot 12 in a single fan!  ...maybe I need one of those.   )

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi,

This is a rig I cobbled together to look something like my great grandfather would have carried with the 2nd Florida Cavalry.

I made the belt with a buckle that I got here ... it is an early Fla buckle ... then I cut a strip of leather, vinagarooned it and sewed it on ...

http://parsleysbrass.com/pages/states/florida.html

The D-Handled bowie started out as a David Carrico Confederate Bowie ... I removed the original horse hide (it could not be dyed) and used the horsehide as a template to cut new leather ... vinagarooned it and then sewed it on while wet so it would 'shrink' on to the inner wood sheath .....




The holster was a standard 'El Cheapo' Dixie Gun Works Northern holster that I  vinagarooned and again vacuum molded while wet ...  the cap bag and cartridge box (for my Maynard shells)were vinagarooned ... and the wooden bullet box in the cartridge box looked too new, so I took it out and Min-waxed it to look older and used ... the overall look that I was going after was a war-weary cavalryman who took good care of his well-worn gear ....

[Trailrider]

There are several excellent books by Edward Scott Meadows and R. Stephen Dorsey on holsters, belts and accoutrements. These may be expensive to buy, but you may be able to find one in a larger library.

One thing to keep in mind is that early in the CW, much of the leather equipment worn by Confederate regulars and militia followed the pre-war patterns of the Federal Army. Much equipment was taken from Harpers Ferry Arsenal.  In some instanses, where CSA troops obtained waist belts with U.S. belt plates (buckles), they turned the belts upside-down. That wasn't possible with regulation cavalry sword belts, unless the Sam Browne straps were cut off. Most of this equipment was colored black.  Later in the war, CSA and Confederate state troops utilized whatever could be fabricated.  If carbon black was in short supply, then finished leather was often dyed with various homemade or at least whatever was available. That also applied to uniforms.

The military style, butt-forward, full or partial flap holsters were quite commonly used by veterans after the war. In some instances, the wearer might cut the flap off for easier access. There has often been opinions posted by misinformed people about the reason for the butt-forward holster, worn on the right side. While it is true that cavalrymen wore their sabers on the left side, which would have interfered with drawing the pistol from a left-side scabbard, the holster could have been made for a butt-rear carry on the right side.  The statement that the butt-forwad, right side holster was due to a mistake by a manufacturer, and utilized anyway is completely false! This can be proven by the fact that the Army kept the butt-forward, right side design was kept until the first semi-auto pistols came into use, about 1906.  Field expedient modifications and general evolution of design led to the more common, loop-style holsters of he 1870's and later.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Here are a couple of my slim jim rigs.  Top one is a Dixie belt & Texas buckle with a poair of Rock Creek Slim Jim toe plug holsters and an El Paso Saddlery Dyer Box cartridge pouch.  Bottom is a Dixie Eagle Belt with a pair of Tombstone Leather Slim Jims


Then there is my CSA veteran rig, El Paso Saddlery Texas belt and brown Dyer Box with San Paedro Saddlery carved holsters


The Dyer Box is a ca. 1874 cartridge pouch used to hold SAA Cartridges.

[Megabutter]

Trailrider, was right side butt forward for saber and pistol cross draw?  Is left side cross draw feasible for historical accuracy?

Also, how do you guys set up your ammo?  Are you making paper cartridges and placing them in the cap box?  Are they functioning rigs in this way?  Or still utilizing loading stands at the range?

Also, some really nice set ups there gents. Thanks for the pics!!  Looks great!

[Fingers McGee]

For CAS competition, I use the dyer box to carry my rifle rounds if I'm shooting the percussion revolvers or my pistol & rifle rounds if I'm shooting the cartridge conversions.  I use a stand on the side of my guncart to charge the pistol cylinders between stages.

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Just saw this on that the auction thread that popped up.



That about sum it up, lol?  Awesome that this auction thread popped up today.

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Having trouble with the pic: http://jamesdjulia.com/auctions/catalog_detail_shots.asp?Details=46364X100&sale=327

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi,

First, I haven't ever fired my '58 Remington ( I am waiting for my Maynard and an NCOWS evennt where I can shoot My Remington with an extra cylinder and just my Maynard [i.e. no shotgun].

TTFN,