Mc Clellan Saddle - Service and Rivals in The US Army

Service and Rivals in The US Army

As noted above, the McClellan saddle served, and continues to serve, for an extraordinarly long time in the U.S. Army. The saddle has had unbroken use since 1859.

The saddle did see some modification over time. Perhaps the most significant alterations occurred in the 20th Century, when the rigging was changed twice. The first time, an adjustable rigging was adopted leading to the M1904 McClellan. That pattern is the most common of all McClellan saddles, and continued in use throughout World War I and World War II.

However, increased emphasis on equitation in the US Army also lead to the M1928, which was an M1904 with English rigging and fenders. This variant, the final one in US service, fit closer than other McClellan saddles, and is still used by the US Army in ceremonial uses.

The saddle, while passing the test of time, was not without its rivals or critics. The first significant challenger was the Whitman saddle, designed by a former US Army officer of that name. The Whitman had many McClellan features and is often mistaken for the McClellan. While not supplanting it, it was approved for use by officers and remained an approved officers' saddle throughout WWI. In later years, it incorporated so many McClellan features that it is known as the "Whitman-McClellan."

In the 20th Century, a serious effort was made to replace the McClellan through tests of the US Army's M1912 equipments. The M1912 saddle proved to be unsuccessful in the Punitive Expedition, but it demonstrated a great departure from the McClellan design, resembling in some ways the British Universal Pattern saddle. Subsequently, the Army tested the M1917 saddle, which was not adopted.

Enormous quantities of M1904 McClellans were purchased by the US Army in WWI, effectively preventing any new saddle from being adopted for general use for decades. The US Army did approve a saddle of the English saddle type prior to WWI for officers, and after the war approved another, with the adoption of the Philip's saddle for officers.