Is this from the civil war era?

[Dan-MO]

Found this US bridle,bits and halter with blinders and reins between the floors of the loft of a 150 year old barn.The 4 US buttons are all brass with the ones on the blinders being slightly smalled than a US half dollar. The buttons on the bridle/halter are about silver dollar size with a iron loop on the back for the leather to run through. I have not attempted to remove the buttons because the leather is hard as a rock and I will probably have to cut them off. I can find no markings on the bits but they are very rusty and I have not attempted to clean them yet. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Dan-MO]

n/t

 

[Dan-MO]

n/t

 

[deerman]

Civil war era its worth far more together then cut apart to get a few buttons, might also be u.s cavalry try to soften the leather by putting it in some neatsfoot oil and rubbing it into the leather it might take a little bit of time but it might be well worth it,If the buttons are rusting ask some of the relic hunters the best way to stop the rust? but what ever you do don't cut it up as it looks like its in great shape,just in need of some T.L.C. nice find btw

 

[Marc(NB)]

dont make the mistake and cut the rosettes out,you'll regret it later!

 

[BEAR]

Look at the back of the Rosettes and see if they are Lead or Tin on the back. If they are Lead I would think maybe it is Civil War era. Tin back maybe Post Civil War era. I would keep it in one piece and not cut it up anyway. BEAR

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hi dan. it's a nice find you made. wow! whatever you do, don't remove the rosettes. i believe what you have is a post indian war to about a turn of the century - ish u.s. army bridle rig. ones like yours that are complete are not seen very often - they're not rare, but are seldom seen. apply neatsfoot oil or at least some good saddle soap. it'll take several applications, or you can have it done professionally at any good tack shop. it doesn't cost much. don't even try to shine up the rosettes either - that'll quickly reduce the value too.

just think, dan - it's about the same bridle rig that general john j. pershing's calvary would have used to chase - and eventually capture - the great mexican bandit pancho villa. you can thank us all later for the good advice! hh,

 

[Dan-MO]

A couple of weeks ago a friend tore down an old barn. After he had salvaged all the lumber he wanted from it he dozed it up in a big pile to burn the remains. I asked him if I could poke around in it to try and find some old lumber for a couple of wood working projects. He told me to take whatever I wanted as he was going to burn it all on the first rainy day. I spyed about a 10X10 section of the old loft that was boarded up on both sides. It had some decent looking old lumber on it that I wanted to try and get. Using a wrecking bar and hammer I pried a board loose and the first thing I saw was a small piece of dried leather.....I gave it a pull and drug out the whole outfit! I must say I got a little excited when I saw the US buttons.How it got sealed up in that old loft is a mystery to me. I tore the rest apart hoping to find more....but nothing else. As I came home from work today I noticed that the whole pile was burning. Just pure luck I found it when I did or it would have been lost forever.

 

[Wishful-thinker]

Can you take a pic of the larger buttons ,Do they say CS or US?

 

[GoGoGopher]

I have read that many horses and mules that escaped their handlers during a battle ran off and were captured by ordinary citizens who would often keep them, or sell them off...Wonder if someone caught one, and tried to hide the bridal in the barn???


HH,