The first thing to state is that my interest in clothing, arms, tools, and individual equipment for the last forty years has focused on the period since the Spanish American War. That necessarily takes in any item of equipment that was used in the period of the twentieth century.
I long ago decided that though I would read about the Civil War and the earlier wars, the expense of collecting the former and the expense and scarcity of collecting the latter, precluded me as a college student and beginning civil servant from being serious about those objects.
So here goes a brief introduction to the subject of haversacks, excluding the 1910 model, which regardless of its name is not a haversack at all but a pack carrier and a poor one at that.
Here are some edited remarks I made two years ago on the Gunboards Forum.
A haversack is defined as a bag for rations, spare ammunition, and personal items carried by a sling across the body over the left hip. The canteen is usually carried on the opposite side as it is not large enough to interfere with the manipulation of the long arm and bayonet. This type of container was carried all through the colonial period and the Civil War.
It was often issued along with a similar item carried on the back that was designated as a blanket bag and was for the blanket and spare clothing. This could be carried on the transport when available. The haversack was always worn by the marching soldier.
The 1878 pattern blanket bag had not been satisfactory as it was worn over the suspenders and the design was flawed so that the straps were on the corners, not mounted centrally as civilian packs were and are so that the blanket bag shifted back and forth and put all the weight on the shoulders as well.
One of the major problems with haversacks as LBE was the lopsided load caused by the haversack on the lower left belt balanced only by the canteen. The other was the haversack catching in the brush and trailing in streams during boondock campaigns in the Phillipines. The Army had dropped the blanket bag in 1904 and officially adopted a blanket roll using the shelter half with the attached strap or with a separate leather "dog collar" type strap.
When the general orders changed the load to be smaller, the large M1904 haversack was replaced by the medium size M1908. This too was carried with a blanket roll.
No one crossed deep streams wearing a high pack, they used floats and lines to haul the packs across while swimming.
The 1874 LBE is covered in detail in a recent book on the Indian Wars of the 1870s by Douglas McChristian, published by Oklahoma.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080...9503692-3143905Here is an image of the 1874 Haversack showing the buckle type suspension as it was attached by buckles a set of suspenders to the arms belt.
There was also an accompanying blanket bag which was slung on the opposite hip and had a rubberized flap. Few of these survived.
This is an image of the 1878 pattern haversack which was used and manufactured right through the SAW. The 1874 was issued indiscriminately and carried by using the sling hooks through the buckles.
Note the use of rings for the haversack strap. The strap is wider over the shoulder as compared with the canteen strap which is one width. Later the two were combined into the Canteen-Haversack Strap.
HAVERSACKS Prior to 1910, Consolidated Data
Mar 19 2005, 03:26 PM
