CIVIL WAR SADDLE OF COL. CLARK S. EDWARDS, COMMANDER OF THE 5TH MAINE REGIMENT
An excellent Civil War officer's relic, a brown leather "McClellan"-style equestrian saddle, approx. 21" x 14" x 10" (excluding stirrups and skirt), owned and used by Union colonel (later brevetted brigadier general) CLARK SWETT EDWARDS (1824-1903) during the Civil War in his capacity as commanding officer of the 5th Maine Infantry. The saddle is a privately-purchased variation of the standard saddle used by the U.S. Army during the Civil War and beyond, and displays decoration and craftsmanship not usually seen on standard-issue examples. The seat is smooth rawhide, and the front pommel and rear cantle are reinforced with brass arches. The leather is affixed to the underlying wood tree by brass rivets and brass flat-headed screws. The skirts, fenders and stirrup covers are lavishly decorated with floral and geometric designs. All saddle rings and straps are present, and a black leather crupper, possibly a later addition, is fitted at the rear. The retaining strap for one stirrup has broken, but all components are present, and the saddle shows soiling and wear appropriate for its age and history overall, with appreciable cracking to the leather at most straps and stress points, else very good. Edwards enlisted in the 5th Maine on June 24, 1861, becoming captain of company I, consisting of men from Bethel, Maine. This is thought to have been the very first company of infantry raised in response to the federal government's call for 300,000 recruits following the outbreak of the war. He was said to be the first man of the district to enlist, an action that inspired many others to follow his example. He became colonel of the regiment in January of 1863. The regiment first saw action at the First Battle of Bull Run, arriving at the height of the Union retreat. The regiment suffered nearly 400 casualties in that action. It would go on to participate in the battles of the Peninsular Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, among others, and were among the front ranks in most of those engagements. The regiment was mustered out in July of 1864. Edwards was the reluctant Democratic candidate for the Maine governorship in 1886, but was defeated. In 1890, the governor appointed him Maine's Commissioner to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Otherwise, his post-war years were spent farming. Accompanying the saddle is a signed and notarized letter from Edwards' great-grandson, John O. St. Clair, Jr., dated Feb. 17, 2004, attesting that the saddle had been in his family's possession since the end of the war, and that it passed to him in the late 1960s. Also present are three color photographs of the saddle presented here, one signed by St. Clair, as well as many pages of biographical information on Edwards and the 5th Maine.