Old South Military Antiques, LLC Catalog

The carbine sling shown here is one of the rarest of Confederate accoutrements. So rare that I only know of one CS cavalry collection that contains one. Though there must have been tens of thousands made, there was little reason for a Yankee to take one as a souvenir, though I have shown one of the snaps with gold paint on it, indicating that it was a Yankee souvenir. Likewise, there was little reason for a Confederate to save one, when the belt would work for other purposes. Yet here is one that is in near pristine condition; its only flaw is that the return spring is broken.

The Confederates, so well-known for the ingenuity in utilizing what was available to make war material, made an interesting adaptation here. They started with a canning jar clamp. Well before the War, the art of preserving fruit and vegetables by the canning process had been discovered. However, it was not so well established that a sealing method had been settled upon. There were screw lids, wire bails, and this iron clamp. The pointed hooks turned to the inside and straddled the jar neck, but caught the jar’s lip. A thumb screw then passed through the base, pressing on the jar lid, thus tightly clamping the lid to the jar.

The Confederates removed the thumbscrew and inserted a hand made snap link through the existing hole and peened the head. A wooden dowel, or in this case an iron roller was inserted between the points. This created a very serviceable carbine swivel.

The swivel is still mounted on its original 2 9/16 inch, heavy leather belt. The belt is fastened with a Confederate made brass sling buckle of exceptionally heavy proportions. The belt even retains its original leather keeper. This example is in such fine condition that it could easily be used today.

I can’t imagine there is a better example in existence. A collector could easily mount this on a mannequin and hang his preference of CS carbine on it, without fear of damage.