Sword hanger?

[JDug]

Is just modern horse tack or something CW period like a sword hanger or carbine sling attachment ?

 

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[taz42o]

Gag loop for horse I think. Guess its called a latta swivel.

 

[DCMatt]

Gag loop for horse I think.

Agree. Still may be CW era though.

DCMatt

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Pretty sure that is civil war era! Great finds as always JDug glad that spot is producing!

 

[creskol]

There is absolutely no way of knowing if that style is a Civil War era swivel or not, but it appears as though yours has chrome plating. If that is the case, it is post war.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

All of the PRESENTLY-KNOWN evidence points to the various horseharness loop-shaped "swivels" as being from sometime after the end of the civil war. Or at least, not from Military-issue equipment.

The evidence:
There are lots of photos showing a civil war soldier on horseback, and none of those presently-known photos show the various horseharness loop-shaped "swivels." If somebody here knows of such a photo, from 1861-65 (or earlier), please post it.

Also, no civil war era horsegear seller's catalog has surfaced which shows (or lists) the loop-shaped "swivels."

The situation is like what killed the belief that brass tent-rope adjusters (also called tent-rope "slips") are from the civil war. There are many photos showing civil war soldiers at their tents. Not a single one of those many photos showed the brass tent-rope adjusters. Eventually, on-paper Historical Documents were found which proved they are from no earlier than the 1880s. (See the inventor's US Patent diagram below, dated Nov. 30, 1880.)

Here's an example of a photo of Military-issue horseharness on the horse. Note that there is no version of the brass loop-shaped "swivels" on the horsegear.

But as I said above, I am speaking about the presently-known evidence. If somebody here has solid proof of 1861-65 usage of the loop-shaped "swivels," please post it.

 

[JDug]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[gtoast99]

There are lots of photos showing a civil war soldier on horseback, and none of those presently-known photos show the various horseharness loop-shaped "swivels."

My understanding is that these swivels would have been used with pulling horses, so a soldier on horseback wouldn't have a swivel loop attached. You would need to find a CW era picture of a horse in a pulling harness, rather than a soldier on horseback. Again, that's just my understanding of how these worked. Here's a couple of pictures showing a swivel loop in use.

Having said that, everything else you posted about the evidence (or lack there of) for this being a military item is completely accurate. I've yet to see a period picture of a horse in harness showing a similar loop, but I haven't looked very hard either. I tend to agree with your assertion that, given presently known information, these most likely date post-war.