M-1874 Clothing Bag

When the army equipment board approved the new issue in 1874, the Palmer brace system was to come with the haversack for rations, and a “clothing bag” for spare clothes to be carried in the field. Like the first pattern haversack, the clothing bag has leather closure straps and brace attachments, and a painted/rubberized flap. The bag itself was about 9 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Affixed to the front of the bag, underneath the flap, was a small rectangular pocket measuring 6 3/4 inches by 5 1/2 inches, designed to carry a spare box of rifle ammunition (interestingly, the 1872 meat can fits nearly perfectly inside this pocket also) that is closed with a leather tab closed by passing over a federal eagle button. The front flap measured 13 inches by 15 inches, and had an interior pocket designed for socks or other small items. As the bags were used, the leather began to become brittle, as did the flap coating. Many of these bags have been seen with replaced flaps that have no paint/rubber, but will still retain the leather closure straps in some cases, which become designated as second pattern. The third pattern clothing bag completely removes all the leather accents and replaces it with webbing. The third pattern clothing bag also replaces the eagle button with a tin or steel stamped button for the closure of the ammunition box pocket.