Item No. 2618038

A non-excavated 6 1/4” Civil War-era cavalry horse leather martingale breastplate. This large-format heart-shaped backing sat centrally on the horse’s chest at the intersection of the saddle straps. It features premium double-layer leather construction decorated with concentric borders of domed brass studs. A remnant of one of the original leather attachment straps remains at the top of the piece. Popular in the 1850s and 1860s, this would have been a privately purchased piece of gear, perhaps for an officer or even a civilian, as it was not standard military issue.