Saddlebag

Title:

Saddlebags

Object Name:

Saddlebag

Creator:

Unknown

Date:

1770-1820

Material:

Leather, linen

Dimensions:

H-4.75 L-21 Dia-7 inches
Bag folded is 18". The depth measurement is the thick bottom edges of the bags- one on top of the other together as currently folded

Description:

Dark brown or black leather having two pockets at each end of a leather strap that was placed across the back of the horse. There bag is lined with linen that shows through an open seam. An old handwritten label is stuck to the outside of one of the bags that reads:
"Paymaster's Bag/Used through the American Revolution/by Daniel Gookin."
The bag has 7 sets of slits for securing the bags - one has an iron loop attached. Inside the bag was an envelope with a typewritten excerpt taken from a letter by James Brown Thornton apparently offering the bag to the SoC along with a folding bootjack. The excerpt is as follows:
"Lieutenant Daniel Gookin/Extract from Letter of James Brown Thornton, M.D., dated July 8, 1915./I have in my possession many interesting relics having to do with the official and private life of my honored ancestor, Lieut. Daniel Gookin. Among such are the saddlebags which the officer used when Paymaster on Washington's Staff, and in which he carried the continental money. Also a boot-jack of a folding type which he carried all through the Revolutionary campaign."

Provenance:

Daniel Gookin (1756-1831) was born and raised in North Hampton, New Hampshire. During the American Revolution, he served as a sergeant-major, ensign, and lieutenant in Lieutenant Colonel George Reid's Second New Hampshire Regiment. Gookin retired from military service on March 12, 1782, and was one of the original members of the New Hampshire chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati. He also served as the Society's second secretary. From the time of this appointment to the time of his death, Daniel Gookin maintained an active political career; he served as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and a Judge of Probate. When the original New Hampshire Society dispersed in 1823, he may have been the last surviving original member.

In horse riding, saddlebags sit in various positions: on the back, side, or front of the saddle. Most attach to the saddle by straps and ties. These are traditional paired saddlebags (which lie on the hips of the horse, on either side of the cantle). Although these saddlebags may have been owned by Daniel Gookin, there is no evidence that suggests he was ever a paymaster for Washington's staff.

Subjects:

Saddlebags, Paymaster

People:

Gookin, Daniel, Thornton, James B.

Place of Origin:

United States

Collection Name:

Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire

Item Number:

1988.015

Accession Number:

1988.015

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the American Independence Museum

Credit Line:

Gift of Dr. James Brown Thornton

Participating Organization:

American Independence Museum