Mills Second pattern M1903 rifle cartridge belt
This belt was manufactured by Mills and features Mills' patent dates stamped on the brass hardware where the belt adjusts. The 9 pocket cartridge belt was used by soldiers before the 1910 Cartridge belts were fielded. Many National Guard units and some regular army units used the M1903 cartridge belts during the Punitive Expedition, 1916-1917. Some National Guard units even shipped overseas with this older model belt. Note the rimless eagle snap buttons which were used on field gear up to 1914. Around 1914, rimmed eagle snaps were used on field gear. In 1917 the lift the dot snap became standard on accouterments, but rimmed eagle snaps are often seen on the enlisted and officers' medical belts manufactured by Mills in 1918.
Russell Second pattern M1903 rifle cartridge belt
This olive colored belt was manufactured by Russell and bears no markings. Note the difference of the puckering on both belts' pockets. Carl Panak Collection
Russell M1903 Cavalry rifle cartridge belt
The Cavalry version of the cartridge belt was identical to the Infantry belt with the exception of the leather chape and ring for the saber hanger which was riveted to the left side of the belt. GWS Collection
M1909 Cavalry rifle cartridge belt
The M1903 Cavalry Cartridge belt had no pockets to carry revolver ammunition and many cavalrymen were forced to carry the smaller rounds where ever they found convenient such as in shirt or coat pockets. In 1909 the problem of revolver round access was solved by adding four pockets to a 1903 Cavalry style belt which sword hanger. This belt is the M1909 Cavalry cartridge belt in it's original, unmodified configuration which had four revolver ammunition pockets- two on each end of the belt, one ontop of the other. With the introduction of the M1911 Automatic .45 Pistol, many M1909 belts were modified after 1912 by the removal of the revolver clip pockets. The empty space could now hold an M1912 pistol magazine pocket. A similar belt four mounted troops would be developed in 1910, based on the 1910 design.
GWS Collection
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