Original Item. Only One Available. This is an excellent Indian Wars era U.S. Army woven ammunition belt for the .45-70 Government cartridge, fitted with an early Model 1881 U.S. brass belt plate and retaining a particularly interesting stenciled unit style marking on the reverse. The dark woven belt has spaces for 45 .45-70 cartridges and remains remarkably strong and pliable, with no rips, holes, or fraying. Most appealing is the surviving stencil 7 D 5.

This appears consistent with a military unit and individual equipment marking, most likely indicating Company D, 7th Regiment, number 5, although the belt itself does not identify which 7th U.S. Army regiment it was associated with.

The belt is a lovely dark web material and has spaces for 45 .45-70 cartridges. Period woven belts of this family are documented in both 45 and 50 loop configurations, with different variations produced as Army requirements and contracts changed.

The finish on the belt buckle is a bit worn but has a nice patina, and still comes off easily. One of the two angled loops on this example was dented to keep the belt attached, a great detail. The web belt is soft and pliable and in fine condition with no rips, holes or fraying. The back of the buckle is stenciled with 7 D 5, which would denote Company D of the 7th Regiment, 5th man, but without any other information, we can’t say what unit this was worn with.

One end of the belt itself has a very small reinforcement, correct for an earlier M1881 belt before the metal endpieces were designed.

The Model 1881 brass plate and the woven cartridge belt belong to the period when the U.S. Army was operating across the western frontier with the .45-70 Springfield rifle and carbine. The same general equipment family remained in service long enough to overlap with later campaigns and the transition to newer small caliber magazine rifles, which helps explain why similar belts are encountered in both Indian Wars and Spanish-American War era contexts.

What makes this example especially appealing is the combination of its 45 .45-70 cartridge loops, strong original dark webbing, early style cast brass U.S. plate, early belt-end reinforcement, and surviving 7 D 5 unit style stencil. The belt remains structurally strong despite its age, and the marking gives it considerably more research interest than an anonymous example. It would display especially well in a collection devoted to Indian Wars equipment, Trapdoor Springfield rifles, late 19th century U.S. Army accoutrements, or the evolution of American woven cartridge belts.