I was cleaning out one of the garages today and found what is said to be great-great-grandpa Samuel Brooks Adams' saddle. The saddle tree is wood as are the stirrups.
The story goes that he rode home on it after the Mexican-American War in 1848. He later enlisted in the Union Army, reaching the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and died of smallpox in Nashville.
He named his son Elijah Winfield Scott Adams because of his respect for General Winfield Scott, under whom he served in the Mexican war. Scott put this saddle in a box and into the woodshed where it stayed until the 1970s and my mom decided she wanted it and moved it with us to Florida from East Tennessee. In Florida it stayed in a box in the attic. I now have it back in East TN.
I'd like to know it there's any way to authenticate it and if so, or even if not, if there's anywhere I can donate it.
Pics:
https://i.imgur.com/XkgGFUC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YHOjG7p.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Q6ZunbV.jpg
You are likely never going to be able to "authenticate" this, because that's just not something that can be done for historical items. The best that can be done is for an expert in the period to say whether the date is accurate, and if so if it's likely to have been used by the military. Then at that point, one would evaluate the claim from a logical perspective - that is, is the provenance all in the family line, did that person actually fight in that war, etc.
If you want to donate it, a historical society local to where he lived in Tennessee (or a state/county-level museum) would be a good option. Museums more local to the Mexican-American War could also be interested.
You could start by contacting the US Cavalry Museum in Ft Riley ,Kansas, and see what they think: https://history.army.mil/museums/fieldMuseums/fortRiley_USCav/index.html
You'll notice they have an exhibit on the evolution of cavalry saddles: https://history.army.mil/museums/fieldMuseums/fortRiley_USCav/index.html#Gallery
