U.S. Moro wars 1903

Check out the lowest image on the above page. The U.S. Cavalryman on the right. Is that a wristwatch on the outside of his gauntlet?

Given that this image is from 1903, it would be the earliest one I have yet seen showing a wristwatch in military service.

The image is from the Philippine Islands during one of our campaigns against the Moro.

Best regards,
Greg

Either that or a wrist compass (?). I can't see a crown in the usual place for a wrist watch. A pocket watch converted with the crown still at the 12 position (in line with the strap)? Would be kind of awkward but much like the ladies wrist watches of later years... just larger.

Leather pocket watch holders also held the crown in line with the strap.

A wrist compass is also a possibility. It makes me wonder which came first, the wristwatch or the wrist compass?

Best regards,
Greg

It seems there are a great many stories as to when the first wristwatches were made and it is hard to determine which are true. One that I have seen several times is that Elizabeth I had one given to her in the 1500s and then there are references in literary works and paintings in subsequent centuries. While Elizabeth I was not a soldier, she was the commander in chief of the army and navy so one might make a kind of an argument that that was the first military wristwatch, but as I said it would be a stretch to say that. Here is a link to one webpage that seems to provide some reasonably academically backed information: Wristwatch timeline
The reference at the end of this to 2,000 wrist-chronometers which the Germany Navy ordered from Girard-Perregaux in 1880 sounds really interesting. I wonder if anyone has a photo of an example of one of these or an actual example of one?

Jim,

I've read the reference to the Girard-Perregaux German Navy watch many times. The only image I've seen was a badly reproduced photo, and a picture on a G-P fan site of a "recreation". The watch looks like a typical wire-lug "trench watch", the case appeared a bit heavier than most, and it had an integral, grid-patterned shrapnel guard bezel. There is a fair bit of testimony, but the fact that no one seems to have an example, especially given how fanatical the Germans can be about recordkeeping and preservation of military artifacts, seems really odd to me. Just call me suspicious by nature.

The earliest photographic evidence I've seen of the wrist-strap pocketwatch holders were those used by British soldiers in the Boer War. This would be about the same timeline as the Moro insurrection photo.

For what it's worth, it looks like a pocketwatch to me.

My two cents,

Cary

Open to new concepts, Capt. Ryan also has an automatic pistol, maybe a Colt model 1900 or 1902. Not yet widely accepted by concervative military men at that time.

Greg,

I seem to recall stories about troops in the Moro campaign being unsatisfied with the Colt 1900, as the .38 Colt round lacked the stopping power needed when faced with a charging Moro in a narcotic-induced stupor. Perhaps Captain Ryan was one of those early adoptors who gave those reports.

Regatds,

Cary

The .45 vs. the .38

Regulation Army issue was the Colt .38 revolver. Which did not have sufficient stopping power. The Colt M1900 was tested but never adopted as an official sidearm.

Officers could buy sidearms of their choice. Some officers bought American and German semi-automatics. But those who had seen combat wanted .45's. For this reason, old fashioned.45 Colt single action and double action revolvers were highly sought after.

There is a fair bit of testimony, but the fact that no one seems to have an example, especially given how fanatical the Germans can be about recordkeeping and preservation of military artifacts, seems really odd to me. Just call me suspicious by nature.

I fully appreciate your point but being ravaged by two World Wars, and especially the second one in which many of the cities were not only destoyed by ground troops but also targeted and obliterated by extensive bombing campaigns, it is a miracle that any artifacts at all from old Germany exist, especially things like very old army records. For example, I was doing some genealogical research on a branch of my family that came to the US in the mid-1800s but when I started asking the people in the large city where my ancestors came from about old records I was met with a kind but sad laugh and was told that by the end of the war there was not a single building left standing or not burnt out in that particular city and all of the civil records were lost.

Jim,

I know that you're correct, and actually thought about that when I posted the comment. After I became interested in wristwatches, I once asked an elderly German pawnbroker about old wristwatches, and he replied, with that same sad kind of laugh"Oh, they all left on the wrists of American GI's".

I also know that I spent a great deal of time in Germany in the '80s and '90s, and toured castle after castle with well preserved armories, and extensive collections of antiques and artifacts.
There are many areas of Germany that weren't subjected to the heavy bombing that hit the cities, and much of West Germany was saved from the outright pillaging that was seen in the East.

It just seems odd to me that with 2000 of these watches supposedly produced, there isn't a single one in a collection. Even after all of the wars and predation, not one surviving example shows up anywhere? As I said, just call me suspicious.

It would seem to me, if issued in 1880, that these would have been worn out or obsolete by the First World War, much less the Second, and could easily have slipped out of military inventory. Who knows...maybe there are examples out there, but no one can identify them as to their true pedigree. I haven't seen anything that indicates that there were any sort of military proofmarks.

Just another interesting horological mystery...

Cary

It would be hard to i.d. the first Kriegsmarine wrist watches. Other than the use of a chain to hold them on the wrist, not much is known about them.