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1873 40 ROUND MCKEEVER .45-70 CARTRIDGE
BOX – RARE EARLY INDIAN WARS TRIAL BOARD SUBMISSION:
This true First Pattern McKeever Cartridge Box was one
of two types patented by Infantry Lieutenant Samuel
McKeever in 1873; however this particular pattern is the
only one of the two that was apparently manufactured
within the arsenal system for examination and field
trial by the army. A true Indian War rarity, examples
of this box are so uncommon that a sample was not
available to be photographed and included in INDIAN
WAR CARTRIDGE POUCHES, BOXES AND CARBINE BOOTS by
Dorsey, although the 40 Round McKeever Box is discussed
in detail and the volume includes the original patent
drawings and document text, on pages 57-59.
Only two
surviving specimens of this 40 round McKeever Box are
known to exist and both of them exhibit evidence of very
limited use. This suggests that a very limited number
of them – perhaps only a handful - were produced by the
arsenals for trial and examination. Upon review by the
Ordnance Board of 1874, the examining officers
appreciated the design; however they observed that the
box was too large – a similar problem which had been
noted with the earlier Hagner Cartridge Box No. 1. The
overall height did not allow a soldier wearing a box of
such a size to comfortably bend at the waist. The board
requested a smaller version be produced for trial and
eventually the regulation, flat sided, 20 round McKeever
Cartridge Box was adopted for the 1874 Infantry Brace
System.
This 40 Round McKeever Cartridge Box is unmarked (as is
the only other known example), but is unquestionably
arsenal manufactured; almost certainly at Watervliet
Arsenal where the other trial cartridge boxes of this
period were manufactured. The leather surfaces of the
front, back and side panels of the back section are
overall smooth with a bright shiny surface. The side
panels of the front section have some surface crazing,
but the leather is stable and still holds much of its
original shine. Notably, the gusset at the bottom of
the box, under the brass hinge rod between the front and
back sections is fully present, intact and the leather
is live and supple.
The seams are all intact,
the belt loops and closing tab are present and intact.
The closing tab is crazed with some light flaking, but
it is still full form and pliable. The top of the front
panel where it curves over the back section is crazed, a
common result of age working on the leather where it was
steam formed to shape. The woven, multi-colored web
cartridge loops inside the box are of the type seen on
some early regulation McKeevers and, like those, were
probably purchased by Watervliet for the limited
manufacture of this cartridge box.
This is a truly rare
Indian War accoutrement, worthy of even the most
advanced collections. Not only is it one of those
early specimens produced from McKeever’s original patent
plans, but it is also the forbearer of the various
patterns of McKeever Cartridge Boxes that would continue
to be carried by US Army soldiers through the early
1900’s. A key, early Indian War Trials cartridge
box, and one that is almost never seen in collections
nor offered for sale, this would be a very historic
accoutrement to add to your collection and to display
with your Trapdoor Rifles.
SOLD
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