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“U.S.M.C.” 6mm LEE RIFLE
THIRD PATTERN MCKEEVER CARTRIDGE BOX – VERY GOOD
CONDITION: Of the standard pattern and
construction of the familiar Third Pattern McKeever
Cartridge boxes issued to the Indian Wars era army, this
United States Marine Corps McKeever Cartridge Box was
manufactured with four leather retaining straps, each
designed to hold a five-round clip of 6 mm ammunition
for the Lee Rifle.
The cover is legibly embossed with
the “U. S. M. C.” in the oval, and the closing tab is
present and intact. The side of the box is stamped
“ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL” with the inspector’s initials “W.T.G.”.
One of the interior retaining straps is stamped with the
piece worker’s initials. The retaining straps are all
present and intact, showing little evidence of use, and
no misshaping.
The box is in overall very good condition, albeit
showing the typical crazed surface that so many of these
USMC McKeevers exhibit. Either the exterior of the
boxes were treated with a waterproofing agent to protect
the cartridges when these boxes were worn during
ship-board assignments which caused the crazing over
time, or they were subjected to poor storage
conditions. Whatever the cause, many of these
relatively scarce Marine Corps McKeevers have the same
surface crazing seen on this box. One upper corner of
the cover has lost a few stitches where it was sewn to
the side panel – something easily restored if you should
desire – but it does not affect the integrity of the
box. The remainder of the seams and stitching are
intact and both belt loops are intact and in excellent
condition.
A point worth noting is that the Marine Corps used two
designs of the McKeever Box, one fitted with canvas
loops to carry the .45-70 cartridge, and this design to
carry the clips of 6 MM Remington Lee Rifle ammunition.
Both of these McKeevers were embossed “U.S.M.C.” and
were made within the U.S. Army arsenal system. During
that same period, the arsenals manufactured McKeever
boxes which were embossed “U.S.M.” which have been
misidentified by some modern collectors as being
intended for the Marine Corps. The arsenals made a
number of McKeevers with state militia specific
embossing – “NGP” (PA), “NC”, “NG” (National Guard),
“KSG” (Kentucky), and for New Jersey they manufactured a
special box with an oval brass plate. The “USM”
embossed boxes, rather than being made for the Marine
Corps, are believed to correctly read as “United States
Militia” and were an effort by the arsenals to
manufacture a generic militia box which could be used by
any of the state militias without incurring the costs of
a special run.
As discussed on page 94, in Indian War Cartridge
Pouches, Boxes and Carbine Boots by Dorsey, these
USMC McKeever boxes for the 6 MM Lee Cartridges are
relatively scarce and they are a very desirable and
important addition to United States Marine Corps
accoutrement and arms collection. (0203) $325
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