|
ca. 1840 US ARMY WOODEN
CANTEEN REGULATION PATTERN:
A rare surviving specimen of the early US Army Wooden
Canteen, this is a particularly nice example. While the
majority of the wooden canteens period that survive from
this early period are those carried by militia troops,
canteens such as this one that bear the brick red US
on the front as were carried by the regular army
infantry and dragoons are quite scarce. The canteen
retains virtually all of its dark blue-green base paint,
with the 2 high U.S. characters applied in brick
red. At one time it was apparently issued to a
Massachusetts soldier as the over painted M can be
seen beneath the U. The canteen measures 7 in
diameter and 2 5/8 wide. The front, back and single
piece side are all intact with no cracks or splits. The
front and back are attached to the side piece with iron
tacks and all the tacks are present and the joints are
all solid and tight. All three leather sling guides are
present. On the reverse, there are two sets of
initials, EA and ELC. This canteen was purchased
from a family estate and the patriarch of the family,
then 93 years old, identified ELC as Edwin Loring
Child, an antecedent and provided that this canteen had
belonged to Child. These early regular army canteens
just dont show up on the market and finding one in this
condition and identified to boot is indeed a treasure of
note. SOLD
|
