The Civil War Canteen : Second Edition

By Robert Jones

With the outbreak of hostilities in April of 1861, thousands of men would be called upon to leave the safety of their homes and go off to war. This would be a new experience; for many of these "citizen soldiers" it would be the first time they were away from their home towns. These new recruits would not only have to fight their fellow Americans, in many cases they would be facing their own relatives on the battlefield. Some men would carry muskets, others revolvers. Some would be firing cannons, while others waving swords. But there was one thing they all had in common, both enlisted man and officer, they all carried canteens. There are over two hundred and seventy five photographs in the book, many were taken during the Civil War, along with numerous different types of original canteens, both Union and Confederate. This 80 page book will give the reader a rare opportunity to take a glimpse into the past to see what the soldier used and some of the battlefields he fought on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 12, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257609253

Robert Jones

Robert Jones was born in Gloucester in 1957 and read Philosophy and English at Cambridge. He is a director at Wolff Olins, one of the world's best brand consulting firms, and has worked as a consultant in corporate communications for 16 years, with companies such as Andersen Consulting, Cameron McKenna and the National Trust. He lectures at Oxford Business School on marketing.

Book preview

COLLECTION

PREFACE

From the beginning of time, man had to depend on water for survival. Whether living in a cave or in some primitive hut, he always knew a source of water would be essential. As he ventured off to find a better food supply or inhabitable land, he had to make sure a river or stream was near by, or come up with a way to carry that water to his camp. This wasn’t for convenience, but was a matter of life or death. Even early humans were aware of the sacred order of survival: shelter, water, fire, and food. As time went on, they would hone their skills to achieve and maintain these four elements that kept them alive.

When countries became involved in warfare, no matter what the reason, combatants needed water to be effective. It is the one battlefield necessity that cannot be omitted or changed as long as soldiers fight battles. Historically, soldiers have relied on water, either supplied to them by servants or carried with them in some type of vessel. The earliest of these were animal skins, clay pots, and containers made of wood, glass, and metal. With the outbreak of America’s Civil War in 1861, the standard canteen for the military was the US Model 1858 tin canteen. Although this canteen had already been accepted by the U.S. Ordnance Department, the government would find it impossible to produce the quantities needed to fight a war.

The government was thus compelled to procure outside contractors, as it would have to do for numerous other accoutrements to keep the fighting men well supplied. The problem with this was uniformity and quality. Specifications were in place for the style and size of the canteen needed, but with so many different manufacturers, it was inevitable that problems would crop up; leaking was the most prevalent of these. After some trial and error and the elimination of substandard companies, suppliers were able to provide a reliable canteen for the Union army.

The U.S. Ordnance Department had its problems, but these were minimal compared to what lay ahead for the Confederacy. They faced the same obstacles, but had very few resources available for equipping their army. Companies with the capability to produce large quantities of canteens were located mainly in the North. Some of the Southern militia units already had tin canteens, but the majority had to depend on wooden canteens or crude blacksmith specimens. Some soldiers were reporting for duty with canteens from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and many men showed up with nothing and many times the Confederacy had none to give.

As the war progressed, and when the opportunity presented itself, Johnny Reb would gladly replace his wooden canteen with the lighter and more reliable Union model. This book gives the reader a glimpse into the past to see what the Civil War soldier used to carry water from the outbreak of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in 1861 until the final shots were fired at Appomattox, Virginia, in 1865.

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INTRODUCTION

To the average person it would just appear as a rusted piece of tin, not really worthy of a second look. However, this wasn’t the case with me. My first true Civil War relic would be one of these so called rusted pieces of tin. Back in the 1980’s I received an excavated Confederate Civil War tin canteen as a Christmas gift. Although relatively new to the Civil War collecting field, I did immediately recognize what this particular item was, even though the condition was far less than pristine.

I handled it gingerly as if it was an expensive glass vase, being ever so careful not to disturb this fragile relic from the past. Probably for an onlooker it would appear almost comical; being it was buried in the dirt for over the past 100 years. A faint old white paint marking on the face, which was common with the old time relic hunters, revealed a UM; this stood for Union Mills. After my careful examination, I gently set it back in the box and began my research to find out more about this Union Mills.

The technology of instant answers was not yet available. There was no computer or internet to start an immediate search, so my only option was to hit the books. My meager Civil War library wasn’t much more than half a dozen books, but it was enough to get a decent start. I would discover that Union Mills was in Virginia and it was where on August