Just published! O'Donnell, Mike. Alexandria, VA.: O'Donnell Publications, 2008. Hardcover, 300 glossy pages. Heavily illustrated with black & white photographs.

While a plethora of books already document the weapons and accoutrements of the Civil War, there is near silence with regards to the canteens. And yet, those simple water containers meant so much to the men. Through thick and thin, the canteen was a soldier's constant companion and it later held many of his fondest memories. Shared, at times, with friend and foe: a canteen never killed anyone. Inventories and "Returns" recorded after the armies disbanded at the close of the Revolution and the War of 1812 show regiment after regiment turned in their full complement of muskets and cartridge boxes, but very few canteens. At the conclusion of the Civil War, every soldier in good standing was allowed to retun home with his canteen. A remarkable number turn up today painted or otherwise marked as treasured souvenirs by the veterans. There is one "truth" that can be stated with certainty - while 18th and 19th American soldiers respected their rifles and honored their cartridge boxes, they absolutely loved their canteens. It is the author's sincere wish that the reader will experience something of this feeling among the facts and figures in the pages of t his book.

(256) $38.50

Jones, Robert. Lulu.com Publishers. Copyright Robert Jones, 2007. Softcover, 71 pages. Heavily illustrated with black & white photos.

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 nearly two hundred photographs in the book, many were taken during the Civil War, along with many different types of original canteens, both Union and Confederate. This 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.

(253) $16.95