The 1839 cartridge box is set up for a shoulder belt, but not a waist belt, and is also distinguished by being a bit taller than its Civil War compatriots, to accommodate the longer .69 cartridges. The box is not as wide as the later boxes made for the .69 elongated ball cartridges, however, since the round ball and three buckshot they contained were not tightly fit to the smooth bore of the common musket. This is a nice example of the pattern that served through the Mexican War, the early western frontier, and into the Civil War in the hands of many state volunteers.

The sling is white buff, in very good condition, flexible, and with only minor stains on the reverse. The box has very good finish on the exterior with just a narrow line of rubbing and finish loss down on the interior along front left edge of the box itself. The latch tab is broken across the fastening hole, but the upper portion is there. The implement pouch, flap, and tab are in place, as are the side ears on the inner flap. Both tins with the dividers in the upper trays are there. There are no maker marks, but that is common on government arsenal made boxes. The only stamp is an asterisk stake mark on the inner flap, used to close a tack hole after assembling the box. Both sling and box have original plates, though whether original to the box or replaced at some point you can’t tell. The box plate is secured with a correct leather thong. The sling plate has no thong.

This is a scarce box and sling in very good condition. White accouterment belts changed to black in the regular army in the 1850s, but states had different regulations and they show up on troops in the Washington area in 1861.  [sr]

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