This US Model 1857/61 cartridge box once resided in the famed Shields Museum in Gettysburg PA.  The Shields Museum was on the Gettysburg battlefield, along Chambersburg Pike, near the Buford and Reynolds monuments across from the McPherson barn. Mr. Arthur Shields was a collector of Gettysburg Civil War relics and memorabilia. He opened his museum in Gettysburg in 1925, and the museum featured many items recovered by Mr. Shields and others from the Battle of Gettysburg. The contents of the museum were sold in November 1985 and most of the items are now in private collections.

What makes this box distinctively Confederate is the intentional and total excising of the box's outer leather flap. This was done during the period of use by an individual soldier. This feature of a cut off flap (or sometimes cut down/shaved down flap) was done only by many Confederates. Evidently the large outside flap was an encumbrance in combat making it more difficult to get to the cartridges. The smaller inner flap that remained was sufficient protection from the elements. This type of "modification" would never be permitted in the Union army. In over 65 years collecting this compiler has seen dozens done like this; all were Confederate, associated many with names and regiments.

The box is in good stable condition. The leather pocket in front and its flap are intact but the pocket itself is torn in a couple of places. Both "roller buckles" to facilitate attachment to the over-the-shoulder sling are intact, as are the two loops for the belt on the reverse. The dimensions are 7 1/4 inches by 6 1/8 inches by 2 inches deep. Both tin liners that hold ammunition are firmly in place.  A distinctive Confederate cartridge box adapted for real combat conditions (you could say "quick load"), and ex-Shields' Museum.  [pe][ph:L]

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