This pattern of the 1858 canteen will be familiar to collectors from its smooth sides, brown wool cover, and chain holding the stopper as one coming out of the New York Depot. We find this even more interesting from the remains of a large black set of soldier’s initials stenciled on the cover that seem to be “G.S.M.” or something close to that, indicating it was issued and worn in the field, as does the addition of a bone button to the cloth shoulder strap so that he could adjust the length or take it off without removing any other cross belts or straps. As should be expected from a canteen with actual field use, the folded cloth strap shows fraying and tears from wear on the body and from the metal brackets, but does not have any breaks and is not missing any sections other than what the soldier might have clipped off to make the modification. Both strap and cover show stains and the back cover of the canteen shows a small hole to right of center.

This would look great with mess gear or haversack, but modifications of gear by soldiers is an interesting category in itself for collecting since it shows an individual’s touch. [sr] [ph:L]

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