O’Donnell dates the use of light blue covers on NY Depot canteens to 1863, and estimates the total made at about 150,000, before the gray wool covers came in during 1864. The material is the same used for enlisted trousers and the depot may have been influenced by the use of various colored fabrics at the Philadelphia Depot. A key diagnostic in identifying the canteen as passing through the NY Depot, established in June 1861, is the use of an iron chain to retain the stopper, which seems to have been used by NY state early on in equipping its own troops and then carried over on canteens supplied to the US government starting in mid-to-late 1862.

This is thus a good US regulation canteen dating to 1863 or so. The NY style stopper and chain are still present. The cover is about 80 percent intact on one side with scattered moth nips and some rust holes, and a brown stain at bottom. The other side has more like 90 percent of the fabric, but with a larger gray stain on the left and bottom edge. Both sides show circular brown rust stains from the raised ridges of the corrugated body underneath. The strap with it shows wear from running in the brackets and a repaired break, but is likely a replacement added by a collector for display.

Certainly not a mint example, this is nevertheless appealing for its obvious signs of field use, being dipped in wells and muddy streams not only to refill it but to soak the cover and keep the contents cool by evaporation while on the march. It also shows a small hole in the side of the spout, often made by soldiers to break the vacuum when drinking from it and sometimes used in conjunction with a patent filter.    [sr] [ph:m]

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