This is a great example of a regulation Civil War canteen with full cover, strap, stopper and string cord. The cover is complete, tight, with no holes, just light wear and some dark and light stains. The fabric is brown with dark vertical lines from the use of dark blue weft threads that are fading. The canteen is certainly from the June 20, 1864, contract of Winchell, Marsh & Co., who had substantial contracts with the Cincinnati Depot beginning in April 1863, when it first specified tin spouts rather than pewter, apparently in reaction to the poor soldering of the pewter spouts to the bodies of canteens received in late 1862.

O’Donnell mentions the specific twilled jean cloth cover with this weave on the company’s June 1864 contract, and we note also the clear inspector stamp of A.G. Spencer, who worked at the Cincinnati Depot from August 1864 to May 1865. The strap itself is typical of Cincinnati Depot- cotton duck folded twice and sewn along the edges. It is intact and full length, showing just some small stains and wear at the strap brackets. Spencer’s mark on these contract canteens is typically, “A.G. SPENCER / U.S. INSP. / CINTI. O.” This appears to have been stamped at an angle, with the last line off the edge of the strap. The other stamps are less clear, but would be “WINCHELL, MARSH & CO.” and the contract date: “JUNE 20, 1864.” These are frequently missing entirely, having been worn off or washed out from use of the canteen, but there is enough here that one might be able to puzzle it out with some patience. Spencer also inspected canteens by Holinshade, Morris & Co., but their company markings seem much larger than what is visible here, and O’Donnell (p.199) shows they used fabric much different from Winchell, Marsh & Co. We also note that the stopper is the short variant used by Winchell, Marsh & Co. using a 1-inch tall cork with crimped tin cap and a square iron nut on the bottom that acts against a convex tin washer.

This canteen has a lot going for it that would make it a great addition to a Civil War display, particularly one concentrating on the western theatre and troops who would be supplied through Cincinnati, but it would also show well in a specialized collection of canteens, which show lots of variations and differences in design, construction, material, etc., in both government supplied and private purchase examples.  [sr][ph:L]

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