This is a regulation Civil War U.S. Infantry cartridge box complete with both interior magazine tins and is typical of those carried in the climatic battles of the war. Provided on the reverse with belt loops and with retaining straps and buckles on the bottom, the box could be worn with the shoulder sling or on the waist belt. The two interior magazine tins each held a pack of ten cartridges in a lower compartment and had an upper tray to hold ten cartridges from an opened pack, with the paper “twist” of twelve percussion caps from each pack emptied into the cap pouch worn on the waist belt.

The black leather of the box has an excellent surface. There are just a very few minor wear spots and only a little crazing to the surface on the top of the outer flap from flexing. The leather has not had leather preservatives or treatments applied but was redyed at some point, not uncommon since the boxes sometimes oxidized to brown. This was not crudely done with whatever shoe polish was at hand and looks good, pretty much as issued. The only loss of finish we see is a small spot on the implement pouch. The buckles, latch tab, and sling buckles are firmly in place, as is the closing tab and retaining strap of the implement pouch. Both tins have their upper tray dividers creating space for four and six cartridges in each. The March of 1864 pattern introduced some minor changes, but most notably incorporated a rivet to better secure the latch tab and the cost-saving measure of using an embossed U.S. in an oval on the outer flap with the intention of eliminating the solder-filled stamp brass cartridge box plate.

The lower edge of the inner flap is nicely marked “H.G. Haedrich / Philada.” Haedrich had been a harness maker and saddler in Philadelphia before the war and  obtained U.S. government contracts for thousands of accouterments in 1862 and 1863. In 1864 he received a contract for 20,000 sets of infantry accouterments to be delivered to the Frankford Arsenal under a July 4 call for proposals. Although the government was experimenting with a version of the box eliminating the inner flap, Haedrich is noted as supplying this March 1864 pattern (See Johnson, CW Cartridge Boxes.)

This is a nice looking, complete Civil Infantry cartridge box that would look great displayed with a .58 caliber rifle musket.   [sr] [ph:m/L]

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