The Watchdog
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE WATCHDOG Volume 2, No. 2 Spring, 1994 Guarding your interests .... The staff of The Watchdog has the pleasure to announce "Making a Good Impression: A Seminar for Civil War I addition to our editorial department. Mr. Geoff Walden Reenactors" will be held October 15- 16, 1994 at Belmont 1s accepted a position as associate editor of The Watchdog. Mansion in Nashville. Tennessee. This workshop for both r. Walden is well-respected nationally for his research on military and civilian reenactors is sponsored by Tlte Citizens' field rifles and all things Confederate. His expertise will be Corrtpanion, The Ladies' Soldiers' Friend Society. and Belmont .remendous asset to our publication. Mansion. Beth Miller will be the keynote speaker, conducting On March 5, 1994, The Watchdog made a donation of a workshop on women's outerwear of the Civil War era. Other !00.00 to the Mill Springs Battlefield Preservation Associa- presentations include uniforms and military equipment, a lec- )n, in fulfillment of our pledge to donate our profits annu- tureldemonstration on 19th century ballroom dancing, a tax ly to battlefield preservation efforts. The Mill Springs Battle- seminar for reenactors. and a presentation on the material cul- :Id Preservation Association is one of Kentucky's most ac- ture of the Civil War. Registration for the two day program is le preservation organizations, helping to preserve and inter- $75.00 (a box lunch on Saturday is available for an additional zt this significant battlefield. Information about the Mill $7.00). To register, contact Jean Byassee, 2805 West Linden )rings Battlefield Preservation Association is available from Ave.. Nashville. TN 377 1 2; (6 15) 292-5365. r. William Neikirk, Box 3 18, Somerset, KY 42502-031 8. In future issues of The Watchdog we will feature articles We have two updates on past issues. Our January number on Columbus Depot jackets, civilian shirts, lighting devices, atured an article by Karen Rae Mehaffey on cosmetics of and Federal frock coats. e Victorian era. Unknown to Karen or to us at the time, ere is now commercially available a fragrance from the time mriod. When the steamboat Arabia was excavated, among SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION e cargo were bottles of a perfume so perfectly preserved that The WatcMog(1SSN 1067-2729) is published quarterly by e still aroma was detectable. This fragrance has been repli- The Watchdog, Inc., a non-profit corporation in the ted and is being marketed under the name 1856. It is avail- Commonwealth of Kentucky. Subscriptions are $7.00 le through the museum store of the "Treasures of the Arabia"' annually. To subscribe, send name and address with useum in Kansas City. The museum is located at 400 Grand check or money order to: {e., Kansas City, MO 64 106; (8 16) 47 1-4030. It's pricey The WafcMog $24.95, but would be the perfect complement to a lady's P.O. Box 4582 ~letteon that special living history occasion. Frankfort, KY 40604-4582 For an excellent article about U.S. Anny cups during the THE WATCHDOG Accepts no advertising. Contributors and e 19th century, see "Army Tincups on the Western Fron- writers receive no compensation for their articles. All profits mr" by Paul L. Hedren in Vol. XLIV, No. 2; Summer. 1992 are donated annually to battlefeld preservation organizations. ition of Militan, Collector and Historian, the journal of the Contributors are solely responsible for the accuracy of the Impany of Military Historians, North Main Street, research and for the opinions expressed In their articles. estbrook. CT 06489. The author describes three major ?es of common Civil War era cups. The article stops with II Copyright 1994. All rights resewed. II zntion of events early in the twentieth century, what the au- Nicky Hughes, Pubiisher Ir calls "the ens? of the aluminum and enamelware era." Susan Lyons Hughej, Editor formation in the article generally confirms our piece about Tom Fugate, Associate Editor ps in the Winter, 1993 edition of The Watchdog, including GeoN Walden, Associate Editor :fact that "US" stamps indicate cups made after the Civil Barbara Kelly, Staff Artist We Drank From the Same Canteen? Christopher Daley While Federal reenacting units look smart marching inDress with several makers in the North to recover and reseal old Parade with kersey blue canteens and white cotton straps, it is canteens. doubtful that many original Civil War companies were accou- tered in this manner. The M1858 Sling Journals. letters, and memoirs of many veterans of the Civil The M 1858 was originally designed to be used with a rus- War downplay the importance of the canteen and question the set leather sling. The sling was to be six feet long and have a necessity of being issued one. These sources frequently men- buckle. At the start of the Civil War, manufacturers of the tion that tin cups were used more efficiently than canteens. M 1858 began touse cotton or linen slings as substitutes. These However, since every reenactor needs to carry a canteen for straps were also to be six feet long. The leather slings were in safety reasons. it is essential that this piece of equipment be ~isepredominantly until the winter of 1863, when the Quarter- analyzed in order for it to be accurately reproduced. master Department realized that the leather slings, after be- In a recent issue of The Watchdog, the publishers expressed coming wet. would stretch and split. Although manufacturers their view on the use of stainless steel canteens by reenactors. still produced leather slings for the M 1 858, the cotton web- To further enhance the campaign against their use, if one of bing or linen slings were more reliable. the stainless steel canteens is measured and compared to the Many alternatives were used instead of the issue straps, specifications prescribed in the Qtmrtennaster :r Montml, you including rubber and a combination of leather and cotton. In will find that these reproductions are considerably larger than the field substitutes for lost or defective slings were old sus- either the originals or the conventional tin reproductions. Of penders and heavy string. NOTE: Although there were black the tin reproduction M 1858 canteens found on the market. the leather slings used during the war, russet was the color pre- majority are close enough to the proper measurements that it scribed by the Quartermaster Department for leather slings. is unnoticeable to the eye. While the size and shape of the tin reproductions are accu- Cork Attachment for the MI858 rate, there are three aspects of the M 1858 canteen that should The original specifications for the cork attachment called be examined to determine the authenticity of reproductions: for a brass chain. This evolved into a tin chain by the start of the covering, the sling, and the cork attachment. the war. By the end of the war the Quartermaster Regulations called for four pieces of cotton twine twisted together, 20 inches 'The Cloth Covering of the MI858 long, and doubled over. Ofthe M 1858 canteens that survive, Both the United States A rnly Rides nnd Reglrlations and few have the brass chains. The tin chains and twine attach- The Qunrtcrmasrer 's Manual specify that the M 1 858 be cov- ments apparently were issued equally. This does not account ered in a coarse, cheap, woolen cloth or heavy cotton fabric. for tin chains beingreplaced by string. Leather shoe laces Ilowever, neither volume states the actual color, weight, nor also provided an excellent substitute, and many photographs weave of the fabric to be used. suggest that the MI858 canteens had no attachment at all. Inactuality, only 2% of surviving M 1858 canteens observed by this writer have kersey blue covers on them. The majority of the coverings are brown jean cloth. The weave and weight SURVEY OF MI858 CANTEENS of the wool are both heavier and tighter than that found on reproductions, which normally have 12 ounce wool on the out- Using artifacts found in recent publications on the subject side. and in museums in Gettyshurg and Washington, D.C., Ihave In 186 1 the War Department altered the trouser color from surveyed forty-five M 1858 canteens, with the following re- federal dark to kersey blue due to a shortage of the former sults: color. However, manufacturers could not spare thousands of yards of greatcoat and trouser colored wool for canteen cov- Types of Canteens surveyed erings. Alternative fabrics were preferred and extensively used. Burlap, old socks, and army blankets became viable substi-' Smooth Side 28 tutes for the much-needed and more expensive kersey blue Bulls Eye 17 material. The Quartermaster Department also had contracts CANTEEN COVERING fixed to the bottom and the other two at a distance of 4 inches each, measured from the outside of the mouth piece of nozzle; Brown Jean mouth-piece cylindrical, of hard white metal. 718 of an inch in Grey Jean diameter, edged over at the top, strongly soldered on and se- No Cover cured to the canteen. To contain three pints. Federal Blue VELVET CORK: to fit the mouth piece, I 114 inches long Kersey Blue and capped on top with tin, through the center of which ex- Federal Issue Blanket tends a galvanized iron wire. 118 of an inch in diameter. with a Burlap loop at the top, 718 of an inch diameter (inside), secured at the Leather bottom of the cork by a galvanized or white metal washer and Wool Sock screw nut. AITACHMENT: to the loop of the cork wire and one of SLING the loops of the canteen. shoiild be a strong piece of cotton or linen twine, made with 4 threads.