NOTES ON THE M-1858 CANTEEN.
The M-1858 canteen was adopted as regulation after years of experimentation with wooden, tin drum and leather alternatives. The M-1858 employed an oblate spheroid pattern consisting of two circular sections of pressed tin soldered together along the rim. Dimensions varied, but most were 7 ¾ inches in diameter, by 2 ¼ inches thick (at the centre). Three tin sling loops were spaced around the rim, sometimes not too evenly. A pewter spout and tin flange collar were soldered to the top. A covering was fitted to aid the keeping cool of its three pint capacity, and a sling was fitted
The M-1858 came in two types:
THE SMOOTHSIDE PATTERN 1858
This is the standard M-1858 familiar to all civil war enthusiasts. This canteen type remained in regulation service until the late 1870's.
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PATTERN OF 1862
The Federal government found that adding concentric rings pressed into both faces offered greater resistance to denting than the smoothside, but it was then found to split along the seams. This was the sole modification to the M-1858. These corrugated canteens are known as the "bullseye" pattern or the "pattern 1862" both are a modern terminology given to this type of canteen. By mid-July, 1862, production had begun on contracts let by the Philadelphia Depot for these corrugated canteens. The Philadelphia Depot let contracts for both patterns of canteens, information to date (1998) indicates that only the Philadelphia Depot let contracts for the corrugated canteens!
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DEPOTS
The geographic location of a depot did not mean that the distribution of it's goods were restricted to a particular theatre, i.e. The New York Depot for use in the Eastern theatre, and so it cannot be considered true that supplies would be drawn from the nearest depot.
PHILADELPHIA DEPOT
Either pattern, 1858 or 1862, the latter having 5 to 7 rings but up to 11 rings are known. Until 1862 a sling of leather with tin buckle was used thereafter straps made of cotton or linen, the most widely used however was a strap made of lightweoght twill woven cotton drill. Coverings were made in cheap kersey or satinet, then any material available, including old blankets, overcoats and upholstery material. Spout of pewter, stopper attached with string, no hole punched in to the tin strap holder.
NEW YORK DEPOT
The New York Depot had no manufacturing capability, so received and shipped canteens as "complete" from their contractors. Mostly leather slings until summer 1862, thereafter folded straps of cotton or linen Covering of grey coarse wool jean (the vegetable dye for the wool jean cover oxidized to brown after short use) Spout of pewter, stopper secured with jack chain via a hole punched in to one of the tin strap keepers.
NOTE! Only the New York Depot featured the jack chain to secure the stopper. All other canteens with provenance had their stoppers secured with a cord or string. In theory this means only the New York Depot canteens would have a chain and a hole in one of the strap keepers to secure it, all the pattern 1858 & 1862 from all the other depots would not have these features. (Now think about all those reproduction canteens in use or passed by sutlers as authentic.
CINCINNATI DEPOT
Produced pattern 1858, with cotton or linen straps. Coverings of grey coarse wool jean (oxidised to brown) then reprocessed army materials. Spout of pewter, stopper attached with string.
ST. LOUIS DEPOT
Had no manufacturing capability for canteens from their contractors, but a possibility was that they received them uncovered then covered the canteens at the depot with wool jean cloth, as the depot had a large sewing hall in which uniforms were manufactured by machine-sewing. Only straps of cotton or linen were used. Contracts specifying tin spouts were let out to nearby firms by the depot in 1864-1865, and display a puffed up spout collar and an extra amount of lead solder packed into the seam The stopper was secured by string or a cord.
DETAILS ON THE M-1858.
THE CLOTH COVER
The army's first order, about 20,000 canteens came with sky blue wool covers then changed to dark blue, this however was soon replaced with a covering of army blanket wool, this remained the most used type of cover during the war years. The army blanket at this time was produced from "gray goods" a wool /jeans type cloth tinted using vegetable or mineral based dyes, but more commonly left undyed. The process of dying wool and cotton was not an exact science, the colour of these woolens would nearly always vary from lot to lot, even if only slightly. The variance of colours coupled with the oxidation of the dyes plus dirt would produce the tan coloured cover being most often recorded. In 1863 - 1864 the Schuylkill Arsenal had a directive to reprocess used army materials in it's production of new equipment, cloth from greatcoats, sackcoats, trousers and even socks were used as covers in the last years of the war. The covers display a mixture of machine and hand sewing. The bottom being machine sewn with the top hand sewn after the canteen had been slipped in. An examination of period images shows the use of canteens without covers was also very common.
THE STRAP OR SLING
Leather slings were used by some depots (Philadelphia and New York) and some contractors. These were 73 inches long 5/8 inch wide fastioned with a tin buckle which had a protector, surviving slings appear to have been originally russet leather. By Autumn 1862 the leather sling had fallen out of use due to the higher cost and a tendancy to have a short field life, however due to existing stock and on going contracts they would have been seen in the field till early summer 1863. Thereafter cloth straps of cotton duck or linen folded and machine sewn at the edges, or folded in thirds and sewn down the middle in a single machine stitch were used, the width of strap was about 1 inch wide and sometimes seen with an inspectors stamp. The weave of the material used for cloth straps differed from depot to depot and with availability of material, surviving examples include both chevron and diagonal style weaves. Variant slings made of cotton ticking material using white and green thread, along with slings made of vulcanized gutta percha with a single stitched seam have been noted.
THE SPOUT
The M-1858 came with a pewter spout, except for the St. Louis issue which was tin. The spouts usually bore the contractor's initials and sometimes the entire name, this seems to have started on bullseye canteens issued after July 1862* and on smooth sided canteens at the end of 1864. This ties in with the Quartermaster department specifications requiring the marking of all canteens on their spouts starting in late 1864. With the large number of contractors used to make the M-1858 there was variety in the manufacture of the spout, this can be seen in their shape ether straight or chamfered sides and in lip construction, spouts with an air vent in the side were also produced. The softness of the pewter made the spout a popular spot for the soldiers to scratch their names. The Height of the spout was generally 3/4 inches with a 1 inch diameter.
* On July 17th 1862 the Senate passed a resolution requiring that the Secretary of war and the Secretary of the Navy establish procedures to ensure that all items purchased for their respective services be marked with the contractor's name or the firm which supplied the item.
Jon Eggleston
SOURCES
Civil war canteens; Stephen W Sylvia & MichaelJ. 0 Donnell
The civil war issue canteen; patterns 1858-1862; Earl J. Coats.
Congressional documents; Report of Committees "Government contracts" 1861- '63 Washington printing office
Echoes of Glory - Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy; Time Life 1991.
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