Good condition tin drum canteen. Body is in excellent shape no dings or dents. Very light surface rust. All three sling keepers are present. Heavy leather sling with roller buckle. Sling is broken in one area. The over all nice condition of the canteen and the sling makes this a first class example.

This item is from the collection of Henry Chritzman – Gettysburg resident, Civil War veteran and builder of the Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse.  Henry Chritzman was born around 1821, and he and his brother George were responsible for the construction of the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse, a well known landmark in Gettysburg. The attractive brick Italianate style landmark was erected between September and November of 1855 for a total cost of $1,025.00 and was designed by Stephen Button of Philadelphia.

Chritzman was a 40 year old resident of Gettysburg, PA and a builder by trade when he enlisted on 4/20/61 as a private; on that date he mustered into Co. E, 2nd PA Infantry. He mustered out on 7/26/61 at Harrisburg. He re-enlisted and on 12/14/61 he was commissioned into Co. K, 101st Pennsylvania Infantry (the local Gettysburg company) as a Captain. Chritzman was wounded at Fair Oaks, VA on 5/31/62, receiving a gun shot wound to the left leg and was "sent north" the US General Hospital at Harrisburg. His post-war pension claim indicates that "from the effects of said wound he has lost the use of his left leg, also it prevents him from following his usual occupation, "cabinet maker", or any other." Though his military records include several requests for leave and statements from army surgeons attesting to the severity of his wound and his inability to return to active service, Chritzman was dismissed on 2/4/63 for being "absent without leave since the 16th day of July 1862" by command of Brigadier General Palmer. Special Orders No. 212, issued by the Adjutant General's office in Washington on May 12, 1863, amends his dismissal to an honorable discharge to date back to 2/4/63, "it appearing that during the time absent he was sick from wounds". Post-war census records reveal that Chritzman and his family were living in Gettysburg in 1870, and had moved to Washington, D.C. by 1880. Records for the U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers revealed that Chritzman was admitted to the Roseburg Branch home in Hampton, VA in 1884. Pension records indicate that he died in Gettysburg on July 6, 1896 at the age of 76, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, having suffered from the effects of his wound for the balance of his life.

John Plank Geiselman had acquired items from his collection, a number of which we have either sold or still have available.

Each item is accompanied by copies of Chritzman's military and pension records and a small amount of research material.

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