O’Donnell dates the use of light blue twilled jean cloth on New York depot canteens to 1863, with earlier canteens using gray or brown, and their 1864-65 canteens using a gray shoddy cloth. As should be expected in a mid-war canteen, this shows real field use, with wear to the cover and sling, but is complete with cover, sling, and chain-fastened stopper, the latter being a key indicator of a canteen supplied on contract to the NY Depot, a branch of the Quartermaster’s Office of Clothing and Supply at the NY Arsenal.

The blue cover shows wear spots and a few places becoming thread bare, but the only exposed metal of the smooth-sided canteen body is along an open section of the seam near the bracket pierced for the stopper chain. The metal exposed there shows some superficial rust, as do the brackets, and the cover shows one or two spots where a brown rust stain shows through. The strap, like cover, is all there, but shows use, with some fraying to edges, dirt, and some dark rust stains from the brackets, but is full length and not broken. The cork is present on the stopper, showing some stains and minor losses. The stopper itself uses a full cap at top, typical of NY Depot 1863 canteens, replacing the domed tin style used on most the canteens supplied to the depot in 1862.

Canteens were an essential piece of field gear- certainly more often used than weapons by soldier. This is a nice example of a real, issued and field used mid-war canteen, with lots of signs of wear, but still visually appealing with stains, but light blue the predominant impression.  [sr] [ph:L]

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