This is a great example of the regulation Union army cartridge box for infantrymen armed with the .58 Caliber rifle musket, the standard long arm of the war. This is complete with the original shoulder sling and both accoutrement plates, with all buckles, loops, tabs, and the interior magazine tins for the cartridges in place. The box is the regulation black leather with strong color and finish showing only minor crazing to the finish from flexing and just one or two very small spots where it flaked that are not obvious. The interior has the inner flap with side ears in place, excellent color and finish, and crisp stamping: “WATERTOWN / ARSENAL / 1864.” The implement pouch is in place, showing slightly more brown in tone and with its own flap, tab and retaining loop in place, and showing just some wrinkling and creasing to the finish. Both tinned iron magazines are in place with the dividers still in the upper trays, each separating the cartridges from an opened pack into a group of six and four, while an unopened pack was kept in reserve in the tin’s lower compartment.

The shoulder sling is still buckled in place and is full length, with no breaks or tears. The blackened exterior surface has good color and typical overall crazing to the finish from flexing over the last century and a half, resulting in some flaked patches, but those spots are not readily evident from later blackening or polishing of the surface though a few small spot show a light brown. Both box plates are present: the oval US cartridge box plate and round eagle sling plate and are correctly fastened with leather thongs showing some age.

The box shows some typical white spots that is not mold or stains but saturated fatty acids known as “fatty acid spew” natural to antique leather that can be cleaned off with a soft cloth. It results when the amount of oil the leather can hold changes and some of it returns to the surface, sometimes being reabsorbed when the temperature rises. See C. & D. Jarnigan’s useful comments on this and the treatment of antique leather on their website. The asterisk stamps are “stake marks,” applied by the individual makers to close small holes made when leather is tacked to a wood form so the edges can be sewn closed. The pattern of the box is dated by the use of a rivet in addition to stitching to secure the latch tab to the outer flap. The March 1864 pattern still used the cartridge box plate, which was omitted by the July 1864 pattern in favor of simply embossing the oval and US on the flap.

This is very good, regulation cartridge box and sling of a pattern adopted in time for use in the climactic battles of the war in both the east and west.  [sr][ph:L]

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