May 2009 Civil War Canteen By: Nancy S. Shippen,
Asst. Jamestown Conservator
Because
Jamestown is known primarily for its role in establishing the British
colonies in America, little is discussed about the activities that
took place on the island during the Civil War period. Just as the
location was an important strategic outpost for the English colonists
in 1607, the Confederates looked to Jamestown Island as the best
defensive location to protect Richmond, the capital of the South
and a major industrial center in 1861 (Riggs 1997). In the building
of embankments and digging moats for the Confederate earthen fort,
some of the dirt from the original James Fort was incorporated.
Excavation of the Civil War trenches in the 1950s, and again in
1994, led to the discovery of the James Fort (Kelso, 2006). Jamestown
was occupied by both Confederate and Federal forces throughout the
war.
After the move of the capital of colonial government from Jamestown to
Williamsburg in 1699, the island reverted to agricultural fields
and the property passed through several hands. By 1861, the island
eventually consolidated to one owner, Captain William Allen (Jamestown
Archaeological Assessment 2002). Captain Allen occupied the island
with Confederate troops raised at his own expense. They constructed
five earthworks to protect the island and control the river traffic
to prevent the capture of Richmond. As more troops were added, additional
fortifications were constructed. When Yorktown was besieged in 1862,
the Confederates evacuated. Federal troops then occupied Jamestown,
connecting the island to the War Department in Washington by telegraph
wire. Jamestown, however, was largely ignored until 1863 when both
Confederate and Union forces used the location in diversionary tactics,
during the Confederate Suffolk campaign and later during the Gettysburg
campaign, the Federal troops made a feint against Richmond. Later
in 1863, Jamestown was a Union outpost and a communications link
for Williamsburg, and a telegraph cable extended underwater from
Jamestown to Fort Powhatan to Union headquarters at City Point.
At the end of the Civil War, after the surrender of the Confederate
army at Appomattox, the Oath of Allegiance was administered at Jamestown
(Riggs 1997).
An essential piece of equipment for any soldier, there were many types
and designs of canteens used by both armies. A classic design of
the Federal forces after 1861 was the metal “bullseye” type (Model
1858) where rings were pressed into both sides of the canteen. Canteens
made of wood or leather were also used, and they could be personalized
by carving into the wood or painting the cloth cover with their
owner’s name and company number (Field and Smith 2005).
Companies that produced large quantities of canteens were located primarily
in the North, so Confederate soldiers had to rely on wooden canteens,
crude blacksmith products, or whatever could be found on the battlefield.
Despite having greater access to canteens, the North still had difficulty
providing the necessary quantity, and found they had an increase
in problems, such as leaking, due to the number of different manufacturers
used (Jones 2007).
The canteen would have been issued with a dyed wool or cotton cover,
some with a leather sling. The cover, in particular wool, would
not only provide padding to prevent a leak if dropped and to muffle
sound, but also would help cool the canteen through evaporation.
The covers were produced through a mixture of machine and hand sewing,
each modified by the soldier to fit. Often the canteen covers would
be removed and used for patching uniforms.
This Civil War canteen, found in archaeological excavations in Jamestown
in the 1930s, is known as a drum type and could have been used by
either the Confederate or Union army. Originally, the canteen was
round with a wide band and three loops for straps. The drum canteen
was considered inferior to the lighter “bullseye” canteen.
 .
References
Echoes
of Glory
1998 Arms and Equipment of The Union. Time
Life Books, Alexandria.
Echoes
of Glory
1998 Arms and Equipment of The Confederacy. Time Life Books, Alexandria.
Field,
Ron and Robin Smith
2005 Uniforms of the Civil War. The Lyons Press,
Guilford.
Jamestown
Archaeological Assessment
2002 National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior.
U.S. Library of Congress, Washington DC.
Jones,
Robert
2007 The Civil War Canteen. Lulu.com.
Kelso,
William M.
2006 Jamestown: The Buried Truth. University
of Virginia Press, Charlottesville.
Riggs,
David F.
1997 Embattled Shrine: Jamestown in the Civil War. White Mane Publishing Co., Shippensburg.
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