confederat accouterments usage

[kirklandaustin]

I have been thinking for a long time on this and have had a hard time trying to find out if this is right or not, but what would troops in the confederate army do with there 69 cal accouterments when they where dropping there old smooth bore muskets and picking up captured union muskets. I know that they would probably take the accouterments off the dead yank he got the gun from. But was there confederates carrying 69 cal accouterments with say a 53 or 61 rifle. i have seen the couple of 69 cal. cartridge boxes that where captured from confederates in 63 and 64 that where on men that where captured. Also would the confederate government issue new 58 cal accoutrements to thous that captured or ended up with new rifles. Just a thought, i have a 42 Springfield and a 61 Springfield but only have the Confederate accouterments for a 69 cal musket, and going into later war i am switching to the 61 and was just wondering.

Austin Kirkland
Just a poor man fighting a rich mans war

[David Fox]

Re: confederat accouterments usage

Troops in the Confederate armies would likely continue to use their .69 calibre boxes. .58 or even .54 calibre ammuniotion would be a loose fit. Not much problem with the packs in the lower trays, nor much in the upper, for that matter. A little wood whittling could make tray shims if the owner felt it necessary. I believe, to ease supply, the South went to manufacture of a single box for infantry in 1864, and it .69 calibre.

[VMI88]

Re: confederat accouterments usage

I doubt if the average soldier even knew the difference between .58 and .69 caliber cartridge boxes. As long as the rounds fit, you were fine. I recall reading that the Confederate Ordnance Department mandated .69 boxes late in the War to simplify production and supply.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: confederat accouterments usage

Hallo!

Early on, the Feds had the same problem. The Ordnance Office had always (use of a universal so noted) "attempted" to match weapons with cartridge boxes.

Already within six weeks of the start of the War, the demand for cartridge boxes found some in short supply. So the OO authorized non matches as long as the bindles and individual cartridges would fit in the respective boxes on hand.

In May of 1861 Lt. Treadwell reported to General Ripley that he had tried the .58 bundle in the .69 box and found "...it will enter readily."

In July Ripley went on to also order that .69 Round Ball and .69 Elongated Ball be used in .69 EB boxes.

Curt

[4vaadjutant]

Re: confederat accouterments usage

Although I do not recall reading about this subject specifically in the many diaries and memoirs I have read over the years, one thing that has nevertheless impressed me is the pragmatism of the individual soldiers of both armies. If a soldier had a cartridge box it seems reasonable to assume he made do with it. It is well documented that Confederate soldiers picked up rifles on the battlefield, which contributed to the variety of arms within each company. Whether they took the time to also strip a cartridge box when available is not readily mentioned. If needed, I suspect that eliminating the tins was common. In one example of pragmatism I recently read, on the day prior to the Battle of Chickamauga the men of Wilder's Lightning Brigade left Pond Springs with each soldier reportedly carrying 60 rounds in his cartridge box and pockets, while as many as 200 reserve rounds per man were stored in their horses' nosebags. It must be remembered that they were mounted infantry equipped with Spencer repeating rifles.

Tom Williams
4th Virginia Infantry
Indianapolis

[Jean21]

Re: confederat accouterments usage

For future reference:

Col. Gorgas, Confederate Chief of Ordnance, issued a circular on December 7, 1863, directing that the tins for infantry cartridge boxes will be made to the specifications in the 1863 Ordnance Manual (Evans & Cogswell, p. 219) for .69 Round. The dimensions of the cartridge box were to correspond with the tin dimensions.

Citation {Dean S. Thomas, Round Ball to Rimfire: A History of Civil War Small Arms, Part 4, A contribution to the History of the Confederate Ordnance Bureau , (Gettysburg: Thomas Publications, 2010), Page 120.} A copy of the circular is contained in the book.

Jeff Smith