.69 Cal Ammo Box

[Bill]

Re: .69 Cal Ammo Box

Carl,

The colour of the box depends ypon the type of ball it was meant to hold, OE: Elongated ball, round ball, or buchshot.

Ekongated ball + Kead Colour
Round ball_=Blue
Buckshot= Red
Blanks= Olive

I am convinced that the "Buckshot & Buck and Ball" cartridge are both packed into red painted boxes. I derive this from the fact that the section under which both "Round Ball" & "Buckshot" columns are listed are both under the header of "Round Ball".

One other thing to keep in mind is that these paints are all oil-based, and of a glossy finish when new. They would, of course, suffer some loss of gloss and fading when exposed to the elements, but usually they were under canvas in the wagons, or in magazines awaiting transport, or box cars from the arsenals to the depots. This, most any wear would be minimal until after the rounds were issued, or placed into the wagons and jostled about.

The packing boxes are also of slightly differing sizes, based upon the type of cartridge they are to hold. Although not noticable to the naked eye at several feet, if the various types are placed together, the differences would be seen.

Respects,

Tim,

Do you have some reason to believe the boxes had a gloss finish, other than they were finished with an oil based paint? The period photos I've seen don't suggest the boxes had a shine. Oil paint isn't always glossy.

All boxes don't match the manuals. I took the measurements from a spherical ball box that was packed in 1861 and it was OD green. I don't know which arsenal the box came from. The top was missing.

[1stMaine]

Re: .69 Cal Ammo Box

Bill,

In one of the 6-volume series "Thre Image of War", there is a phtograph of a pile of freshly painted boxes. They have a decidely shiny finish, reflecting the light quite well.

Now, it is certainly true that matte, and semo-gloss finishes existed then, but judging from the recipes for paint in the Ordnance Manual, I would hazard that the finishes were originally glossy for the most part.

I also agree with the measurements. There always exceptions to the rule, especially when considering the exigencies and vagaries of the service, as both of us well know :)

I figured that I would simply preach the party line, based upon what the manual called for, and then let the fellow research the subject further and develop his wares as documentation of originals presented themselves.

You are also right about the OD Green shade. There are definately period examples of items painted with it that would match up with modern milspec colours. The more one reads of the regulations and various manuals, the more one realises how some things simply haven't changed.......

[Bill]

Re: .69 Cal Ammo Box

Tim,

The box in question was pretty interesting. A relic dealer was nice enough to allow me to take the measurments. Sad to say, I was new to this stuff and only took the outside measurements. 12 1/4" X 17" X 8" tall. (The side boards were 6 1/2" wide) The corners were rabbited rather than dovetailed as per the spec. The box was olive color and the stencil was done in white paint.

The stencil looked like this:

1000
CARTRIDGES
MUSKET, CAL. .69
SPH 1861

I took "SPH" to mean spherical or round.

On one end only, the box was over stenciled in black, using what I would call a "modern" military stencil that the box contained a 1000 .58 Cal. blank cartridges. There was no effort to cover the original markings.

[zachariah]

Re: .69 Cal Ammo Box

Hi Carl,

Fort Union would have been supplied from the St Louis Depot with goods shipped across the plains via the Santa Fe Trail. This continued until the 1880's when the railroad reached New Mexico. It is highly unlikely that any supplies came from the arsenal at Benecia in CA.
I reccomend using Rust-Oleum American Accents Colonial Red and Federal Blue. And as any artist can tell you, mixing paint is not an exact science, so variations in color are perfectly acceptable. There is no one right color. There are however recipes for paint in the ordnance manual. I also reccomend getting hold of a copy of Dean Thomas' book "Round Ball to Rimfire". I'd be happy to forward you any info/photos I have of St Louis boxes.

Cheers,
Mike "Zachariah" Bogert
100th PA Co K
1st CA Co F
Fightin Boys Mess
American Grizzly Rifles