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Federal Canteen Covers - By Kevin O'Beirne
From His Article in "The Columbia Rifles Research Compendium"
Originally Posted at the AC on 1/2/04 - Click Here to View
The cover is the most visible aspect of a Civil War canteen and, unfortunately, the vast majority of Federal reenactors’ canteen covers are completely out-of-synch with period documentation. A typical Yankee reenactor has a canteen covered with dark blue kersey (wool) material—often of the same type of fabric as his uniform coat.
Many early canteen covers were satinette, which was a cheap cotton warp/woolen weft fabric that appeared to be “finished” only on one side. Once the Civil War began in earnest, the grade of material used for canteen covers actually declined. It is interesting to note that covers were not subject to Federal army inspectors, as was the canteen body and spout. The 1865 Quartermaster Department regulations, which codified what the army had been purchasing throughout the war, specified only that cover material should be, “a coarse cheap woolen, or woolen and cotton fabric”. In contrast, the kersey wool material used on most reenactors’ canteens is a “premium” fabric.
Material purchase records as well as relics from the period show that the vast majority—probably over three-quarters—of Federal canteens were covered with jean cloth, which was a very coarse, cheap cotton warp/woolen weft, twill woven material. Reproduction jean cloth-covered canteens can be ordered from various suppliers, and canteen cover kits are also available from many cloth vendors and makers of high-quality reproduction clothing.
On occasion, any cheap cloth that was available on the open market was employed by private firms and by government purchasing agents to meet deadlines on canteen delivery contracts. For example, a large number of canteens issued from the Schuylkill Depot between autumn, 1862 and summer, 1863 were covered with striped furniture upholstery fabric which, not surprisingly, proved to be very durable.
The predominant color of canteen covers issued by the Federal army, especially jean cloth covers, were gray. Today many relics have brown, reddish-brown, or tan-colored covers. These most likely were gray at the time of their manufacture and, over 140-plus years, the logwood dye used to color the fabric oxidized to a brownish hue. Thus, living historians seeking to improve the authenticity of their canteen should consider replacing their dark blue kersey cover with a gray-colored jean cloth cover; it is not unsuitable for early-war canteens to be covered in satinette. However, because canteen covers were not always durable, a canteen covered with any cheap, widely available material is also appropriate as a “field repair”. Use of an old, 100 percent wool army blanket or a sock for a canteen cover is ideal in this respect. Use of field-improvised covers should be minimal because most surviving canteens appear to retain their original cover, and many “field repairs” on existing canteens may have been made by post-war owners.
New York Depot canteen covers were almost universally machine-sewn on the lower half and then hand-finished on the upper half, after the cover was slipped onto the canteen. Most Schuylkill Depot covers were likewise partly machine-sewn, although some canteens with entirely hand-sewn covers exist. Machine-sewn canteen covers were present only on factory-made examples and, obviously, covers that were repaired in the field should not have machine sewing.
Finally, based on period photographs, is appears that coverless canteens were rather common during the war, and were probably more prevalent than is seen today in the ranks of reenactment units.
To re-cover a canteen, first remove the strap. If you plan to replace the strap with a new one, simply cut it in two. If you are going to put the same strap back on the canteen, carefully take the strap-joint apart with a stitch-ripper. Note how it goes together so that it can be re-sewn in the same fashion. Next, cut the old cover off the canteen. Leave the old cover’s stitching intact so you can refer to it when putting on the new one.
If you are making your own cover, take the cover material and cut out two circles, equal in size to your old cover, plus about a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Pin the two circles “right sides together” (i.e., with the sides that will be outside facing in) and stitch them together about halfway around the lower circumference of the cloth, about 1/4-inch inside the edge of the material. This seam should run between the two top strap keepers, leaving a gap through which the bottom strap keeper will protrude. After this phase of the sewing, turn the cover inside out, so that the “right sides” are facing outside, and slip the canteen into the new cover. Now stitch from the top of the strap keeper on each side to the spout. The seam allowance will have to be turned inside for this part of the sewing, but once it starts it is surprisingly easy. Use the old cover as a model.
With the new cover in place, dampen it thoroughly and let it dry before putting on the strap. This will shrink the cover, depending on the strength of the material, and help it conform to the shape of the canteen. Once the sewing is complete and the cover shrunk onto the canteen, put the strap (old or new) through the loops and, if you have a cloth strap, sew the joint, and your canteen-covering operation will be complete.
It is widely known that soldiers marked their equipment with information such as their name, regiment, company, and number.
According to reenactor myth, a “typical” identification on an equipment item might read, “B. Yank, G-42" (i.e., the soldier’s name, company, and place in the company). Many surviving canteens have only the soldier’s name (see Figures 2 and 3), and others have numbers (see Figure 4). If provided, such markings were usually made in black or white paint on the canteen cover, although most original specimens observed by this writer had either no identification on them or, as commonly seen, simply the soldier’s initials. This writer has also seen some original canteens with the soldier’s name or initials and other information marked on the strap in lieu of it being painted on the cover (see Figure 3). Finally, some soldiers decorated their canteen covers with corps badges or other designs, either of colored cloth sewn to the cover, or with a painted design. However, such ornate designs appear to have been much less common than marking just one’s name or initials on the canteen.