Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. While the Continental Forces certainly preferred lightweight tin water vessels like those carried by the British soldier, stocks of that metal dried up even before the Revolution was a year old as the British blockade of American seaports tightened. By the spring of 1776, with the summer campaign ahead, the availability of canteens of any kind was essentially gone and Congress turned to the production of wooden canteens to issue its troops. Of course wood was abundant in America and the only metal the colonies could produce, iron, was far too heavy to use for this purpose. Two styles emerged: the “drum” and “cheesebox.” Even with rushed production efforts, the army remained urgently in need of canteens through that summer. It was not until well into 1777 that production had finally reached a point where the Continental Army was able to fulfill the needs of its rank and file and actually begin building up a stockpile. However, even with an improving system of supply, the availability of canteens varied throughout the war.

This is a tremendous example of a wood & iron band construction drum canteen dating to the War of 1812 period. This iron bands of this example show a marked improvement on the wooden stave canteens of the Revolutionary War era. The iron bands hold in the iron strap loops, although only two of the original three are retained on this example, and the ones that are retained show heavy denting. There is also cracking in the wood, primarily on one side. The bluish-green paint of the canteen is correct for American issue during the War of 1812 era. 

One side of the canteen is carved with the stylized initials WAD, with heavy wear in the indents indicating that this was done during the period. The other side of the canteen has a very faint maker’s marking which could possibly be GAMBER, and we’ve had a similar example before with wooden staves by this maker with the name carved in a similar style, although the only letters we could make out are the G and R, so it could be something else. Next to these markings is a very faint name written in cursive which is also very difficult to make out, but as this is a full name, it could lead to the identification of a soldier, although we were unable to fully discern the name. 

A gorgeous canteen with several markings that could lead to an identification. Comes ready for further research and display.