Original Item: Only One Kit Available. The 1909 Infantry Board recommended a new “meat can” mess kit that became standard issue in 1910. The 1910 mess kit was similar to previous models but larger, 8 ½” long by 6 ¾” wide by approximately 1 ½” deep and was made of aluminum. Like the earlier covers, which doubled as a plate, it fit into the top of the “frying pan” portion and was secured by a folding galvanized iron handle.

Early in 1918 the American Expeditionary Force reported that the 1910 pattern top plate was too shallow and recommended a deeper configuration. A new mess kit with a lid one half inch deeper, and an appropriately corresponding folding handle quickly went into production as the model 1918.

This fantastic example is by T.U.S.A. Co. and dated 1918. The lid of the mess kit is beautifully engraved with VERDUN in a unique font style and a Bald Eagle carrying an American flag below it, with crossed cannons for Field Artillery Battery D to the left. On the bottom is engraved

BAT. D. T.V. TODD 58 ART.

This indicates this mess kit belonged to T.V. Todd, Battery D, 58th Artillery C.A.C., which stands for the Coastal Artillery Corps. We have not found a soldier with this name in this battery, but he may have shortened his last name on the mess kit.

This is a gorgeous piece of trench art with a fabulous patina that really helps it to display beautifully. The interior of the mess kit is very dirty with water damage. A great mess kit with a great look, ready for further research and display!

The 58th Artillery was formed in December of 1917, using men and equipment from coastal artillery units and converting the long-range tractor-pulled guns into land artillery. The men were drawn from the Headquarters and Supply Companies of the Coast Defenses of Eastern New York and the Third Battalion of the Coast Defenses of Baltimore. On April 6, 1918, Battery F formed the guard of honor for President Wilson in Baltimore, and he commended it for its performance.

The regiment trained for war in Fort Totten and Fort Schuyler, New York. Throughout May its battalions departed from Hoboken for France. Its total number assembled in Brest reached 66 officers and 1,811 men by May 31. They then departed for training alongside the French army at Ambazac. On June 2, the 58th Artillery was assigned to the 32nd Artillery Brigade, and equipped with breech-loaded Vickers Mk 6. 8-inch howitzers. They were mounted on two types of “caterpillars,” engines of agricultural origin that generated up to 75 or 120 horsepower.

On October 20, the regiment departed for the front and its three battalions were divided. The First and Second Battalions established camp at Montjoie near Manonville during the St. Mihiel Offensive. Meanwhile, the Third Battalion moved to the Adrian barracks near Jezainville.

After establishing camps, the battalions began scouting ideal locations to set up their batteries, and then the work of camouflaging, setting up telephone wires, and digging in. The First Battalion set up its guns in the valley of Foret des Vencheres, firing its first shot on October 31, and its last of the war only four minutes before the signing of the armistice on November 11. On the night of November 8, the battalion’s batteries were scouted and strafed by German airplanes. The sortee was followed by severe and accurate shelling with explosives and gas. One shell scored a direct hit on Battery A’s powder dump. The shelling killed one man, the regiment’s only man to die in action during the war. After the armistice, the battalion took up new positions at Bois d’Heiche.

The Second Battalion was also assigned to Foret des Vencheres. Its targets on the German side of no-man’s-land were Onville, Waville, Vandelainville, and Pagny-sur-Moselle. A few days prior to the armistice, the Second Battalion advanced to Sainte Marie Farm just northeast of Vilcey. For the caliber of the unit’s guns, the position was very close to the German lines and the troops who set up the position suffered twenty casualties, wounded, from shelling and gas. The battalion was intended to assist an advance on the Metz front that never took place because the armistice was signed on November 11.

The Third Battalion was assigned to positions at Meurthe-et-Moselle and directed its fire on German positions near Vittonville.

History drawn from History of the 58th U.S Artillery, C.A.C, American Expeditionary Forces.