People that are unfamiliar with mid-nineteenth century military weaponry generally have the impression that soldiers carried a powder horn or some variation of one. In reality, soldiers were issued cartridges consisting of a paper tube, filled with a powder charge and ball. These paper cartridges were issued in paper packs of ten. Because they were made of paper, the cartridges were very fragile and even a slight wetting would ruin them; therefore, it was necessary that they be carried in a leather box which served to keep the cartridges dry. The box also served to keep out sparks during the heat of battle. Should a spark enter the box, the resulting explosion would severely injure or kill its owner. Basically, each soldier had a bomb strapped to his waist and only this box to keep it from igniting.

Infantry cartridge boxes had tin liners with large openings in order to hold multiple packets of pre-manufactured paper cartridges. The Confederate carbine cartridge box is very distinctive from its infantry counterpart. It is much smaller; this example is six (box only, not flap) inches wide, and three and a half inches tall. Other than the size, the most notable difference is the tin liner’s configuration. This cavalry carbine cartridge box was designed to hold thirteen paper cartridges in individual tin tubes. The tubes

were individually formed and then soldered together in a rectangular block that coincided with the cartridge box’s shape.

The cavalry cartridge box shown here is the classic Confederate configuration. It has a lead closure finial and the tube style tin liner. Very few Confederate cavalry cartridge boxes retain their original tube style tin liner. This liner is complete and in perfect condition. The box is strong, flexible and with the exception of one ear, it is complete. The leather is strong and flexible, even the latch tab is original and super strong. The lead finial remains tight.

This is one of the hardest CS Cavalry accoutrements to acquire. These are extremely rare. I checked and found that I had not had one since os877 and this is os7660. This means it has been more than twenty years since I owned another. And with the exception of one ear, this is as perfect as one could get.

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