Brown vs Blue Canteen covers

[Busvette]

can anyone tell me why some canteens were covered in brown burlap type fabric and some in Blue. The blue one seem to be rarer.
Thanks
Don

 

[major bill]

Great question. I wonder if cost was a factor.

 

[captaindrew]

Used whatever fabric scraps they had laying around, light blue, dark blue, grey, tan, brown. Some suppliers used a lot of certain colors but I couldn't tell you which ones. I'm sure somebody here can. Some were recovered in the field by whatever they had. As far as I know there was no significance to the cover colors.

 

[Tin cup]

http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/uscanteen.html

From a posting while searching this subject on the ACBB site some years ago by Kevin O'Beirne (in part):

"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 canteencovers 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."

Kevin Dally

 

[captaindrew]

Great info @Tin cup , thanks

 

[major bill]

The first canteens Michigan issue had red wool covers.

 

[Busvette]

Thanks for the info. So there was no reason for different colors, just whatever was available.
Thanks
Don

 

[johan_steele]

Thanks for the info. So there was no reason for different colors, just whatever was available.
Thanks
Don

Quite literally.

In one case, IIRC, an Iowa Regt had a Col that was rather fond of polish. He ordered that all canteens have their canteen covers removed and they be polished bright. A while later a higher ranked officer saw the bright canteens and ordered the men cover them... at their own cost. The men took exception and rebelled in their own way. Canteen covers were quickly acquired and installed. All were of gorgeous dark blue wool. Some even had fine brass buttons. Oddly several officers had lost their uniform jackets and even trousers. They were forced to acquire new ones at great personal expense.

 

[Package4]

Canteens from 1853 on were actually covered in damaged overcoats and overalls, since the size of the army at the time was rather small it was an effective and efficient process. Once the war started it was a completely different ballgame, as mentioned previously, the color did not matter since the inspection process was undertaken sans cover and then sent to seamstresses to have cover installed. The first canteens ordered for the war (Philadelphia OACE) were actually delivered complete with straps and covers sewn, approximately 125,000 pieces, for the remainder of the war all canteens arrived bare and were covered and sewn by hand.

The first year of the war saw a fairly consistent color and type of fabric from Philadelphia and the large lots of cloth were specifically marked "canteen cloth". The cloth was either plain woven or twilled jean cloth. When the army was vastly enlarged during the second half of 1862, all manner of consistency was abandoned and Philadelphia stopped ordering "canteen cloth". They instead used the large surplus of uniform cloth that had accumulated, this cloth was largely overcoat, shell jacket and sack coat lining. Contrary to the above supposition that the covers oxidized to a reddish brown, an August 2, 1862 purchase order from Col. Crossman to William Devine and Sons, of Philadelphia seeking jeans cloth and other materials for lining great coats or covering canteens, it requested quantities of Brown Kentucky Jeans, Cadet Kentucky Jeans, Drab Kentucky Jeans, Union Cadet Cassimere and Buffalo Cassimere. Coates "Canteens" p. 106 Letter Crossman to Devine.

New York Depot canteens followed the Philadelphia process fairly close, with the exception that the contractors delivered the bare canteens for inspection and testing (a special bellows was employed for tightness testing, underwater and bubbles meant a return for repair). The passed canteens were then returned for covering and the majority of the contractors utilized sewing machines to sew covers and canvas duck straps. The Depot closely followed the covering cloth examples set by Philadelphia and even Cincinnati, utilizing spare "Army Cloth".

Much of this information may be garnered through Coates wonderful "Canteens" and or equally wonderful, Mike O'Donnell's "US Army & Militia Canteens 1775-1910" I love canteens, of course when I'm not collecting headgear.......

 

[Biscuit]

So my question is why were canteens covered in the first place? Were they trying to cover up the shine of the canteens to better conceal themselves on the field?

 

[Package4]

So my question is why were canteens covered in the first place? Were they trying to cover up the shine of the canteens to better conceal themselves on the field?

No, the heavy covering actually kept the temperature of the water cooler and many soldiers would dip their canteen in the water to keep the interior water cooler. Otherwise they would have just painted them black or covered with oilcloth as some actually did. NY Depot actually used a version of shoddy in the last year of the war and the soldiers preferred the covering as it would pill and become thicker to take on more water after dunking.