Civil War Equipment: Tin Cups vs. Muckets

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How common was the "Mucket" in the rank and file of the federal army during the Civil War? In this episode, we break down some primary sources to discuss the design and issuance of these tin items to troops.


Join us as we finish our thoughts on the standard issue tin cup vs the mucket as it applied to federal troops during the Civil War. This episode has less source material and more anecdotal commentary. Nevertheless, a good discussion to have. What do you like to use?
 
I am a tin food can/bailing wire coffee boiler advocate, personally. Simpler the better. I think it would be difficult to find surviving documentation on an item which was not issued? This is a question because these things are found dug, as I don't know of the paper trail for the individual piece of the mess kit called a "mucket." In period descriptons from the Civil War, what we know as a mucket seem to be most often referred to as "coffee boilers." Men describe a cup with a hinged lid. The term however obscure in origin, was in use at the time although probably not widely in use. This was this from a post on the AC forum from about six years ago.

...from the letters of Oliver Wilcox Norton Yorktown, VA, April 12, 1862:



"I was sitting by the fire with several others making coffee. Each of us has a small tin kettle holding three pints or so, fitted with a tight cover. We call them muckets for want of a better name. By the way, I believe almost any of us would throw away a blanket before he would his mucket, they are so indispensable. The cover of one was crowded down so tight that there was no room for the steam to escape. It swallowed the indignity with commendable patience for a time, but finally it lost all self control and exploded, throwing hot coffee in all directions, but particularly in the direction of my left foot. It was not very badly scalded, and I hope will be well in a few days."
 
I always have carried a hot tin dipped boiler with a hinged lid and a bale. I also always carry a small rounded hot dipped tin cup. The small cup is my favorite, and they were only made for a very brief time back in the mid 1980’s. The small cup has North Carolina association and interestingly, holds exactly one cup. These items were made along with bowls and correct tin plates by two men from Massachusetts long before anyone else made any hot dipped tin ware. I have a complete set of a bowl, plate, cup, and boiler. I also have one of their hot dipped confederate canteens.
 
How common was the "Mucket" in the rank and file of the federal army during the Civil War? In this episode, we break down some primary sources to discuss the design and issuance of these tin items to troops.

I was thinking about getting a period tin cup, as a nice piece that won't take up much space but could be good as a conversation-starter. So this video was very helpful, as the presenter shows some beautiful examples, and explains measurements and details of construction.

Roy B.
 
I always carried a large mucket. I was the morning coffee guy in our mess. Left it strapped to my pack if we were not going to be back in camp that night though. Guy's used to say it looks like that boy has a whole sutler shop there. Got old carrying that thing around
 
For backpacking this is my mug of choice

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I've had the same tin cup for more than 20 years now. It's a copy of one from a collection with provenance to an Iowa solder in the AoT (US) IIRC. It has a copper handle and is large enough to get a good cup of coffee going in the morning or make a bowl of soup later in the day. Years ago the Wisconsin Veterans Museum sold a set of tinware that was copied from items in their collection with provenance to the Iron Brigade. Included was a small coffee pot with a long spout, only large enough to make a cup or two of coffee. I remember thinking why carry such if you have a tin cup? It's easier to make the coffee in the cup and drink it straight from the source. It's also one less thing to carry. We have one of those repros in the museum... we need a tin cup as well.
 
I liked the cup, but I could also see the usefulness of a mucket, and I ended up carrying a mucket. It was much more useful to me. It was a bit more of a pain to carry though.
 
Should a tin cup hang from a haversack and a mucket from Knapsack?
Personal preference, no right or wrong, but usually with a cup they'd want them somewhere where they could get them easily should an opportunity to acquire something wet would arise. I tie mine to my haversack strap. While a mucket is very popular among reenactors for their versatility a good cup was much more common then. When carrying a mucket I do see them mostly hanging off the pack out of the way, they'd be a pain in the neck anywhere else.
 
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