Markings on equipment.

[1st New Jersey Brigade]

I have been doing some research to improve the impression of my son and I. I have found out that it was expected that soldiers mark their all of their equipment. I have seen a lot of pictures of equipment marked with stencils. Also have seen some things marked freehand. What do most of you think would be most common for a typical infantry man? I want this to be as accurate as possible so my son and I can both learn.

 

[johan_steele]

I would look at how the men of the day were doing it. You might be able to verify for the individual regiment. Seems like the method varied somewhat. Largely if there wasn't a stencil used it was written inside flaps in pencil.

Knapsacks seemed the most likely to have stencils. Cartridge boxes and such not so much as those were thought of as relatively interchangeable. Canteens and haversacks seemed to be more of a gray area from what I've seen. Haversacks in particular seemed to have a relatively short lifespan on campaign. Canteens… it's a good question that would require more research.

Men stealing from other soldiers met severe repercussions from the rank and file.

 

[Salterr]

I have been doing some research to improve the impression of my son and I. I have found out that it was expected that soldiers mark their all of their equipment. I have seen a lot of pictures of equipment marked with stencils. Also have seen some things marked freehand. What do most of you think would be most common for a typical infantry man? I want this to be as accurate as possible so my son and I can both learn.

I have seen stenciled and hand drawn ink inscriptions inside cartridge boxes and stenciling on canteens. Carvings of initials on the spouts too. Officers often stenciled their trunks carrying their belongings. Smaller items like an inkwell or camp mirror might have a carving or two using a penknife. Some officers wrote their names in their uniforms.

I can't say what was more common as it was a personal choice. Privates only made about $13 a month and weren't always paid on time so it might greatly affect a soldiers decision to part with what may have been a decent chunk of his pay for a brass stencil vs. other necessities. Having paper was even sometimes a luxury. Either choice of freehand in ink or stenciled would be period correct but I don't know what was more convenient to the soldiers individually. I've seen a great deal of both.

 

[captaindrew]

Personally I wouldn't mark any of my gear in a visible spot other than I put my initials in an inconspicuous spot so I can ID it if ever need be. If you ever wanted to upgrade something or replace something with new and wanted to sell or give the old away that would hurt that. And I certainly wouldn't put any unit marking on it. If you changed groups or want to venture out to events your group doesn't do and pull off different impressions that kills that. I travel around a lot and keep my gear as generic and interchangeable as possible just for that reason.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

Personally I wouldn't mark any of my gear in a visible spot other than I put my initials in an inconspicuous spot so I can ID it if ever need be. If you ever wanted to upgrade something or replace something with new and wanted to sell or give the old away that would hurt that. And I certainly wouldn't put any unit marking on it. If you changed groups or want to venture out to events your group doesn't do and pull off different impressions that kills that. I travel around a lot and keep my gear as generic and interchangeable as possible just for that reason.

Agreed. We keep a couple beat up items like canteen and haversack set aside to use for when we do local demos of our home unit. But like the captain said, to participate in the wider hobby and protect resale you would likely be better off leaving it as generic as possible.

 

[Stainless Steel Mucket]

Your gear returns quicker when you mark it with your company number. My canteen, haversack, knapsack and gum blanket are the only items I've marked. Cartridge box, waist belt, cap box, scabbard can be marked, but aren't as necessary as they are affixed to my own body or hanging from my bayonet with my stacked musket.

When it comes to stencil or freehand, dont let perfect be the enemy of good enough. You're marking your kit for you, not putting on an art show.

-- S.S. Mucket