Original Item. Only One Available. This is an exceedingly rare M1874 McKeever Cartridge box for the Trapdoor Springfield 45/70 rifle or carbine with embossing for USM, which is the period embossing for the U.S. Marine Corps. The box is in stellar condition with very few flaws, and is one of the rarest pieces of 19th Century Marine Corps field gear we’ve offered!

This McKeever cartridge box measures 6⅝ x 4¼”. The front side is embossed USM, indicating issue to the United States Marine Corps. The back belt loops are in good shape but show signs of cracking, as well as the tab that closes the box. The metal bar at the bottom is in good condition. On the interior, the box looks perfectly preserved, with 16. written in red paint above one of the two rows of ten cartridge slots. The small metal tool is still in its sleeve on the right side of the interior. The rivets on the interior show signs of verdigris.

Overall, this is one of the nicest M1876 McKeever cartridge boxes we’ve ever offered, with the added bonus of being a Marine Corps issue. Don’t miss out, because you won’t find another in this shape for a while!

From the earliest European visitors to the Westward Expansion of the United States, settlers often encountered the American Indians. Though many of these meetings were peaceful, the cultures often clashed, resulting in hundreds of battles and skirmishes between the Natives and encroaching pioneers upon their lands. The pioneers weren’t the only ones to clash or have conflicts with the Native tribes, the U.S. Army did as well. Though confrontations with the Natives virtually occurred ever since the first European explorers and settlers set foot in the “New World”, the “Indian War period” is primarily referred to as occurring between 1866 and 1890. These many conflicts are often overshadowed by other periods of U.S. history like the American Civil War for example.

By the early 20 century, the American-Indian Wars had effectively ended, but at a great cost. Though the Natives helped colonial settlers survive in the New World, helped Americans gain their independence and ceded vast amounts of land and resources to pioneers, tens of thousands of Native and non-native lives were lost to war, disease and famine, and the Indian way of life was almost completely destroyed.