Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an excellent example of a War of 1812 “cheesebox” canteen that saw heavy service during the first half of the 19th century. The term “Cheesebox” is NOT a period term, but one added over the years because of its appearance. This style of Three Piece Wood Canteen was used by American troops from the 2nd half of the 18th Century to the first half of the 19th Century.

This example is outstanding in that it was painted twice during the period, the first painting being for the Rindge Light Infantry, or R.L.I.. Please refer to the excerpt from New England Uniforms & Accoutrements by Curtis Guthman that we have included in the listing. The canteen was painted with a rectangular box with stacked semi-circles at each end, with R.L.I. in the center. This was the militia of Rindge, New Hampshire. Chipping in the paint shows that the underlying paint was a lighter blue color.

The canteen was then reissued and repainted in dark blue with a red circular border, and a red six-pointed star in the center on one side. This is often seen with New England units, and likely denotes a specific unit, but we could not identify it. 

The canteen was built with three small leather straps for the attachment of a carrying strap. The bottom strap is the original one, the left strap is gone entirely, and the right strap is a period replacement with the broken one still present. The canteen measures 6 3/4” in diameter and is 2” wide.

This is the one of the most tremendous War of 1812 period Canteens we have offered, carried by several different soldiers across a long period of time. Comes ready for further research and display!