Civil War marked Hospital Bottle

Original excavated Civil War "USA" Hospital Bottle. The rarest bottle from the Civil War. Click picture for details.

USA Hospital Bottle. This is an extremely rare item being offered, it is an original Civil War hospital bottle. It is the very uncommon amber color and measures 9 ¼” high with a diameter of 3 ½”. It is a BIMAL (Blown-in-mold with applied lip), which is correct for these hospital bottles. In raised lettering across the front of the bottle is “U. S. A / HOSP. DEPT”. This bottle was recovered at a Union hospital site in Bridgeport, Alabama. When recovered it was in six pieces and was reassembled by the digger. It is almost entirely complete except for a piece of about 2” x 3”. Because of its location on both a rail line and the Tennessee River, Bridgeport was strategic during the Civil War. It was the site of a major skirmish on August 26, 1862, and numerous other small actions took place in the area throughout the war. In 1863, Confederate troops, using slave labor, built earthen redoubts, along with connecting entrenchments, as part of the defenses of Bridgeport. Later that same year, Union soldiers took over the fortifications and improved them to protect their major supply base that served them during the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Many of the wounded from these battles would be treated in Bridgeport, where this bottle was recovered. As I mentioned, surviving Hospital marked bottles from the Civil War are extremely rare….even in this condition, and the amber color even more so. There are examples in The Civil War Collectors Encyclopedia, by Francis Lord and in Pictorial Encyclopedia of Civil War Medical Instruments and Equipment, by Dr. Gordon Dammann. This bottle has been meticulously reassembled and is in very nice condition and displays well. Take advantage to add an impossible piece to find to your Civil War or Medical collection.