Bayonet struck Cartridge Box Tin from Cold Harbor Battlefield. Click photo and "Detailed Description".
Civil War Cartridge Box Tin which was punctured by a bayonet. These tins were on the inside of the leather cartridge box and held the paper wrapped cartridges. It measures 3 ½” x 5” x 1 ½” and has about a dozen punctures which were done with a triangular bayonet…probably by a bored soldier, or maybe it was an attempt to make a grater. This interesting artifact has been in my private collection for over 20 years and was an early find from the Cold Harbor Battlefield.
Shortly after the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia, both armies were again on the battlefield of Cold Harbor, forming a seven-mile front that extended from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River. At dawn June 3, 1864, the Union II and XVIII Corps, followed later by the IX Corps, attacked the entrenched Confederates, only to be slaughtered at all points. General Grant would later comment in his memoirs, that this was the only attack he wished he had never ordered. This was a devastating loss for the Union, with 13,000 casualties compared to the 2,500 suffered by the Confederates.
Manufacturer: N/A
SKU: 0917102
