Civil War Black Powder tin

Being offered it a black powder tin measuring 5 ½” high x 2” deep x 4” wide. This one has the slip-on cap rather than the screw cap – which dates it to pre-war. When these tins were manufactured, they had paper labels, but over time and use most wore off. In the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware, they show a good example of one of these tins.

While standard infantrymen relied on pre-made paper cartridges (housed in leather cartridge boxes with tin liners), soldiers or officers carrying cap-and-ball revolvers (such as Colt pocket or belt models) sometimes used smaller flasks or powder measures to reload individual chambers.

Also, with the Artillery, small quantities of loose powder from these cans could be used for priming, blasting, or special-purpose charges where standard pre-made cartridge bags were not suitable.

This is a very solid piece, with only a little rust around the neck, but it doesn’t affect anything. These tins are always a nice addition to displays of revolvers and muskets – can even display with artillery.