Civil War Bullseye Canteen with dark blue cover, identified to 14th Maine Infantry

This is a Civil War Bullseye canteen, complete with the rare dark blue cover, cork and chain. Carved into the pewter spout is “14 ME / Co F / EHI”. The initials EHI are kind of hard to make out, so I am just taking my best guess if those initials are correct.

The 14th Maine Infantry served from 1861 to 1865, organized at Augusta, Maine. They participated in key campaigns, including the Siege of Port Hudson and battles in the Shenandoah Valley like Cedar Creek and Fishers Hill. The regiment saw significant combat and suffered high losses from both battle and disease.

Their losses were 5 officers and 81 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded in battle. 2 officers and 330 enlisted men died from disease.  The original members were mustered out on January 13, 1865, with reenlisted men and recruits reorganized into a battalion that was later re-formed into a regiment and mustered out in September 1865.

An interesting note is the 14th Maine is the subject of the poem "On the Men of Maine killed in the Victory of Baton Rouge, Louisiana" by Herman Melville. This canteen is in overall nice condition, showing honest wear as expected. The bottom sling keeper is missing because of being rusted off. In my book “The Civil War Canteen – Third Edition”, I show bullseye canteens, including one with the dark blue cover (see pictures).