Patriot

Thanks Dustin!

Excellent! I appreciate the information, as none of this was making much sense to me. I wasn't aware that they would wear these on the belt, but with the M1905 bayonet hanger adaption, that makes a lot of sense. A source online indicated that this style of name stenciling is indicative of the USMC, which you seem to agree. Thank you for the input!

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I recently purchased a lot of 8 World War I meat can pouches, but I noticed one that was a little unusual. Notice how even though all 4 of the attachment buckles are intact, one of the carriers has the addition of a carrying hook (similar to what you might see on a canteen or first aid pouch). Any ideas as to what that might be for? Any thoughts on the name stenciling? (7 are named) (4 pictures to follow)

Also... if anyone goes to live auctions (on sight or a gallery), stay for the entire thing. Don't just leave when you got what you came for. You would be surprised at the stuff that pops up that you didn't see - especially at the end. The longer the auction is, the less money people have toward the end. Keep that in mind.

Nice finds! I love auctions too. On-sight auctions are especially fun because you get to go right to the house the stuff came out of. In June I picked up a M1777 Charleville musket barrel and trigger guard (with trigger) for $10! No one knew what it was, and in their eyes it was just a rusty hunk of iron. In my eyes, it was a piece of Revolutionary War history!

For headgear of the 18th and 19th century, I highly recommend "Dirty Billy's Hats" in Gettysburg. He's literally made headgear for the stars, and he gets as detailed as adding the proper contract labels in the forage caps, and produces little known variants of rare pieces of headgear.

I agree, once oil stains something, it's in there for good. Best case scenario is that over time the oil MAY lighten (but never disappear).

Maybe if someone slapped some general stars on there, an Airborne Spade, some MP markings, and a Vietnam War peace sign....would it be real then?

I agree - this is not a cannon ball. Cannonballs were perfectly round, and the weight or diameter should correspond with a 18th/19th century artillery table for proper identification. More than likely, the artillery experts that you mentioned consulted one of these tables, and were unable to find a match. Sometimes it's as simple as that.

Allan H., ... is this information than the average Joe should know?

Well said Bugme.

I think that movies like "Saving Private Ryan", and "Band of Brothers" gave Airborne (and Ranger) items a boost in value, and certainly spurred interest in World War II history in general. The overall increase in value, however, I think is due to the time tested determinants of value: scarcity & demand. Good airborne items have always been scarce, so the rise in value of those items would have been forthcoming with, or without the movies. There are other areas of the militaria collecting field that also command high prices, and these are unrelated to airborne and the movies that were made

I hunt the Regional every weekend! Great place!

There were Confederate tin drum style canteens that were produced by the Confederacy, but as Terry said, this is too well made to be one of those. The prewar militia canteens tended to be on the small size, and better made. So the construction on this one doesn't necessarily put me off. I did not recognize the 1904 equipment hook as that is not my area of expertise, but as I said before, the strap is indeed a little unusual. With that being said, I have seen bridle leather being used as an improvised sling or strap - especially on Confederate pieces. I also consulted "U.S. Army & Milit

This is a militia pattern tin drum canteen, presumably with North Carolina state initials - from the Civil War era. The funky carrying strap is an interesting adaption, as these usually used a linen (sometimes leather) sling. Where did you find this?

Spanish American War era is my guess. Nothing like this is shown in Dammann's landmark 3-volume set on Civil War medical equipment and memorabilia, so it is safe to say not Civil War.

The bottom one is the Civil War Campaign Medal (that is, if the lighter color is grey, not white).

It looks like he tried to enhance what was otherwise a good uniform.

This is actually something that was produced after the Civil War, commemorating his service in the regiment he served in. These are common, and in good condition, these are worth $150. Yours is worth less than $100 due to condition. I also believe the correct word you are looking for is "muster".

Apparently the auction house pulled the skull, and it is now to be handed over to the NPS.

Thank you everyone for the kind replies and the amazing research! I wonder if the other 1st MD and 6th MD uniforms are his as well? They are not named to him, but it would kind of tie in together. The bit about him working with the Navajo Code Talkers is fantastic! Again, thank you everyone for the help! Now the only mystery man is this L. P. Blein.

Thank you Fritz for the advice - I will follow up on that. What surprised me the most on these were to see these 4 sitting on the rack together. Usually I find one or two from once source, but four?