Mills Strap

[Pep]

I was lucky enough to find this one.

Mills No. 214 Canteen or Haversack Strap

 

[Pep]

Date is hard to be sure.

Any guesses?

 

[Pep]

Hardware

 

[US Victory Museum]

What you actually have is the following:

 

A pattern 1910 canteen cover with eagle snaps dating it between 1910 and 1916 (or very early 1917).

The "strap" is actually ½ of a pattern 1907 suspenders (made by Mills in 1916 or '18) which has a pair

of hooks from an earlier era that was used with leather haversack or canteen straps dating to before

and just after the turn of the century. In 1903, a new pattern of canvas canteen mounting hardware

was produced, making the earlier leather type obsolete.

 

Someone kluged it together (by whom and when is unknown). If it works, then it works, but it was

never intended to go together that way.

 

Msn

[US Victory Museum]

Upon closer inspection, I may be mistaken about the strap. If it were half of a 1907 suspenders, then it is missing

the metal studs; moreover, your photo shows two metal pieces that are not part of the 1907 suspenders.

 

I'm curious. I've not seen anything quite like that before. Do you have a photo from a Mills catalog?

[Pep]

Upon closer inspection, I may be mistaken about the strap. If it were half of a 1907 suspenders, then it is missing

the metal studs; moreover, your photo shows two metal pieces that are not part of the 1907 suspenders.

 

I'm curious. I've not seen anything quite like that before. Do you have a photo from a Mills catalog?

 

 

Thanks for your comments US VM.

 

The canteen is the Model 1910 for Strap. This model was produced by the Rock Island Arsenal between July 1st 1913 and June 31st 1914.

Only 1000 pcs are reported manufactured. There are at least two other topics on this model but I can not quick find them. One is mine pictured here, so not that long ago.

 

The strap is the Mills No. 214 Canteen or Haversack Strap pictured in the catalog. I will have to do a scan of it later this evening or tomorrow.

I am very confident about the strap ID, but all things are subject to change

Pep

[subsystem4]

Neat. The date looks like 1916 to me.

[Pep]

Neat. The date looks like 1916 to me.

 

 

Me too, but with the Mills logos starting in 1916 the month was indicated with 3 letters like NOV for November above the bullet logo.

I am leaning toward 1915 or 1913.

[Pep]

Upon closer inspection, I may be mistaken about the strap. If it were half of a 1907 suspenders, then it is missing

the metal studs; moreover, your photo shows two metal pieces that are not part of the 1907 suspenders.

 

I'm curious. I've not seen anything quite like that before. Do you have a photo from a Mills catalog?

 

 

[Keystone]

Nice strap Pep. Here is the link to the other topic:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...ic=30165&hl

 

Tim

[robinb]

That's one cool strap! I need one for my canteen as well.

[Fausto]

Hi Pep !

Fantastic set indeed... As for the 1916 date it could be that. Dealing with .45 mag pouches for 40 years I noticed that at the beginning-half of 1916 Mills was still omitting the month. Actually - always just in the .45 mag pouches - I observed only August, November and December reported months. In the pic a .45 mag pouch with a mark very close to the one on your strap...

Fausto

[US Victory Museum]

This is what I love about this forum: just when you think you've seen it all, something never before encountered

appears presenting the opportunity to learn something new every day. I had said, "I'm from Iowa - Sow me!"

and you did. Now I'm a believer.

 

Moreover, I followed the link within this thread to Keystone's older post and was equally EDU-MA-KATED! ;-)

 

Not to hijack your wonderful post, but I have had an oddball WWI era (Jan 1918 Baurs Bros.) canteen that

has both types of dismounted hardware. (This is well past the era of both your canteen and Keystone's)

[US Victory Museum]

.

[US Victory Museum]

Resurrecting an old post:

 

When this topic was originally posted, I had never heard of such a thing as a Mills canvas model 214 haversack

or canteen strap. At that time I even mistook it for half of a set of 1907 suspenders; therefore, I wasn't suprised

when this one popped up on Ebay similarly identified.

 

These are RARE! Exceptionally rare. Until I bought this one, I had only ever seen the one that PEP has.

 

By the way, when these turned up on Ebay, I choked for an instant and wondered whether anyone else had

recognized them for what they were. Based upon the sale price, the answer was obviously not.

 

As usual the image is slightly over exposed and the colors are somewhat washed out. The color is olive green,

just like the 1st 1912 pistol belts, which put this around 1914, or a little earlier. Initially I had thought it was pea

green, but when I placed it against both a 1st and 3rd pattern 1912 pistol belt, it was clearly not pea green.

 

Msn

[Pep]

Resurrecting an old post:

 

When this topic was originally posted, I had never heard of such a thing as a Mills canvas model 214 haversack

or canteen strap. At that time I even mistook it for half of a set of 1907 suspenders; therefore, I wasn't suprised

when this one popped up on Ebay similarly identified.

 

These are RARE! Exceptionally rare. Until I bought this one, I had only ever seen the one that PEP has.

 

By the way, when these turned up on Ebay, I choked for an instant and wondered whether anyone else had

recognized them for what they were. Based upon the sale price, the answer was obviously not.

 

As usual the image is slightly over exposed and the colors are somewhat washed out. The color is olive green,

just like the 1st 1912 pistol belts, which put this around 1914, or a little earlier. Initially I had thought it was pea

green, but when I placed it against both a 1st and 3rd pattern 1912 pistol belt, it was clearly not pea green.

 

Msn

Nice US Vic..

Mine was getting lonely.

I checked the color of mine against 1913, 1915 and 1916 eagle snap canteen covers and mine favors more the 1916 color.

If you do not have one, you need to get a Cover, Canteen for strap model of 1910 to display it with.

[jprostak]

I think this is the strap you should be looking for. It shows up in the drawings as "Web Shoulder Strap for US Forest Service" This drawing is dated 1912 with a first revision in 1916. There are two straps shown in the photo below. The one on the top came with a USFS marked 1912 dated canteen and is USFS marked. It has an earlier snap hook than the one shown in the bottom of the photo and would have been manufactured by one of the arsenals during the same time as the "Canteen for Strap"

 

The Mills No. 214 strap appears to be very similar to the drawing for "Canteen Haversack Strap, for Philippine Scouts" Drawing dated to 1915.

 

Not that this is anything conclusive, but it is an arsenal manufactured item in the same time frame. I'm hoping the something turns up at the Archives on this someday.

[Eric]

Wow, thanks for bringing this topic up US Vic. I saw the strap on ebay and the hooks looked off to me, not like suspenders. I didn't bid because of this... Another reason to love this forum! Great info

[Pep]

I think this is the strap you should be looking for. It shows up in the drawings as "Web Shoulder Strap for US Forest Service" This drawing is dated 1912 with a first revision in 1916. There are two straps shown in the photo below. The one on the top came with a USFS marked 1912 dated canteen and is USFS marked. It has an earlier snap hook than the one shown in the bottom of the photo and would have been manufactured by one of the arsenals during the same time as the "Canteen for Strap"

 

The Mills No. 214 strap appears to be very similar to the drawing for "Canteen Haversack Strap, for Philippine Scouts" Drawing dated to 1915.

 

Not that this is anything conclusive, but it is an arsenal manufactured item in the same time frame. I'm hoping the something turns up at the Archives on this someday.

 

Ahhhh...Jon those are exceptional. I ain't kidd'in! They really are. I have been trying to figure out what they looked like.

Thanks

[jprostak]

I'd really like to find the documentation covering the Canteen Cover for Strap.

[US Victory Museum]

Dear Jon:

 

What a fantastic bit of detective work. Do you have a scanned image of the "canteen / haversack strap, for Philippine Scouts"?

If the Mills strap is identical, then I'm wondering whether they were ever arsenal produced or just contracted out to Mills.

 

Just as the 1913 contracted blanket bags used by the Navy were updated with canvas shoulder straps, I am wondering if the

Mills strap was contracted for Philippine use due to high humidity which would have caused leather rot. Thus old style haversacks

and canteens could remain in use; recall that pre-1910 haversacks remained in service well into the Great War. If so, this would

account to their scarcity as few would have returned stateside. On the other hand, the mills canvas strap may have just been a

private purchase item that was never adopted by the military for use. (e.g. Like the Mills #305 Holster, or #180 2 pocket revolver

belt.

 

By the way, that was an interesting bit about the forest service straps. I had seen one before on Ebay being sold with a P1878

canteen bearing the USFS stencil on the reverse. The sling looked dark green to me so I assumed it was a WWII OD-7 sling.

Nevertheless, although you have identified it as also rare, it isn't military issue or used, so it wouldn't have a place in my collection.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Your friend and fellow collector,

Mike

[jprostak]

Mills Strap info

[jprostak]

Title block from Mills Strap Drawing

[US Victory Museum]

Those Rock Island Arsenal blue print drawings you've (Jon) posted have pretty much settled the debate.

 

The straps were intended for use in tropical climates (Philippines) where leather quickly rots; and, more

specifically for use by the Philippine Scouts (Pre-WWI)

 

I dug around through my "stuff" and found the appropriate uniform with which to accessorize. The uniform

is complete (the trousers are tailored from identical cloth, and are hanging on a coat hanger inside the blouse).

I only need to find insignia. The canteen is marked to the 26th infantry regiment, which served in the

Philippines during this time period. The bolt of cloth from which it was tailored has a more brown hue than

olive drab. The buttons are rimless, which puts it in the c. 1911-1915 time frame of the pre-WWI Philippine

Scouts units.

 

Once again, thank you very much for your research Mr. Prostak

 

 

 

 

[US Victory Museum]

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