Civil War Artillery Ammunition Boxes

AMMUNITION-BOXES: Packing-boxes for field ammunition are made of well-seasoned stuff (generally white pine), 1.25 inch thick, dovetailed with the tenon on the ends. The top of the box is fastened with six 2-inch screws; the box has two handles of 1 ¾ inch rope, attached to brackets at the ends. The boxes are painted on the outside different colors to indicate the contents of the box. Those containing shot are painted olive; shells, black; spherical case-shot, red; and canisters, a light drab. The kind of ammunition is marked on each end in large white letters. The place and date of fabrication are marked on the inside of the cover. The boxes are packed as follows:

For Smooth-Bore Guns. – Shot, spherical case and canisters, fixed. – Laid in two tiers across the box, the shot or canisters alternating with the cartridges at each side. The shot or canisters of the upper tier rest on those of the lower and not on the cartridges. Canisters are packed in the same manner, omitting the strips of wood in the bottom of the box.

For 12-pounder Mountain-Howitzer. – Shells and case-shot, fixed. – Placed upright, the balls down, resting on strips of wood as for the other howitzer. Canisters are packed in the same manner, resting on the bottom of the box.

For Rifled Funs. – Shells and case-shot. – Placed upright, the balls down, resting on strips of wood as for the howitzer. The iron part of the balls rest against strips of wood 4 inches wide and .25 inch thick, nailed to the side and ends of the box at the bottom, and similar strips placed between the rows of the balls to prevent the soft metal cups from bearing against the box or against each other and being bruised; the cartridges are placed on top of the projectiles. Canisters are packed in the same manner as the case-shot, omitting the strips of wood on the bottom of the box.

In all the boxes the small stores are placed in the vacant spaces on top of the ammunition. A layer of tow is placed in the bottom of each box, and the whole contents are well packed in tow, filling the box so as to be pressed down by the cover. About three pounds of tow are required for a box.