Welcome to at the moment’s Photograph of the Day! This pine transport crate from Watervliet Arsenal represents an interesting hyperlink to Civil Warfare ammunition know-how. Marked as containing 600 ball cartridges for Colt Navy Belt Pistols dated 1864, it as soon as held what troopers generally referred to as “pores and skin cartridges” – an early waterproofing innovation. These “pores and skin cartridges” had been a intelligent resolution to the perpetual problem of protecting black powder dry within the subject. Producers wrapped ready paper cartridges in animal gut (sometimes sheep) that was stretched, dried, and sealed with shellac. This created a dependable waterproof barrier that protected the powder from humidity, rain, and river crossings. For cavalry troopers and naval personnel armed with Colt revolvers, these cartridges had been notably invaluable. A soldier may maintain his ammunition useful even throughout prolonged campaigns in moist situations, and the pores and skin protecting would burn away fully when fired. Watervliet Arsenal in New York, established in 1813, was the Union Military’s major ammunition manufacturing facility through the Civil Warfare. The arsenal manufactured hundreds of thousands of cartridges for small arms and artillery, supplying Union forces all through the battle. The three-compartment inside design of this crate displays the cautious packing strategies used to guard these invaluable munitions throughout transport to the entrance traces. Authentic crates like this hardly ever survived after the conflict, as they had been sometimes damaged down for firewood or repurposed as soon as emptied of their contents.
“Watervliet Arsenal Marked Crate for Colt ‘Pores and skin’ Cartridges.” Rock Island Public sale Firm, Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
