Complete Civil War Soldier’s Sardine Can, dug at Port Hudson, LA (SOLD)

This is another nice item being offered, it is an excavated soldier’s sardine can. It measures 4 ½” x 3 ¼” x 1 ¼”. During the Civil War, these tins of sardines were very popular judging just by the number of discarded cans recovered at campsites and battlefields. They were not issued by the government, but the majority were acquired from the camp sutlers or sent from home. This can was dug in the 1970s by well-known relic hunter Emile Mancuso at the Port Hudson, LA Battlefield.

The Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana (May 22 – July 9, 1863), was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi in the Civil War. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, General Nathaniel Banks was ordered to capture the Confederate stronghold of Port Hudson, in order to go to Grant's aid.

When his assault failed, Banks settled into a 48-day siege, the longest in US military history. A second attack also failed, and it was only after the fall of Vicksburg that the Confederate commander, General Franklin Gardner surrendered the port. The Union gained control of the river and navigation from the Gulf of Mexico through the Deep South and to the river's upper reaches.

Just about all of the sardines were exported by France to both the Union and Confederacy. Some had the very thin brass label identifying the manufacturer, as does this one. What is truly unique with this example is that you can see where the soldier cut it open with his knife, and the top still remains.

There are similar examples of these type of sardine cans in “Excavated Artifacts from Battlefields and Campsites of the Civil War”, by Stanley Phillips (see pictures). Also, in my recent book “The Civil War Soldier – His Personal Items”, I show these cans and go into it in more detail (see pictures). Being thin gauge tin, most of these cans have rusted away, or when found are in poor condition. I had many of these cans in the past, but this is by far the best condition and complete I have ever seen. It would make a great addition to a display of a soldier’s personal effects or camp display.