Remains of a Civil War Leather Cartridge Box, found in Gettysburg in the 1960s

Being offered is the remains of an excavated Civil War Cartridge Box. It is difficult to distinguished, but it could be either Union or Confederate. As expected, the pieces of various sizes are dry and stiff. This cartridge box was recovered in the 1960s from the Gettysburg Battlefield.

The rarest battlefield relics have always been cloth and leather, simply because they could not stand up to the elements for any extended period of time. However, after the battle and into the early part of the 20th century, there were still intact leather accoutrements being found, and some deteriorating cloth. In my private collection I have cartridge boxes, cap boxes, brogans, holsters, etc., which were battlefield recovered pieces – they are stiff, but complete. In my book “Battle of Gettysburg – The Relics, Artifacts & Souvenirs”, I discuss these items in more detail.

A hundred years after the battle, any leather found was usually just random pieces. But even in pieces, it was still a cartridge box used during the battle. In Civil War Relics, by Howard Crouch, there are examples of dug leather items (see pictures). The remains of this cartridge box comes in a 8” x 12” x 2” display case.