Water-recovery of Union Cartridge Box from 1864 City Point Explosion

This is a really interesting piece being offered, it is a Union .58 caliber cartridge box.  It has both of the tins remaining and the maker mark is still visible “E. GAYLORD / CHICOPEE / MASS.”. This is one of the rare artifacts recovered by divers in 1985, from the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers, near City Point, Virginia. City Point was the site of Gen. U.S. Grant’s sprawling headquarters and a major supply base during the Siege of Petersburg.

A successful blow was delivered on August 9, 1864, when a Confederate operative named John Maxwell planted a time bomb (which he called a "horological torpedo") aboard a munitions barge docked near the shore. The resulting explosion destroyed several large buildings, 180 feet of wharf, two million dollars of munitions and supplies, and killed more than forty workers. The blast rained potentially lethal debris all across City Point, including General Grant’s headquarters. Grant was not injured, but one staff officer was struck, and an orderly killed.

Most of these river-recovered artifacts have survived because of being submerged and covered by silt, creating an anaerobic environment, thereby preventing deterioration. The leather artifacts recovered were also professionally treated for preservation, so now after 40 years out of the water they remain in stable condition.

As seen in the pictures, the box is in a few pieces but are all the same box and fit nicely together. An interesting note is that the corner of the outer flap is turned upwards, this is often seen on Civil War cartridge boxes resulting from the soldier constantly lifting the flap to get to his cartridges.  This is a nice piece with a lot of history behind it, something you rarely come across. Leather and cloth have a very low survival rate.